Although the word “salvation” covers a lot of ground, most people generally associate it with going to Heaven when they die. Is it possible for every Christian to be peacefully certain that Heaven is in fact is their eternal destiny? If so, how? On what basis?

Near the close of his first epistle St. John writes these words:

These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life (1 John 5:13).

John believed it was possible to know and he says plainly that he wrote the epistle for that purpose. It’s enough to make you want to go back and read it again with that in mind.

At St. Peter’s we agree with St. John that a deep assurance of our eternal destiny is the privilege of every child of God.

We are also with St. Paul when he states in Romans 8:16: The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

Sometimes adopted children need extra affirmation, and loving adoptive parents shower them with it, making as sure as they can that the child never has any reason to doubt their belonging. This is what Paul says the Holy Spirit provides, deep in our hearts, Spirit to spirit.

We have articulated this conviction in the second article of our “Vision of Life Together” document, as follows:

We believe that through the saving work of Christ for us, and by the ministry of the Holy Spirit working in us, God has made it possible for every member of St. Peter’s Anglican Church:

2) To live each day in peaceful and grateful assurance that we have been delivered from the “domain of darkness” (Col 1:13-14) and have received forgiveness and new life in Jesus Christ. This assurance enables us to face both death and life – and all its challenges – in peace and confidence.

It would be the greatest cruelty to tease a child, adopted or biological, about the security of his place in the family.

We see this in one of the sub-plots of the classic Western, “Lonesome Dove.” Captain Woodrow Call refuses to admit that Newt is his son. In the face of Gus’s insistent demands, Woodrow remains stubbornly silent.

Gus tries to convince Newt that Woodrow is his father, but Newt aches to hear it directly from his dad. “Why won’t he say it?” he asks through tears.

Woodrow gives Newt his watch and his horse, tokens and symbols of some kind of bond, but he stops short of the actual words of assurance. Though we admire Woodrow in many ways, we can’t help but hate him for that.  It would have cost him nothing, yet he refuses.

It is impossible to imagine a loving Father wanting His children to live in insecurity and uncertainty about the core of their identity and destiny.  In fact, He is not withholding His declaration of Fatherhood. He is eager for us to know it and bask it in 24-7.

I want every member of St. Peter’s who is not living in this assurance currently to come into the blessed reality in the next year.  I’m going to be talking more about it.