Christians are “under construction.” But God never stops working on us until the project reaches completion. That starts in this life and continues slowly, but is always completed on deadline.

Second Timothy is Paul’s swan song. He was writing to his protégé from prison. He was about to be decapitated and yet he doesn’t show the slightest glimmer of anxiety or uncertainty about his eternal fate. How could Paul be so sure he was saved? Could you and I have such assurance?

Let’s find out…

2 Tim 1: 8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. 13 Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

2 Reasons You can Have Assurance of Salvation Before you Die:

You can have 100% assurance of salvation because of…

1. The Person who Accomplished It

8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,

In Islam, as with many religions, there is no assurance of salvation.
Muslims put all their hope in their own performance—the quality of their good works.

I recently took a tour of the second largest mosque in the Southern Hemisphere: Jumma Mosque, in Durban. I asked our Muslim guide how his sins could be atoned for. He explained that he did the good works of Islam (5 pillars):
i) he had declared his belief in Allah and Mohammed his prophet,
ii) he prayed five times a day (at the designated times, facing Mecca, and never during the forbidden times),
iii) he gave the required 2.5% (zakat) of his wealth to the poor,
iv) he fasted from sunup to sundown for the month of Ramadan, and
v) he had booked a pilgrimage to Mecca (there is a ten-year waiting list for our country’s quota).

I asked, “So you must be quite sure you are going to heaven?”
Without hesitation, he said: “No. No one can ever be sure, only God knows.”
“But your chances are good?” I pressed.
He said, “I am working on my percentage.”
I asked of course: “What’s the percentage you need?”
And his sheepish response: “Only God knows.”

Jesus declared in Matthew 5:48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Can you imagine the devastation Muslims will experience on judgment day when they learn the standard of perfection God requires is 100%?

8 … the gospel [i.e. the good news that we can be saved] by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, [i.e. not in return for our good lives].

And that is why we can have 100% assurance: because of the person who accomplished a perfect score, Christ Jesus.

John 10:27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

1 Pet 1: 3 … According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

According to one study I read, 66% of believers who had converted from Islam to Christianity said the reason they converted was that they wanted assurance of salvation only offered in Christ.

There is a story in the Hadith (the collection of Mohammed’s sayings and life) of a man who had killed ninety-nine people. He sought forgiveness and was told to leave his wicked city and move to a righteous city. Just as he passed the halfway point, he died. The angels of mercy argued that his soul should be saved because he was moving in the direction of righteousness. The angels of torment argued that he had not yet reached the pious city and had never done a virtuous deed. So, a man (an angel in the form of a human) was called upon to judge the case. He said to measure which city the man had been closer to when he died. That would determine his fate. Because he had crossed the halfway point, his soul was saved. Had he died earlier his soul would have been lost.

An interpretation offered by Hadith commentators is that in Islam the decision you make and the direction of your life doesn’t count toward salvation. Only your accumulated progresscounts.

In other words, the thief on the cross had no chance of being forgiven.

According to my tour guide, not even Mohammed had assurance. The Quran records Mohammed saying, in Surah 46:9 ” … What will happen to me and what will happen to my followers, I do not know…”

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