The man put his head in his hand and cried. It startled me. He was a strong man, physically and emotionally.

"Tell me what's wrong," I asked.

"I have been a church leader all my life. I'm 79 years old, and I don't know when I'll die. But when I die, I have no assurance that I'll have eternal life. I don't feel ready. I don't think I'm holy enough. Can you help me?"

I wish I could say this kind of scene took place just once in my ministry. In fact, it has happened over and over again—with old and young, male and female, new members and long-time members. Many years ago, it happened for me.

Like Nicodemus (John 3), it's easy for any of us to have an enlightened mind and a dark heart, a full library and an empty life, a significant place in the Church and no place at all in God's Kingdom.

In the 16th century, the established church of the time made a declaration: "Every man by reason of his own weakness and defects, must be in fear and anxiety about his state of grace, nor can anyone know with infallible certainty of faith that he has received forgiveness of God."

This was a curse then, and it's a curse now, however it's expressed.

Christian faith is about blessing, not cursing. Nicodemus came to Jesus under a curse; he left under a blessing. "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned . . . " (John 3:14–18).

Here it is! We don't need an action of the Church to make it clear. We need the action of the Spirit to drive it home.

Do you accept Jesus and His promise? Have you made your confession and do you trust Him for His response? "Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life" (John 5:24).

I shared this promise with the man who cried in my office. He had been critical of the pastors and restless in the Church. But at the end of our talk that day, he gave me a huge hug and said, "Ed, I love you." I took it to be a prayer to One much higher—"God, I love you!" What a blessing.

It's human nature to doubt this blessing. When I sense my defects in character and action, I must go to the Word for confirmation. "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). "God . . . set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come" (2 Corinthians 1:21, 22).

There are three main streams of teaching on this subject in Christian theology. There is the classical church view, paraphrased this way: "Because of our deep sinfulness, we can never know that we are fully forgiven and acceptable to God."

There is the "sovereign determination" view epitomised by John Calvin. "Those whom God calls will irresistibly be saved; they have eternal security and will certainly continue in faith until the end."

Then there is the "full assurance" view represented by the Dutch theologian Arminius. "We receive complete assurance of salvation as we believe in the grace-filled provision of Jesus Christ."

The view of Arminius was beautifully reflected in John Wesley, founder of Methodism. And in that stream of belief, we see the beginnings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Adventist pioneer Ellen G. White came from a Methodist background and understood things well. "If Christ is my Saviour, my sacrifice, my atonement, then I shall never perish. Believing on Him, I have life
forevermore." (Selected Messages, 2:381.) "If you are right with God today, you are ready if Christ should come today" (Manuscript 36, 1890). One word gives our response: Hallelujah!

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* All texts come from New International Version.
Ed Gallagher is senior pastor for Healthy Adventist Churches in the North New Zealand Conference.