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I received a good question from my nephew the other day—one that I think comes around to all of us at one time or another. It’s about assurance, or in his words, “what would be the best way for me (or any other brother or sister in Christ) to know for sure that they are 100% saved?” The context (he’s given permission to tell you this) was: (1) his own reading about NDEs (Near Death Experiences) and the horrors of hell reported by some; (2) those passages in the Bible where Jesus spews the “lukewarm” believer out of his mouth (Rev 3)—definitely unpleasant! —or altogether denies knowing people who thought they were good with him (Matt 7:22-23); and (3) some regret for his own seasons of waywardness in the past [for which he’s repented and pressed forward]. So, the question came as I’m sure it has to all of us. How can I know about my standing with Jesus?

For better or worse, here’s what I said (edited slightly), and perhaps you will find it helpful as he did:

“Good question. For starters . The end is probably the same for what you're asking --avoiding slothful Christianity--but it gets there a little better with some background.

“… I think I'd begin unpacking the question from the view of the Holy Spirit, because having him in our life is the way the Bible says someone "belongs to Christ" or not (Romans 8:9). It also says that assurance is ultimately his job according to Romans 8:16. He is the one who tells us that we are children of God. In this way, you could say that assurance comes from the presence of the signs that the Spirit is in your life. And, pressing further with this, I think part of what his presence in us looks like is not allowing us to get comfortable with where we are with our relationship with God. That's why no one is really satisfied with their prayer life, I think. This is the sign he's present and doing his job. He convicts us of sin and slothfulness we might have. We feel tension with those things in our life more and more. When someone feels the tension in their life about going to the next level with God--like you're saying is happening with you here, that's the best evidence they've got the Spirit working in them and that they belong to Christ. It shows they are alive to even care about this. Those who really don't care about such things, who live their life how they want EVEN IF they've 'believed' at one