Full Assurance Devotional: The Permanent Gift of Grace
Jesus offers a wonderful gift, made available for all people: the ability to trust Him and be granted everlasting life. Once that choice is made, a person’s eternal destiny is secure. Nothing can interfere or stop His power and keep us from going to heaven. There is no merit that can earn this gift, no actions that can lose it, and no works that can prove a person’s belief is genuine. If we believe in Jesus for everlasting life, we will be in heaven with Him for eternity.
Benjamin Franklin once famously said, “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." 1
However, according to the biblical authors, that is not true. The Lord and Savior of the world offers something that is more certain than taxes and has the power to overcome death.
The Gospel of John
Located in the New Testament, the Gospel of John was written for the purpose of showing who Jesus was so its readers can believe andhave eternal life (20:31). John was with Jesus from the very beginning of His ministry, making him aneyewitness of almost everything He did.2 We see salvation being described from the very beginning of John’s gospel (1:4, 12-13, 29).
In what is perhaps the most famous verse in all Scripture, John records Jesus’s words,“For God so loved the word, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (3:16 ESV).3 Motivated by love, thisverse reveals that the gift of Jesus’s first coming was to provide eternal life to all that believe in Him.4 Relying and trusting onJesus for our eternal destiny, without any self-reliance or back-up plans, is whatis means to believe in Him and is the sole basis for eternal life.5 The matter at hand is not behavior, but belief; the moment a person believes in Christ, they receive everlasting life.6
Assurance
Once a person has been granted everlasting life, they can never lose it. Jesus clearly illustrates this security when He said, “everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:26). Here, Jesus is proclaiming He has the power to secure the eternal destiny of anyone who believes in Him.7 This means that those that have come to believe in Jesus will never suffer a spiritual death.8
Nothing can “snatch” away those who belong to Jesus; He will never lose any of His people (John 6:39, 10:28-30). Believers of Jesus are safe and secure, no matter how prone they are to wandering.9 Security of salvation rests on Jesus’s perfect work;10 it is not contingent on actions from those in His care, but rather on Jesus’s infinite power.11
Other support
These principles are echoed in other New Testament writings. The book of Ephesians explains,“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing: it is the gift of God, not a result of works” (2:8-9). Faith in of itself is not a work, it is simply how a person can accept God’s gift of everlasting life.12 Each person who believes in Jesus is secured with the indwelling of the HolySpirit, guaranteeing the reception of God’s grace, which includes forgiveness and heavenly inheritance (Ephesians 1:7-8, 13-14).
The gift of inheritance is “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading;” protected by the power of God Himself (1 Peter 1:4-5). Eternal salvation is completely secure in God’s hands, the eternal safety of those who trust in Jesus certain, and nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:31-39).13
Established forever
As was true then, we can know today that the moment we decide to believe in Jesus for everlasting life, our heavenly destiny is established forever. There is nothingwe can do to keep our status secure. No person, entity, force, and not evenourselves can break His grip on us.14 His free offer of salvation is available for people of all ethnicities, pasts, desires, thoughts, feelings, and abilities. When we respond and we trust in Him alone for oursalvation, there is no person or organization that must validate our belief.God Himself seals us, indwells us, and secures our destiny forever.
Well known preacher Chuck Smith once stated, “The message of the New Testament is simple…The sole responsibility of a Christian is to believe in the love and grace God freely offers."15
There is nothing more certain in this life. Once we believe in Him, we have full assurance.
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Footnotes
[1] “Death and Taxes,” Adam SmithWorks, accessed June 5, 2026, https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/death-and-taxes.
[2] John J. Owen, A Commentary,Critical, Expository, and Practical, on the Gospel of John (New York, NY: Leavitt & Allen, 1860), v.
[3] Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from the English Standard Version (ESV).
[4] J. Carl Laney, John: MoodyGospel Commentary, ed. Paul Enns (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1992), 82.
[5] Laney, John: Moody GospelCommentary, 82.
[6] Robert N. Wilkin, “John,” in TheGrace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition, ed. Robert N.Wilkin (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2010), 186.
[7] Zane C. Hodges, Absolutely Free: A Biblical Reply to Lordship Salvation, 2nd ed. (Corinth, TX:Grace Evangelical Society, 2014), 33.
[8] Edwin A. Blum, “John,” in TheBible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament, ed. John F. Walvoord andRoy B. Zuck (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 1985), 314.
[9] Shawn Lazar, “Introduction: YouCan’t Lose What You Didn’t Earn,” in Once Saved Always Saved? A Free GraceDefense, ed. Shawn Lazar (Longview, TX: Free Grace International,2025), 13.
[10] Lazar, “Introduction: You Can’tLose What You Didn’t Earn,” in Once Saved Always Saved? 13.
[11] Laney, John: Moody GospelCommentary, 195.
[12] Harold W. Hoehner, “Ephesians,” inThe Bible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament, ed. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 1985), 624.
[13] John A. Whitmer, “Romans,” in TheBible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament, ed. John F. Walvoord andRoy B. Zuck (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 1985), 474-475.
[14] Lazar, “Introduction: You Can’tLose What You Didn’t Earn,” in Once Saved Always Saved? 13.
[15] Chuck Smith, Why Grace Changes Everything (Temecula, CA: TWFT, Inc., 2015), 183.
