“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” -Romans 5:10
Some people are worriers. Some people are not. Some people worry about every little thing. Some people don’t even worry about those things one bit. Some people worry about danger, worry about mistakes, worry about missteps, worry about problems, worry about what other people are doing/thinking/feeling. And some people don’t.
I am a worrier. I worry about things. You will often see me tap my front left and right pockets to make sure I haven’t lost important personal items (cell phone and wallet respectively). I worry, especially big things. As I near graduation, I want to make sure and double sure and triple sure that I have every last paper filled out and every form signed. I don’t want one incomplete piece of paperwork to keep me from finishing. As I neared the wedding, I wanted to make sure that marriage license was filled out properly. I checked and re-checked every box, every ink color, and every word of small print to make sure that I would be legally married. When it comes to big things, we want to be sure. Absolutely 100% sure.
When it comes to salvation, God wants us to be sure. He wants us to know that He is reliable, that He won’t fail, that there is no way that salvation won’t work. In the first half of Romans 5, God shows us (and re-shows us) that He can be trusted. God wants us to be confident in our salvation and unafraid of hell. He reminds of us that if we have a relationship with God, we will be saved from the flames of hell. How can we be sure? He says, look, if God came up with this great plan of salvation and sent His only Son to die for us, we’re not going to do anything along the way to halt that plan. God’s eternal plan of salvation through Christ won’t be stopped because you trip up along the way–you will be saved. Don’t worry, don’t pray the sinner’s prayer for the 65,788 time, and definitely don’t start trusting in your works, trust God. He is reliable. He is sure. And with Him, there is no need to worry.