It is not a sense of entitlement that I “deserve” eternal life, but rather faith that what God said is true. Our faith in Christ is not that He exists, or that He is God’s Son, but that He fulfilled God’s unbreakable Law. It is impossible to understand the New Testament without understanding the Old. God said EVERYONE must fulfill the Law; EVERYONE must continually be covered by a blood sacrifice after repentance in atonement for the forgiveness of sin, in order to receive eternal life, if they have ever been made aware of God’s demand that we be holy.
This means was made available to every person through Jesus’ blood (the atonement at Calvary) for those who remain in repentance for sin, and strive for obedience to Him. It is not our goodness that gives us eternal life, but our faith in Jesus, who made the act of atonement for us. For those who understand sin and righteousness, but do NOT accept Jesus’ blood atonement, the only other means possible is keeping the Torah Law of Yom Kippur, the once a year Day of Atonement blood sacrifice.
If I am going to Believe in God at all, I have to believe what he says about himself, and what he promises to those who obey him. God has left very clear instructions so every person can do as Paul said, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith.” — II Corinthians 13:5 because we need to know - now, whether we are in a right relationship with Jesus. If we have gone off course; are ignoring His voice when He speaks to us and are actually living exactly the opposite of how He is trying to direct us; we need to know it immediately to correct the error. It will be too late after we die.
“To those who receive Him, he gave the power to become the children of God” John 1: 12 This “power” is the Holy Spirit, but even though He is available to every person who chooses Jesus, most never actively seek to make Him part of their lives; to look for His guidance or empowerment to serve God spiritually. If we are in a right, active, personal relationship with Jesus, we will also be in a discerning relationship with the Holy Spirit. He will be communicating with us continually so that we know where we should be, what spiritual issues in our lives God is dealing with, and what he wants us to be doing in his kingdom. Most people don’t recognize the Holy Spirit’s nudges and ignore them. Pastors don’t teach about Him. We are all meant to have absolute assurance of achieving our eternal goal, as the Apostle John had. Based upon God’s promise, we have the hope or prospect of eternal life in heaven with God if we continue to live by faith (1 John 2:24;25) The key as to receiving anything from God, is not hope, but faith. Faith is believing, and acting on God’s Word, knowing it is true. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11: 1) The thing about Faith is that it is absolute assurance; it is way beyond hoping God will give us what we want. It is certain knowledge that he will give us what he said he will give us. I know for certain I will have eternal life not by presumption, but by faith, because he said in His Word, if I continually look to Jesus as the leader/manager of my life; seek, hear and follow His directions and corrections; then, if I am obedient (and He will confirm this along the way, also correct us when we take a wrong turn if we listen), THEN , fulfilling my part, He will fulfill His part. God cannot fail. God promised eternal life through the atonement in Jesus’ blood, that substituted for the blood of goats and bulls in the O.T., for those who sincerely repent of sin, and sincerely seek to follow Jesus. God cannot lie. My entitlement to eternal life is only because of his unbreakable promise: if I keep my part of the contract (sincerely repent of sin, and sincerely seek to follow Jesus) He MUST keep his part and grant me eternal life.
The truth of the Words of Christ and His apostles when in a universal context, are the surest foundation on which anyone, in faith, can ever depend. After 50 years of dedicated Bible scholarship, I have learned to say, like David did, “Oh how I love thy Law (Word)” “I meditate in your Word day and night” “Your Word is the delight of my heart” . It is a strong tower and place of refuge. It is a mystery of spiritual strength, that the Word made flesh, Jesus, is the Word, Truths of God, made alive in us. Blessings in Him.