The handwriting is shaky from age but the fear is real. A man named Bob writes, “I wish I could have a rock-hard, undoubting faith. I wish I knew I was saved. But I have doubts and I am a big sinner.”

Bob’s dilemma (shared by many millions of people) is that in spite of knowing about Jesus, he can’t quite shake the idea that his eternal salvation depends, at least in part, on his own life performance. Our good works are indeed important, but only as our gifts of gratitude to God for his forgiving love for us. They are not the cause of our salvation! “It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy” (Romans 9:16). Salvation is God’s gift, not our wages.

Our lives of service and obedience to God will always be flawed; we are works in progress, and we sin every day in some way, either by what we do or fail to do. Don’t somewhat believe in Jesus. Don’t sorta believe in Jesus. Listen to the Bible’s message and believe it all: Jesus Christ is 100 percent human (without the sin), and so he qualifies as a substitute for you in God’s court. Jesus Christ is 100 percent God, so the blood he shed is far bigger than your pile of sins.

How can Bob be sure that he is saved? He can stop looking at himself for reasons for hope and simply lift up his eyes to the One who loved him enough to go to the cross for him.