Ecclesiastes 8:6-7 — Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him. For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?

Yesterday I talked about assurance. Today I thought I’d talk about insurance.
The Christian can be assured of his place in eternity. Assurance is possible. Insurance — against damnation — is not.
Life insurance, home-owners insurance, automobile insurance, health insurance … It seems you can get insurance for (or against!) any life event, right up to death. After death, it’s another matter. There is nothing that can be done to avoid the consequences, for good or ill, of our decisions or actions.
The consequences of our life’s choices can be categorized — with no great theology — as “major” and “minor”. The major consequence is either salvation or damnation, and it depends solely on our attitude to God and His Son. Jesus offers to be our redeemer, but we must freely choose to accept the offer. There is no way other than that for us to make sure we don’t end up in hell. The second category of consequence — the minor consequence comes in terms of the rewards that might be stored up for us in heaven. Paul writes and touches on the idea:

According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. (1 Corinthians 3:10-13)

There was a time when people believed that they would have to serve penance in purgatory before proceeding to heaven — and that they could reduce their sentence by buying “indulgences”. This spurious notion was one of the underlying causes of the Protestant reformation. It’s not possible to insure against hell, and it’s not possible to ensure against the consequences of sin.
The whole notion of how we deal with sin and salvation depends on grace:

If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9)

Salvation is by grace alone.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Forgiveness is by grace alone.
There is no insurance — only assurance. Get yours today!