Can a Christian experience God's love in such a way that they feel sure they are going to heaven? Receiving the Holy Spirit is Luke's preferred term for baptism in the Holy Spirit in Acts. This is mostly about us being assured that we are Christians by the love of God being poured out into our hearts. I realise it is a controversial subject, but I hope I have handled it in a balanced way.
The greatest goal of Paul’s life was a relationship with the resurrected Jesus. He considered everything else as worthless rubbish compared to this one thing. Paul claimed that knowing Jesus is the most critical thing, without which we will not be able to be changed by the power of Jesus’ resurrection.
In both instances, it appears that the pope and Andy Stanley, along with many other “progressive” faith leaders, are prioritizing our need to pastorally serve and witness over the need to remain faithful to Scripture.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount by David Martyn Lloyd-Jones is regarded as a spiritual classic on Jesus' remarkable kingdom charter in Matthew 5 - 7.