Heaven . . . You Can Know For Sure

You Can Know

There's no need to wonder if you will go to Heaven after death.

"These things have I written unto you . . . that ye may know that ye have eternal life . . . " 1 John 5:13

Can you say that you are 100 percent sure that you will go to Heaven when you die?

If not, you will find the following truths helpful in understanding this important subject.  These truths are taken from the Holy Bible.

We Have All Sinned

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23

The word sin means to miss the mark, or come short of perfection, by disobeying God.  The Bible reminds us that one time or another we have all disobeyed God.  

Sin Has a Penalty

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23

A wage is a payment.  The payment for your sin is death and separation from God in a place the Bible calls Hell.  

"And these shall go away into everlasting punishment:  but the righteous into life eternal." Matthew 25:46

Jesus Paid the Penalty

"But God commendeth (proved) His love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:8

God proved His love for you by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross and pay the penalty for your sin.  Jesus died in your place.  His death has provided the only way to Heaven.  

Believe on Jesus Today

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Romans 10:9

Believing on Jesus Christ as Saviour means to trust in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life (Heaven).  You must have faith that He died to pay the price for your sin, rose again three days later, and that He is the only way to Heaven.  You can express your belief on Jesus through prayer.

Pray Sincerely . . . 

"Dear Jesus, I know I am a sinner and that I deserve Hell.  I believe You died on the cross, paid the penalty for my sin, and rose from the dead three days later.  I am placing my faith in You alone to forgive my sin and save me.  Thank you for giving me eternal life.  In Jesus' name,   Amen."

It is Good to Know

The assurance that you have eternal life is based on God's unchanging Word.  

The Bible provides this assurance to those who believe on Him.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  John 3:16

God does not lie.  He has promised everlasting life to those who believe on Him as Saviour.

"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began."  Titus 1:2

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life:  and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."  John 3:36

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."  Romans 10:13

Not only does God provide the assurance of salvation (eternal life), but He also promises that He will never leave us.

Jesus Will Never Leave You

You can rest in the fact that Jesus Christ will never leave you.  

". . .  I will never leave thee nor forsake thee."  Hebrews 13:5

Once you have received Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you cannot lose eternal life.  It is forever settled and secure in the hand of God.

"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  My Father which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.  I and my Father are one."  John 10:28-30

-- Mark Manning

HOW CAN WE KNOW WE'LL GO TO HEAVEN?

A recent poll indicated that for every person who believes he or she is going to hell, there are 120 who believe they're going to heaven.

This optimism stands in stark contrast to Jesus Christ's words written in the Bible:  "Enter by the narrow gate.  For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Matthew 7:13-14).

The truth is that according to the Bible we don't automatically go to heaven.  In fact, hell -- not heaven -- is our default destination.  Unless our sin problem is solved once and for all, we can't enter heaven.  That's the bad news.

But once that's straight in our minds we're ready to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.  Jesus took upon Himself, on the cross, the hell we deserve so that we could experience for eternity the heaven we don't deserve!

THE ONLY TWO OPTIONS

There are two possible destinations when we die:  heaven or hell.  Can we really know in advance where we'll go?  John, one of the writers of the Bible, said this:  "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life"  (1 John 5:13).

We can know for sure that we'll go to heaven when we die.  Do you?

To sin means to fall short of God's holy standards.  Sin is what ended paradise in the garden of Eden.  And all of us, like Adam and Eve, are all sinners.  "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).  Sin separates us from a relationship with God (Isaiah 59:2)  and it deceives us and makes us think that wrong is right and right is wrong (Proverbs 14:12).  Sin has terrible consequences but God has provided a solution:  "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, loved us so much that He left the riches of heaven to become a man and deliver us from our sin.  "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).  He came to identify with us in our humanity and our weakness but He did so without being tainted by our sin, self-deception, and moral failings (Hebrews 4:15-16).  Jesus died on the cross as the only one worthy to pay the penalty for our sins demanded by the  Holiness of God: "For our sake He made Him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God" (II Corinthians 5:21).  But in victory over death, God raised Jesus from the grave, defeating the consequences of sin (I Corinthians 15:3-4, 54-57).

When Christ died on the cross for us, He said, "It is finished" (John 19:30).  In those times "It is finished" was commonly written across certificates of debt when they were canceled.  It meant "Paid in full."  Christ died so that the certificate of debt consisting of all our sins could once and for all be marked "Paid in full."

THE CRITICAL DECISION

Only when our sins are dealt with in Christ can we enter heaven.

We cannot pay our own way.  Jesus said, "No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).  "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).  Because of Jesus Christ's sacrificial death on the cross on our behalf, God freely offers us forgiveness.

To be forgiven we must recognize and repent of our sins.  Forgiveness is not automatic.  It's conditioned upon confession: "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).  Christ offers to everyone the gifts of forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life.  "Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price" (Revelation 22:17).

 There's no righteous deed we can do that will earn us a place in heaven (Titus 3:5).  We come to Christ empty-handed.  We can take no credit for salvation.  "For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).  This gift cannot be worked for, earned, or achieved.  It's dependent solely on Christ's generous sacrifice on our behalf.

Now is the time to make things right with God.  Confess your sinfulness and accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on your behalf.

You are made for a person and a place.  Jesus is the person and heaven is the place.  They are a package -- they come together.  You cannot get heaven without Jesus or Jesus without heaven.  "Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near" (Isaiah 55:6).  For all eternity you'll be glad you did.

If you understand what God has done to make forgiveness and eternal life possible for you, you may want to express it in words like these:  "Dear Lord, I confess that I do not measure up to Your perfect standard.  Thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins.  I now place my trust in Him as my Saviour.  Thank you for your forgiveness and the gift of eternal life."

--- Randy Alcorn