How
to Be Sure You Are Going to Heaven
Do you
want your loved ones to feel confident that you are in heaven when you
die? And even more importantly, do you want to be confident that
you are going there, too? How can you be certain? Here is how the Bible
says that you can know. Just honestly ask yourself the following
questions:
Have I truly
"believed in" Jesus?
"Believing in"
someone is more than just believing that He exists. It is trusting that
person. Relying on Him.
For God so loved
the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in
him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
Why is
that so important? Because Jesus is the only means given by God, through
which men may be saved:
Salvation is
found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to
mankind by which we must be saved." -Acts 4:12
Jesus answered,
"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me. -John 14:6
Have I
trusted only in Jesus and His sacrifice for me on the cross to save me
from my sins, and not in how "good a person" I am?
Trusting in
my own goodness to make me acceptable before God is "self
righteousness." Am I guilty of
that?
For it is by
grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can
boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
To some who were
confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else,
Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray,
one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by
himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers,
evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a
week and give a tenth of all I get.’
"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look
up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a
sinner.’
"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home
justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be
humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." -Luke
18:9-14
All of us have
become like one who is unclean; and all our righteous acts are like
filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins
sweep us away. -Isaiah 64:6
Do I know Jesus?
In other words, am I friends with
Him, walking with Him and talking with Him?
Many will say to
Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in
Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'
"And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM
ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' – Matthew 7:23"
Have I turned from
practicing sin to Jesus (repented)?
Notice in the verse above, that
not knowing Jesus is equated with practicing lawlessness (living in
sin). This is because Jesus is sinless and pure. You cannot come to
Jesus and walk with Him, without turning from a sinful way of life.
These are diametrically opposed to each other. You cannot have them
both. You must choose one or the other.
Do not think that you must overcome sin on your own before you turn to
Jesus. That is impossible to do on your own. Instead, simply turn to
Jesus for help, and as you do this, He will enable you to live in His
righteousness.
Everyone who
makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is
lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and
in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no
one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little
children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is
righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of
the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason
the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No
one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in
him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By
this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children
of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor
is the one who does not love his brother. -1 John 3:5-10
Unless you repent
you will all likewise perish. -Luke 13:3
If we say that we
have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not
practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the
Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His
Son cleanses us from all sin.
Is there anything in my life that is
more important to me than God? If
anything is more important to you than God, that is idolatry. We cannot
love pleasure, money, sex, power, popularity, or anything else, more
than God. Idolaters will not go to heaven:
For of this you
can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a person is an
idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. – Ephesians
5:5
Do I love Him enough that I obey His
commandments?
Doing good works is
not what saves you. We are saved by faith in Jesus, not by works. But
how you live your life is the most important sign that you have truly
been saved, and that you truly know Jesus:
Everyone who
believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves
the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the
children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact,
this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not
burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the
victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that
overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of
God. -1 John 5:1-5
"No good
tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is
recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes,
or grapes from briers. A good man brings good things out of the good
stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the
evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full
of. "Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I
say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them
into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man
building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock.
When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it,
because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not
put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground
without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it
collapsed and its destruction was complete." - Luke 6:43-49
Have I been born again?
Being born again is when God
changes you inside. It is being made new spiritually, and having your
mind purified and renewed, too. It is not something you can do to
yourself. It is a work of the Holy Spirit. When you become born again,
you become one of God’s children.
Jesus
replied, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom
of God unless they are born again. –John3:3
Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has
gone, the new is here! – 2 Corinthians 5:17
If your answer to
these questions is yes, then let me encourage you to do one more
extremely important thing. Love! Love God with all of your heart,
mind, soul and strength! Love your brothers and sisters in Christ as
Jesus has loved you. And love your neighbor as yourself, by doing unto
others as you would have them do unto you. If you love, then when you
die, your life will have been a success. Even if you were not rich,
powerful, or famous. Even if you were dirt poor. Even if you had a low
social position or job. In fact, rich, powerful and famous people will
still be a complete, utter failure if they have not loved others!
If you live a
life full of love, then there won’t be just a few family members and
friends to greet you on the other side of the pearly gates. There will
be a lot of people who have been touched by your love for God and
others, waiting to welcome you. Perhaps, if you have really done
a great job of touching many lives with the love of Christ, there will
even be parade for you down the streets of gold!
- Rusty Entrekin
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