How do we know for sure…that we will go to heaven when we die?
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Answers to Bible Questions
Scriptures are from the KJB
(Q) HOW DO WE KNOW FOR SURE—-that we will go to heaven when we die?
(A) If God were to ask you, “why should I let you into my heaven”, what would you say?? If you are uncertain or hesitate for a moment to answer that question, then you need to read this article.
The few minutes it will take you to read this article may be the most important time you will ever spend.
Did you know that the Bible tells how you can know for sure that you have eternal life and will go to be with God in heaven forever?
I John 5:12-13: 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God (JESUS CHRIST OUR Saviour) that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God (JESUS CHRIST).
Heaven (Eternal Life) is a free gift, Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And because heaven is a gift like any other genuine gift—-it is not earned or deserved.
Therefore, no amount of personal effort, good works, or religious deeds can help earn a place in heaven for you.
Ephesians 2:8-9: 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Why is it that no one can earn his way to heaven? Because man has inherited a sin natured from Adam and Eve. We are born with this sin nature.
Romans 3:10-12: 10 As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one: 11There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Sin is transgressing God’s law and includes such things as lying, lusting, cheating, deceit, anger, evil thoughts, immoral behavior, and more. Because of this, man cannot save himself. If you wanted to save yourself by good deeds, do you know how good you would have to be? The Bible says you would have to be PERFECT AS GOD IS PERFECT.
Matthew 5:48 says: Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
With such high standards, no one can save himself, for God also says in James 2:10: For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
In spite of our sins however, God is merciful, and therefore doesn’t want to punish us, for God is a God of love as it says in I John 4:8: He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. II Peter 3:9: The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, (which means you are willing to change your mind and stop doing things that are wrong in God’s sight, and start doing what is pleasing to Him).
But the same Bible that tells us that God loves us, also tells us that God is just, and therefore He must punish sin. Exodus 34:7: Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.
Romans 3:19: Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Romans 3:20: 20Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
So, now we have a problem; we have all sinned and the penalty for sin is death. We need forgiveness so we can have a right relationship with God. God solved this problem for us in the person of JESUS CHRIST.
Who then is Jesus Christ? The Bible tells us clearly that He is the infinite GOD-MAN. John 1:1,14: In the beginning was the Word (JESUS) and the Word (JESUS) was God, and the Word (JESUS) became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus Christ came to the earth in the flesh and lived a sinless life, but while on the earth, what did He do? He died on the cross at Calvary to pay the penalty for OUR SINS and rose from the dead to purchase a place for us in heaven. Isaiah 53:6: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him (JESUS CHRIST) the iniquity of us all.
God hates our sins but because of His love for us, He has placed our sins on His Son. Jesus Christ bore our sins in His body on the cross.
Now Jesus Christ offers you eternal life (Heaven) as a free gift. This gift is received by SAVING FAITH. FAITH is the key that opens the door to heaven. FAITH, BELIEF, AND TRUST are similar words that mean the same thing in the Bible.
The Bible says the devil believes in God, so just believing in God does not save you. The devil knows that God exist, but he also hates God and want to destroy The Human Race. Why? Because man can be forgiven of their sins through the cross of Christ, but he cannot be forgiven, and does not have any desire to be forgiven. The devil made his free will choice to rebel against God, because he wanted to take God’s place. However, God was a lot more powerful than the devil realized and God cast him back down to the earth. Now, the devil knows his fate is to spend eternity in the lake of fire because of his rebellion and cannot ever be reconciled back to God.
Also, temporal faith, that is, trusting God for temporary crises such as financial, family, or physical needs are not saving faith.
WHAT THEN IS SAVING FAITH? Savings Faith is trusting in JESUS CHRIST ALONE FOR SALVATION WITH NO WORKS OR LAW KEEPIN. Romans 3: 21:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
Titus 3:5-7: 5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Romans 3:22-28: 22Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference 23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. 27Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. 28Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth ….”
Romans 5:8-9 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”
Ephesians 1:13-14 “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
Once we believe the gospel, we are sealed with God’s Holy Spirit. This is God’s deposit that guarantees he will redeem us, whom our Lord Jesus Christ “purchased with his own blood,” Acts 20:28.
I Corinthians 15:1-4: 1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
Ephesians 1:7: In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.
FORGIVENESS OF SINS
The word forgiveness literally means “to send off or away.”
In Scripture this means separating the sinner from his sins. God accomplishes
forgiveness by transferring our sins to Christ on the cross and judging it
there. When an individual believes in
Christ as his Lord and Saviour, he is forgiven by means of this transfer of his
sins to Christ. In other words, when
we believe, Christ takes our sins and imputes His righteousness back to us.
Once we believe and have Christ’s righteousness, we are eternally secure in
Christ, and will be with Him in heaven forever and ever.
Romans 5:17: For
if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive
abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in
life by one, Jesus Christ.)
Philippians 3:9: And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Galatians 2:16: Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Before closing, you need to know and understand that no one has ever been saved by their Church affiliation or denominational membership here on the earth. There is no scripture in the Bible that says you can be saved by being a member of any earthly church.
Each person is responsible for their own salvation. no matter what church you attend.
If you truly want to receive the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, then go to Him in prayer right now, and tell Him you know you are a sinner, and would end up in the lake of fire if you were to die in your sins. But, tell Him you truly believe that He (Christ) shed His Perfect Holy Blood for the remission of your sins at Calvary, and through His death, burial, and resurrection He paid the full penalty for all sin past, present, and future. If you do so, He will accept you into His eternal family called the Body of Christ, and you will be with Him in heaven forever when you die.
However, there is one thing that God cannot forgive, and that is unbelief; unbelief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Anyone who dies in unbelief will be under God’s wrath eternally in the place no one wants to talk about, the everlasting lake of fire as described in the book of Revelation.
Revelation 20:15: And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:10: And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Those who end up in the lake of fire will be in torment day and night for ever and ever. But why? Because, man cannot pay for his own sins, only Jesus Christ our Saviour could pay the penalty for our sins which He accomplished at Calvary two thousand ago by shedding His Holy blood for us. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin, Hebrews 9:22: And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Man cannot pay for his own sins, even though he will be in eternal torment in the lake of fire. It took the shed blood of Jesus Christ, God in the flesh who was sinless and had nothing to die for. But because of His eternal love for His created beings, He took our sins upon Himself, and paid the price for OUR SINS in His own body. All men have sinned, and the only being in the entire universe who qualified to pay for our sin was Christ, God in the flesh.
Dying in unbelief cannot ever be forgiven, not even for an eternity in the lake of fire, because it took the shedding of blood by our Holy righteous sinless God to pay for sin. If you die without believing this, it is not God’s fault that you will end up in eternal torment. God has made Salvation possible for every person who has ever lived. All we need to do is sincerely believe what Christ did for us at Calvary.
Acts 4:10-12: 10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Titus 2:11: For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Titus 2:13-14: 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
God has made it very simple, just put your complete Faith, Trust, and Belief in Jesus Christ, Saviour of the whole world who did 100% of the saving, and we do 100% of the believing.
If you have a love for God’s truth, and believe it, you can be sure, you will inherit Eternal Life in Heaven forever and ever.
Trust in Christ, and have a blessed day,
John