HOW CAN WE KNOW WE'LL GO TO HEAVEN? A recent poll indicated that
for every American 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 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 [God] made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no
sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2
Corinthians 5:21). But in victory over death, God raised Jesus from
the grave, defeating the consequences of sin (1 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 Savior. Thank
you for your forgiveness and the gift of eternal life."
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