Salvation

How would you like to be positively sure that you are going to go to Heaven when you die? The Bible says that you can know for sure now. You don’t have to wait until after you die to find out the answer to that question.

The Lord wants everyone to go to Heaven, but not everyone will be there. Why? Because Heaven is a perfect place, but none of us are perfect, are we? No matter how good or bad we may be compared to others, the Lord tells us in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Even the very best works that we could ever attempt to do are just like “filthy rags” in His sight (Isaiah 64:6).

There is only one true God, and because of His holiness He cannot allow sin into Heaven (Revelation 21:27). Because we have all sinned, God says that we owe a penalty for that sin. How do we pay that penalty? Many think it is by trying to do more “good works” than “bad works” or by trying to live a good life, going to church, giving money, or trying to keep the Ten Commandments. However, good works cannot pay for our sins. God tells us in Romans 6:23 that the wages of sin is death: not only physical death, but eternal separation from God forever in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:14, 15).

The Lord doesn’t want any of us to go to Hell, and He has done something wonderful for us so that we can know for sure that we will go to Heaven when we die. God loves you so much (just the way you are) that He came to the earth as the Lord Jesus Christ. He lived a perfect, sinless life. When He died on the cross, He took all of your sins (past, present, and future) upon Himself, and paid the penalty that you owe in full so that you would not have to spend eternity in Hell. Three days later, He came back from the dead to prove that He is God, and to prove that He did make the complete payment for all your sins.

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world (that includes you) that He gave His only begotten Son (the Lord Jesus Christ), that whosoever (that means anyone, including you) believeth in(trusts or depends upon) Him should not perish (go to Hell), but have everlasting life” (in Heaven).

Remember: we cannot trust Christ plus our good works to get to Heaven. We must trust Christ alone. Since God gives us eternal life as a free gift, there is nothing you or I could ever do to earn it or deserve it. (After all, if we got what we deserved, we would all be in Hell.) Ephesians 2:8,9 makes this very clear: “For by grace (God’s mercy) are ye saved through faith (trusting and depending on Christ alone), and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” In these verses God tells us twice that we cannot work our way to Heaven, because it is not of works and not of ourselves. Instead, it is a free gift from God to us.

The most important decision you will ever make is this: Will I trust Christ (and Him alone) to take me to Heaven, or will I try to trust my good works or good intentions to take me to Heaven? Please do not turn down the gift of eternal life that He is offering you. He has done everything He possibly can to keep you out of Hell, but He will not force you against your will to trust Christ as your Saviour.

 

What should you do now?

You need to change your mind about how to go to Heaven by accepting the fact that you cannot pay for your sins and go to Heaven by what you do. You must agree with God that Christ is God in the flesh and that He has paid for all of your sins by dying on the cross and coming back from the dead. (The Bible term used to describe this change of mind is “repentance”.) You must trust one hundred per cent in Jesus Christ alone and zero per cent in your good works to get you to Heaven (that’s what it means to “believe in Him”).

Here are three questions we would like to ask you:

1. The best you know how, do you believe that when Christ died on the cross that He paid for ALL of your sins?
2. If He has paid for all of your sins (past, present, and future), how many would that leave for you to pay for?
3. What would you rather do: Would you rather trust Jesus Christ to take you to Heaven, or would you rather trust your good works to get you to Heaven?

Please trust Christ as your Saviour, and please do it NOW. Just take a moment where you are to tell Him this in prayer: “Lord, I believe that You are the only true God. I know that I am a sinner, and I deserve to go to Hell. I know that my good works cannot get me to Heaven. I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross, paid for all of my sins, and rose from the dead to prove it. I am now trusting completely in Christ alone instead of my good works to pay for my sins and take me to Heaven. Thank you for saving me, and giving me eternal life in Heaven as a free gift. Thank you for making me Your child. Thank you for your promise that you will never kick me out of Heaven. Help me now to live for you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

To go to Heaven, you must be as righteous (perfect) in God’s sight as He is. The moment you trust Christ as your Saviour, God puts His righteousness to your account, and gives you eternal life as a free gift.

God Himself guarantees that you will go to Heaven when you die. 1 John 5:13 says, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may KNOW (not hope, not guess, not wish, but KNOW, now and not later) that ye have eternal life.” Thanks to God’s promise in this verse, I am absolutely sure that I am going to Heaven when I die, and you can be sure of that, too.

The moment you trust Christ to take you to Heaven, you become a child of God (John 1:12). God wants to bless you, and give you the power and ability to serve Him, no matter what your past has been like (Ephesians 2:10).

Once we trust Christ, we are given a new nature when we are “born again”, but we still have our “old nature” as long as we are down here. When you do wrong, He will not “let you get away with it”. He is the perfect Father, and He will chasten (discipline) you like any wise father would, but He will never take eternal life away from you and send you to Hell (Hebrews 12:6).

I can tell you without any hesitation that the wisest and most important decision that I have ever made is to trust Jesus Christ as my Saviour and to serve Him and live to glorify Him.

If you want to have eternal life in Heaven, victory over strongholds in your life, comfort in sadness, encouragement in hard times, unconditional love, and a friend who will never forsake you, there is no substitute for Him!

Why should you make the decision to trust Christ as your Saviour immediately?

First, you don’t know when you are going to die, do you? You might die before this day is over. That’s why the Bible says “NOW is the time, TODAY is the day of salvation” (II Corinthians 6:2).

Another reason that you need to trust Christ as your Saviour NOW is because if you reject Him today it will be easier for you to reject Him in the future. You have an enemy named Satan who wants you to go to Hell. He will be glad to help you come up with excuses for rejecting the gospel. Please don’t make the mistake of rejecting Christ today. Don’t hesitate or procrastinate. Accept His free gift of eternal life in Heaven NOW. You’ll be glad you did! (Hell is full of foolish people who were tricked by Satan into deciding “I know I need to trust Christ, but I won’t do it now. I’ll just wait until later. . .” Don’t be one of them!)

What should you do after you have trusted Christ as your Saviour? Your good works will not pay your way to Heaven, but you will want be obedient to the Lord out of love and thanksgiving for what He has done to get you to Heaven. Keep in mind that the Lord wants to work in your life to make you be a happy and obedient child. When you obey Him He will bless you; when you disobey Him He will discipline you for your own benefit, just as any good father would.

What are some things you can do beginning today to become a growing believer?

First, pray a prayer of thanksgiving, and ask for His guidance in your new life.

Next, find a Christian church in your area and tell them what you’ve done today. The Lord commands us to fellowship with other Christians (Hebrews 10:25), and He also commands us to be baptized (Matthew 28:19).

Show this to your family and friends and urge them to trust Christ as their Saviour today. When you know for sure that you are going to Heaven, you have the privilege of telling others how they can know for sure that they are going to Heaven.

Get into the habit of taking time every day to read the Bible and to talk to the Lord in prayer. I suggest you begin by reading the books of John and Romans in the Bible at least five times.

Above all, ask the Lord to work in your life to give you the desire and power to honor and obey Him. Yes, there will be many times when you will fail Him, but He will always be there to pick you up when you fall. No matter what your past has been like, the Lord has the power to transform your life if you will allow Him to do it.

Please feel free to contact us. We’ll be glad to answer your questions and help you in any way that we can.