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10/13/04
"And I know that eternal life comes from what
the Father commands." John 12:50a (NIV).
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How do you know that you are going to heaven or not?
I recently heard about a pastor who, in his Sunday sermon, said something to the
effect, "Wouldn't it be nice if God would tell us exactly what we need to do to
make it to heaven? But He doesn't so we just have to do the best we can."
What an amazingly sad sentiment for a pastor to express! It isn’t accurate.
The Bible offers very clear insight, instruction, and guidance on what we have
to do to ensure our spiritual destiny. Early in the New Testament, Christ states
in Matthew 4:17, "Turn from sin and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is
near.” In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ provides more insight into what it
takes to get to heaven. But in the simplest sense, those who willfully turn away
from sin and actively turn to God are headed in a heavenly direction.
That most famous of verses, John 3:16 (17, 18a) is even more straightforward:
“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. For God did not send his
Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned...."
Paul declares in Romans 10:9-11 (NIV) "That if you confess with your mouth,
'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified,
and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says,
'Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.'"
These are only a few of the dozens of scripture verses to which we can turn to
be assured, without any doubt, that we are saved and on a heavenly trajectory.
Certainly, there may be some ambiguities about exactly how to live out the
Christian faith in our lifetimes, and even some disagreements on the finer
points. But overall, anyone who (1) sincerely confess Jesus to be Lord, (2)
acknowledges and turns away from their sin, (3) accepts Christ and His gift of
grace into their life, and (4) intentionally seeks to live a Holy Spirit
empowered life of purity and holiness in Christ, can rest assured that heaven is
in their future.
If you have any doubts, just start reading through the New Testament and you
will encounter passage after passage that will reassure your heart and your
soul.
Here are a few verses for you to look at now: Acts 3:19; Romans 3:21-26; 1 John
1:9; Hebrews 3:1.
-- Stephen R. Clark
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Stephen (Stephen@StephenRClark.com) resides in Fishers, Indiana and operates
FishersWorship.com and FishersFind.com. He is a professional writer and
communications consultant.
These weekly email devotionals
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