How Can I Be Sure I Will Go to Heaven?

          Most people in the Western world believe in heaven. But almost none of them are sure they will go there when they die. This is true of people in other cultures. They believe in an afterlife but are unsure of their status in it. I had a Muslim student that I got to know very well. He was a deep believer in the teachings of his religion but he had no certainty at all about what would happen to him when he died. He said it was up to Allah and he had no idea what Allah would decide. When you read the New Testament you realize that Jesus’ own followers were uncertain about their relationship with Him. In John 13:25, after Jesus has announced that He would be betrayed, that sat around wondering who it was. They said, “Maybe it’s me.”

I think the Bible gives clear teaching on this and I want us to consider it. Ask yourself these three questions:

First, what does the Bible say? One time I was sitting in a seminary class and we had invited a Jehovah’s Witness in to tell us about his religious views. He talked about all the different things one would have to do to get into heaven and so I asked him, “Do you think you will get in?” he said he wasn’t sure. So I asked him, how good do you have to be to get in? here in our school passing is 70%. If you get a 70% in your religion do you get in, albeit barely? I’ll never forget what he said. “I don’t know if I will get in or not. But after all, no one can know.” But that’s not what the Bible teaches.

Take your Bible and read 1 John 5:11-13. John starts out by saying, this is our declaration: God has given us eternal life and that life is in His Son. He who has the Son has that life, he who does not have the Son does not have that life. It’s as simple as that. But then John says one more thing. He says he has written these things so you may know you have eternal life. So that you may know.

God wants you to know; to have assurance. He wants you to have that deep down certainty that you are His child and you will live forever with Him.

So you first ask yourself, What does the Bible say? A second question comes from Martin Lloyd-Jones. Do you love being with the people of God? If you are truly a Christian you want to fellowship with other Christians. The great old southern preacher, Vance Havner, once said: If you see a creature that looks like a duck, has feathers like a duck, and enjoys the company of other ducks, you figure it’s a duck. Christians love the company of other Christians. Do you love being around the people of God? It’s quite likely it’s because you are one of them.

Ask yourself a third question: What or who are you trusting for your salvation? Are you trusting Christ or yourself? If you are depending on yourself to any degree to get into heaven you are in a real fix. The Scripture says over and over again that it is God who does the saving. It is God who delivers you safely into His Kingdom. Nothing or no one else.

When I was a freshman in college I remember telling some of my fellow students that I knew I was going to heaven. I was certain. They got upset with me and even angry. They asked me, “Mitchell how can you be so arrogant?” it took me a while to figure it out but they were mad because they misunderstood what I was saying. In their view, you got to heaven by being a good person. Frankly, better than other people. So they thought I was bragging about being better than them. But that’s not at all what I was saying. In my view, you do nothing to get yourself into heaven. As it says in Ephesians 2:9 it is a free gift of God. They thought I was bragging about how good I was. But I wasn’t. I was bragging about how gracious and good God is.

So the Bible says God wants you to know you are going to heaven. He wants you to have assurance of your salvation. And if you have Christ, you have it.

Praise God for His word. May the God who guarantees our salvation bless you this day in a mighty way.

More Resources: See my video, “Secure in God’s Hands Forever” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuAl8HVIbNg

What happens when I die? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eWIAsHXQbI