You can KNOW for sure.
DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU WILL GO WHEN YOU DIE?
Some people are not sure where they are going when they die. There are a few reasons for that. The worst case scenario, is that the person has never believed the simple uncorrupted gospel of Jesus Christ. The second probability is that they have lost their confidence and become bewitched by those who teach them to finish in the flesh. Their confidence is placed in themselves, and they are double-minded and unstable in all their ways. In addition, their gospel is accursed if they are teaching others the same. The Word of God, which is truth, assures us we can know.
Please, if you do not know for sure where you would go if you died today, consider reading this. In Christ’s love, Holly
YOU CAN KNOW FOR SURE
By Pastor Dan Lash – Weston Street Bible church
You can be sure.
Greetings friend.
If you have come to this website (see here), it is because you are at least curious concerning the idea that you can KNOW FOR SURE that you have an eternal home in heaven. Quite frankly, God wants you to know for sure! 10,000 years from now, YOU will be someplace, conscience of your surroundings. Moreover the Bible speaks of only two places where that might be. I don’t know about you, but nothing less than a 100% certainty concerning where you will spend eternity are acceptable odds!
Not only does God want you to know for sure where you are going to spend eternity, quite frankly, such a certainly is fundamental to Christian growth. God is not glorified by coerced obedience. God wants our service to Him to be out of a heart of gratitude and communion, not out of a heart of fear and an attitude of servitude. Like the Lord Jesus stated in John 15:15, he would rather you be His friend than His servant.
If you have come to this website to see evidence that you can know for sure that Heaven will be your home, consider the following verse:
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” John 5:24 NKJ
Follow very carefully the tenses of the verbs in the above verse.
►He who hears….present tense
►And believes …present tense
►Has everlasting life… Perfect tense, that is, action which begins now and continues into the future
►And shall not come into judgment… future tense
►But has passed from death into life… perfect tense, that is, action which is everlasting in its endurance.
So what we can see from the above verse is he who hears the word of God’s grace (the gospel of grace) and believes that message for himself, at that moment of believing has as an everlasting possession everlasting life, such that in the future he will not come into judgment because at the time of that person initial believing that person passed out of death into life.
In other words, it is a one-time act of hearing (understanding the gospel) and believing it, which causes an irreversible change in a person final destiny. An irreversible change of one’s eternal destiny is the result of a one-time act of faith which embraces Jesus and His finished work as one’s salvation.
The reason most people are not certain that they will go to Heaven when they die is because they are not sure that they have done or are doing their part to secure for themselves a home in heaven. In short they are relying on their own personal performance to be eternally commended to God. The problem with our own performance as being that which can eternally commend us to God, is none of our personal performance is ever good enough. As the Prophet Isaiah said concerning our personal performance;
But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6
It is not our personal performance which commends us to God but rather the perfect performance of the Christ, on the cross, when he offered Himself to the Father as a once and for all payment for our sins. He has made our peace with God. People who are relying on their own personal performance to be eternally commended to God are not believing in the once and for all sacrifice of Christ as that which satisfies God the father about a home in heaven. Rather, they are believing in what they are going to do, for the remainder of their life, as that which will ultimately make their peace with God.
Reliance upon one’s personal performance as that which will ultimately commend you to God is believing in your own righteousness as that will ultimately save you. My friend to believe in your own good works as that which will secure your eternal well-being is to reject the perfect work of the Lord Jesus Christ as God’s once and for all solution for your sin. Listen to what the Apostle Paul says about personal righteousness as that which commends us to God:
Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. Romans 10:1-3
According to the above context, to try to gain an eternal home in heaven by your own religious devotion and zeal, is a failure to embrace God’s provision for your righteousness: The person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Moreover, it was this refusal of the Israelites to embrace Christ sufferings as the only basis of their relationship with God, which was prohibiting them from being saved.
Did you hear that! It is a refusal to allow the cross work of Christ to serve as a person’s righteousness before God which is the reason for a person’s condemnation! In other words, Not only are we not saved by our good works, we are condemned if we think we are!
The Free Gift
God’s invitation to you to believe on Jesus as your sin bearing substitute is not an
invitation to do the best you can and hope for the best, it is rather an invitation to give up on personal righteousness, and receive as a free gift the righteousness that Christ died to provide you. You are not asked to attempt to make peace your peace with God, rather you are invited to believe that Jesus has already made your peace with God, through the offering of Himself in your behalf. By believing on Jesus, you are not promises God you are going to do the best you can, rather you are admitting to God that you continually fall far short of His righteousness, and receiving as free gift the offering of Christ, in which Christ, in your behalf, has already settled your sin debt, to the Father’s complete, total and final satisfaction. It is this satisfactory payment that Christ has already made in your behalf, which now is that which eternally commends you to God.
Because the Work of Christ on the cross is God’s once and for all solution for our sin, the salvation which it procures for those who believe is a once and for all salvation. As we read in Hebrews 10:10-14;
By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
When we believe on Jesus as our Savior, we have a once and for all salvation because the work of Christ is a once and for all payment made in our behalf. In fact the invitation of God to believe on Jesus as your Savior is an invitation to believe in a once and for all salvation. As we read in Hebrews 9:15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. The only salvation that God offers you is an eternal inheritance. A person who has never believed on Jesus as God’s once and for all solution for his sin, has, quite frankly, never understood God’s invitation to believe. God does not ask you to believe and then promise to save you if you do the best you can. Because of the fact that we continually sin, such an invitation would be no salvation at all! God’s offer you the promise of an eternal inheritance which is yours simply for believing in the all sufficient provision of God’s divinely appointed substitute for you, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is my prayer that you do not rest, unto you have rested your eternal destiny in sufficiency of His work for you.
More by Pastor Dan Lash of Weston Street Bible Church:
Some free download books linked below by Pastor Lash:
Tiptoeing Through the Tulip: A Biblical Perspective on Election
Perspective on the King James Only Movement
The Plan of Salvation Through the Ages
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What would you do if you had always struggled to believe that you were saved?
Dear Anonymouse. I first started a reply and then of course after I got most of it done, it vanished. So I will start again because it’s a very good question.
Firstly, I would be sure the gospel I knew is the true gospel and that I had not added any condition to it such as ‘repenting from sin’ or ‘committing my life’ or ‘making Him Lord of my life’ or ‘praying and asking Jesus to come into my heart’ etc. That includes not adding water baptism or any other works to become saved or stay saved.
The gospel is believing upon Jesus Christ and Him crucified for our sins. He alone has done the work, all of it. We are asked to believe this truth. Our friends at expreacherman have a link you can see here regarding a Believer’s justification.
I go over this, because you should also, to be sure you didn’t believe on some other gospel. If you know this is what you have believed, then secondly you need to use Scripture to answer your doubts. The accuser of the brethren is always seeking who he can devour. We need to submit to God by trusting His Word and resisting the enemy. The Word is our Sword. But so is shodding our feet daily with the gospel part of putting on our armor. Ask yourself (don’t need to answer me), are you doing this? If not, please do.
Who is Jesus? Be sure you have believed on the right Jesus not another.
The Bible tells us He is E(I)mmanuel, God among us (Is 7:14; Matt 1:22-23). Only God is Savior, Jesus is God (Is 45:21: Lk 1:46-47). He was there from the beginning (John 1), and Creator of all things (Col 1:16).
He is the Lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice, the only acceptable sacrifice for sin eternally (John 1:29,35). He took away the sins of the world at the cross. All who believe will be saved by His death and resurrection. He proved He was God by taking His life back up again, only God has that power. He had the victory over sin and death for us (pay special attention to 1 Cor 15:57 below)!
17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. John 10:17-18
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Cor 15:50-58
The Word tells us we can know because the good news is God’s testimony of His Son (1 John 5:9-13), it is not what we say or feel or think, but what He says. He is not a man that He should lie (Num 23:19; 1 Sam 15:29), we can believe Him. Only you know if you ever believed the gospel.
Being assured or having confidence comes with His Word, following the truth. Otherwise we can be deceived (2 Cor 11:3-4) so thirdly, I would investigate who you are taking teaching from, who you are listening to. Social media is a plethora of winds of doctrines that people are tossed about by, arguments that subvert the hearers. Be very wary. Ask Christian friends you trust to vet your teachers/authors/pastors. The first thing we should do is check their gospel and if it is not clear, or you cannot easily find it, I’d flee. In the multitude of counselors there is safety. Feel free to ask here. Above all, prove all things (1 Thess 5:21), search the Scriptures (Acts 17:11).
Fourthly, are you putting on your armor? One part is again, preparing with the gospel daily. But there are other things that are nice to go over in your armor.
Fifth, confess these things to Him 1 John 1:9. Your fears and doubts are not from Him (2 Tim 1:7). He gives us a spirit of power, and of love and of a sound mind, not fear. Confess them to others you trust to be sound in His Word and ask them to pray for you (James 5:16). Don’t dwell on your feelings, instead dwell on His Word — remember, His Word is truth, not your feelings. The Galatians were brought back under bondage by trying to finish in the flesh what began in the Spirit. The Hebrews were beginning to cast away their confidence by putting it somewhere else. Don’t do that. Keep your eyes on Jesus, keep your mind stayed on Him (Is 26:3). Don’t allow those thoughts to reign, take them captive and bring them into obedience of Christ (2 Cor 10:5).
Sixth – remind yourself what the free gift is. It is ETERNAL LIFE through Jesus Christ our Lord. Everlasting! It is based on HIS PROMISE, an unconditional contract. God swore by Himself, and there is no greater. That promise will not be broken, it is sure, and guaranteed. Please read this if you have any doubts about the FREE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE.
Lastly, pray always, in everything give thanks (I need post it notes for that 🙂 ). Basically, just be a disciple with His help. That’s what we need to do to grow in the truth and then the truth will set us (believers) free (John 8:31-32). Abide in the Vine, continue in His Word. Luke 10:38-42 gives us some simple insight. Spend time with Jesus hearing His Word, it will never be taken from you. Choose the right people to fellowship with, pray and ask the Lord for that. Grow up into the head which is Christ by hearing the Word, your faith will be built.
Hope this may help. In Jesus Christ, Holly (by the way, I have prayed for you, stay with us!)
https://redeemingmoments.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/ps-119-63.jpg
Anonymouse, see booklet linked below – particularly pages 24 and 25.
http://www.cleargospel.org/wp-content/uploads/English-Display-Pkg-2014.pdf
I was having doubts in my salvation by this evil ‘works based’ system lately. The Lord must’ve had you send me a request to follow you. I’ve been away from you all far too long. God is good and faithful always, hearing our cries for help and merciful in answering our pleading.
You are being used by our Savior for great things, Holly.
Beautifully written. As always.
Your sister in Christ,
Bobbie Jo
Bobbie Jo, you have been on my mind and heart lately and I have prayed for you. So glad you got in touch. Praying for peace and comfort in your walk. Love in Christ, Holly
Thank you. I believe it with all my (rotten) heart. When I first believed I was walking on air for about a week. I felt saved. Then doubts, voices crept in, and I have struggled ever since and never felt saved.
Praying for you Anonymouse and I agree with John, look up that book at clear gospel.
Remind yourself of the words – but these are written, that you might believe… these things are written that you may know you have eternal life.
The key being the written Word. His Word is truth. Keep your armor on, stay in His Word.
Thank you for caring.
Because He first loved us. We wouldn’t even understand love except for His great love that He loved us with. Love in Christ, try to find rest in His Words which are truth. Answer the enemy with them, ‘it is written’…
Hello.
Would it be possible to ask questions regarding Christianity and Salvation via email?
Thank you for your time.
Hi John, yes, we will email you shortly. Thanks for visiting.