Can you be certain you will go to Heaven?
The answer is a resounding “YES!” Yes, you can be 100% certain you will go to Heaven when you die. Many people doubt their salvation because they are looking for assurance in the wrong place- in themselves! Assurance of salvation comes from knowing the truth. It is why the Apostle John wrote, “These things I write that you MAY KNOW you have eternal life” (I John 5:13). How can you know?
Consider Jesus’ promises-
“as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” John 3:16
“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
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live [forever is implied].” John 11:25
People lack assurance because, rather than trusting Jesus’ word, they look to themselves and their ability or lack thereof to live right. But Jesus didn’t say, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever behaves well enough should not perish but have everlasting life.” Jesus said whoever simply believes in Him has eternal life. For the record, there is not some mysterious, secret meaning to “believe.” It means what you think it means, it means to be convinced something is true. To believe in Jesus is to be convinced that He guarantees everlasting life to all who simply trust Him for it (John 4:14; 5:24; 6:47; 11:26; 1 Tim 1:16).
Assurance comes from knowing Jesus can save us and promises to if we simply believe that He has saved us by dying for our sins and giving us the FREE GIFT of eternal life. If you look at your behavior, if you have a bad day, you will surely doubt your salvation. Get your assurance from Jesus’ promises.
Do you tell the truth when you declared you believed in Him? If you answer yes, you have eternal life, have passed from death to life and shall not come into judgment! It’s really that simple. The only thing Jesus EVER tells anyone to do for eternal life in John’s gospel, is to believe in Him.
Maybe you have never made that decision to believe His word. Jesus promises that if you simply believe that He can and will save you forever, which He did making the sin payment for you on the cross and rising from the grave (I Corinthians 15:3) then you are born again (John 3:3, 16) and have eternal life. We can know for sure because we have Christ’s promise.
So, as the title of this essay asks, are you sure? If not, get sure. I recommend praying something like this-
Lord Jesus, I believe you are who you said you are. I believe you are the only begotton son of God, that you can and will save me if I simply trust you to do so. I let go of all trust in any power of my own to get to heaven, I know it is by simple faith in you that I will have eternal life. I’m sorry for my sins Lord, I trust you to save me, now and for always. Amen.