Salvation

Do you know 100% for sure that you will go to heaven when you die?

If you have some doubt that you will go to heaven when you die, would you not want to know for sure? How can you know for sure where your soul will go when you die? These are the most important questions that a person will ever answer in his lifetime. God is very clear in His Word that He wants every person to go to heaven regardless of country, lingual, religious, or familial differences. God gives us 5 sign posts that can lead us to an absolute knowledge of salvation.

1. Every man, woman, and child is a sinner.

   Romans 3:10 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:” Righteousness is not what we think is right to do but what God says is right to do. Nobody has ever lived up to God’s standard. In other words, nobody is perfect. Some people think they will be good enough to get to heaven. God says in Romans 3:12, “They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” The wrong that we do is called sin.

   Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” No matter how good any of us thinks we are, we have all sinned. Sin keeps us out of heaven. Even one sin will keep us from entering heaven. James 2:10 “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

2. Sin must be paid.

   Romans 6:23a “For the wages of sin is death…” Again, God says in Ezekiel 18:20a “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” James 1:15 “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” A wage is something earned. Just as our work earns us money, so our sin earns us death. Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Death is a separation. When we die physically, our souls and our spirits are separated from our bodies. Because our sin keeps us out of heaven, our souls and spirits will have to spend eternity separated from God in hell. This is the second death. Revelation 20:14-15 “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

   God does not want anyone to burn in the lake of fire for ever and ever. This is what He did:

3. Christ paid for our sin.

   Romans 5:6-8 “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

   Jesus shed his own blood on the cross to pay for our sins. Hebrews 9:11-12 & 22 “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

   He was buried and rose again on the third day to secure our salvation. Acts 5:30 “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.” Romans 4:25 “Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” I Corinthians 15:3-4 “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

   Not only did Christ pay our sin debt, but He also bought us a gift.

4. Salvation is a free gift.

   Romans 6:23b “…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Eternal life (home in heaven) is a gift. A gift is free. Romans 5:18 “Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” It cannot be earned, nor can it be purchased. Acts 8:20 “But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.” A gift can only be received. That is a choice every person needs to make for himself.

5. All who receive the gift will go to heaven.

   Eternal life is not a physical gift which means that we cannot touch it with our hands. God tells us how we take God’s gift.

   Romans 10:9-10 & 13 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The only way to receive God’s gift is to call on Jesus Christ, trusting Him alone for salvation.

   John 4:10 “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.”

   Years ago, I asked Jesus to save me from sin and hell. Below is a sample prayer asking for salvation. You can use this prayer or another one similar to it. This is not a magic prayer with magic words. You must trust Christ alone while you are praying; otherwise, it is just words that do nothing.

   “Dear Jesus,

   I know that I am a sinner. I know that my sin will send me to hell, but I do not want to go to hell. I believe that You died on the cross, were buried, and rose again to pay for my sins. I put all my trust in You alone. Please, take me to heaven when I die and give me the gift of eternal life. Thank you for saving me.”

   All who trust Christ are secure forever.

   John 1:12-13 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

   John 10:28-29 “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”

   I John 5:11-15 “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”