Am I Going to Heaven?
This paper, “Am I Going To Heaven?”, is the most important paper you will ever read. It tells you what to do now about where you will spend your life in eternity after your mortal death here on earth. Read it now – and deliberately make the right decision now. Not tomorrow, now! This is not about religion. It’s about your eternal life’s destination decision.
Have you ever casually, or even seriously, wondered about that? Is there an answer to such a seemingly unanswerable question? You bet there is! Jesus Himself told us how to insure we join Him for eternity after our physical death. The following words written by the Holy Spirit through John and Luke carry Jesus’ own answer to that vitally important question for all of us.
“I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”1 Anyone who believes* in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.2 “For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes* in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save** the world through Him.3 So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’4 I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”5 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.**6 Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved**, along with everyone in your household.7
He was equally candid about our going to Hell if we reject His message of salvation. Right now might be a good time to pause and let you satisfy any lingering doubts you may have about there being a real Hell and a real choice. Read in the Bible what it says in Matthew 5:22, 29, 30, 10:28, 25:41, 46; Mark 9:43; Luke 16:24-31; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 2 Thessalonians 1:8, 9; 2 Peter 2:4; Revelation 20:11-15; 21:2-4, 8, 27; 22:11. So you see, there is a choice. Make sure you choose eternal life in Heaven rather than eternal death (separation from God) in Hell.
What Do I Do?
You must admit to God that you are a sinner, and all of us are, whether it’s pride, lies, adultery, covetousness, selfishness, self-indulgence (drunkenness, drugs, overeating, sex, gambling, profanity), self-righteousness, self-pity, idolatry (money, self, another person, things [your smartphone, for example]). (1 John 1:10)
You must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God – and that as a perfect man He took upon Himself all our sins (past, present & future) to die in crucified agony in our place – and that through His triumphant rising from that death to eternal life with God, the Father, He secured victory over Satan forever – for you, but only if you will believe it and act on it. (John 3:16,18) In a deliberate act of your will, you must surrender yourself to Jesus, the Christ. This act of yielding to God through Christ is done simply by praying to Jesus, saying that you know you are a sinner and asking Him to forgive you, and to come in to lead your life forever. (Romans 10:9-10)
Not incidentally, of all the founders of the various faiths and religions of this world, only Jesus claimed to be God, and only He rose from the dead, later seen by hundreds, as documented in the Bible and in other books of the time, to prove He was and is the only true God. As taught by Jesus in scripture, Christianity is not a religion; it is a personal relationship with God Himself in Christ Jesus. And do not be deceived by the doctrines and dogmas of the religions of this world (Colossians 2:8). If any tenet held by any religion cannot be supported by God’s Word (His Holy Bible), then it is false and will mislead you, no matter how “religious” it seems.
Footnotes (New Living Translation):
1John 3:3 2 John 3:36 3 John 3:16, 17 4 John 3:7 5 John 14:6 6 Acts 4:12 7 Acts 16:31
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance is source for these definitions:
* Believe (+): From Greek Pisteuo meaning to entrust, to commit (especially one’s spirit to Christ).
** Save (+): From Greek Sozo meaning to deliver, protect, preserve, make whole.
God’s Guarantee
If you have just prayed that prayer with heartfelt commitment, your spirit has been reborn and regenerated by the Holy Spirit who now lives in you. You are now saved from death (eternal separation from the God who made and loves you) and sealed by the Holy Spirit as one of God’s family. How do you know for sure? Because God does not lie. He said if you believe* in Jesus, you will have eternal life (1 John 4:15 and 5:11-13). You are now the true Christian son or daughter of God, the Father, that He longs for you to be. You are assured of joining Him in His heaven after your mortal death (John 11:25,26) and of enjoying here a growing personal friendship. Your praise and thanks for this true miracle go to God alone (Father, Son & Holy Spirit)!
One final thought to ponder…. God has provided only one way home – Jesus. Please don’t turn your back on the only way to Heaven. If you are thinking of putting off your personal acceptance of Christ Jesus as your Savior, please read 2 Corinthians 6:2; James 4:14. Accepting Christ as Savior is the only Total Surrender in which there is Total Victory! So pray now to receive Him as your Savior and Lord!
If you want to explore anything here more thoroughly, just talk with one of the Christians around you. We all want to help introduce you to Christ Jesus, your only way to Heaven.
From a Christ-following soldier & servant, in Christ’s Love and Service!
Original written Oct 79, renewed Dec 2000, condensed in 2019. Accurate use by others is joyfully granted.
Now, a special word to those who are church-goers
There are many good, church-going or bible-reading people who say, “Sure, I believe all of that, so I’m a Christian.” The truth is that they may be using the word “believe” as it’s defined in a dictionary, “to accept as true or real.” In James 2:19 it says even the devil and his demons believe in Christ and shudder. But as the footnote for believe* says, the writers of the New Testament, empowered by the Holy Spirit, meant much more than intellectual agreement for believe*. They meant “to entrust, to commit, to yield” to Jesus. Anything less does not meet God’s only condition for your entering His kingdom. “For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it” (Matthew 7:14).
So now it should be clear. You must understand with your mind and heart that we humans are utterly incapable of earning eternal life in heaven by doing or being good, such as going to church, giving to charity, tithing, singing in the choir, visiting the sick, etc (Titus 3:5-7). We simply have to “get it” that what God wants is our acceptance of His Love and Grace (means unmerited favor) by surrendering our lives to Him through His Son Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-10). Which isn’t asking much considering that He asked His Son Jesus to voluntarily shed His blood as full payment for the penalty for our sins. Surely gratitude alone for the price He paid should compel you to accept that magnificent, unconditional Love by yielding yourself to Him. You will then be assured of being His child and of entering His kingdom now and forever! Your eternal life and deepening personal relationship with Him starts here and now if you choose to make it so. No gift is yours until you accept it.
We hope all this has helped you see The Truth. We are not Human Beings on a Spiritual journey. We are Spiritual Beings on a Human journey. And Jesus wants to see us all safely back in Heaven with Him someday…
Why Be A Christian?
In a letter to believers in the early days of the church, Jesus’ brother, James, wrote, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder.”
A Christian is more than a person who believes in God. He is a person who trusts in Jesus Christ for all things including his own future life in heaven. To have life after death with God requires that we be holy and perfect because He is holy and perfect. And we can never do that on our own. We need God’s help.
The Bible teaches that as descendants of Adam, none of us is perfect. As imperfect people, we all sin … even Mother Teresa sinned. There is nothing we can do on our own that could save us from hell because no matter how much we improve, we can never be totally perfect. To live with God after we leave this world, we must be found perfect – that means without any sin, no matter how small, because God is holy and cannot live with any sin.
The “Good News” is that God no longer sees anyone’s sin after they accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Why? Because God sent His Son Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, to shed His blood to save us – a momentous event foreshadowed in Egypt when the Lord passed over each Israelite home that had the blood of an unblemished lamb on the doorway, saving their first-born from death. God the Father had Jesus Christ (God the Son), the perfect Lamb of God, crucified on a cross, one time, for all of our sins, past, present and future so that we may be saved from paying the penalty for any of our sins.
The penalty for unforgiven sin is eternity in hell, which is eternal separation from God. Frankly, eternity in heaven with God is the only rational choice, wouldn’t you say?
God’s plan for our salvation is found throughout the Bible in the Old Testament, by events like the Exodus, as well as in the New Testament, where it is explained in detail by Jesus, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul and others. Jesus said, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no man comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6).
God does not save me because I live a good life, or go to confession, or am baptized, or sing in the choir, or teach Sunday school. Instead I am saved by God’s grace through my faith. The Bible’s Book of Hebrews tells us that Abraham was saved only by faith and all who came after him were saved only by God’s grace through their faith. And we are saved by Grace through Faith in Jesus Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8,9), when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. For “without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 11:6). Check out Romans 10:9, 10 and John 3:36, as well. Read His Word; be blessed!
Are you saved? Ask Christ to become your Lord and Savior now – you’ll be glad you did – eternally!
