Knowing Jesus

God's Truly Simple Plan of Salvation

Can someone be 100% sure to go to Heaven?

1 John 5:13 - "These things I have written to you who
believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you
may know that you have eternal life."

If you believe there is a God, then you probably have a desire to go to Heaven when you die.  But can you know for sure?  Yes, you absolutely can.  Just as we want our own children to be 100% sure of our love and care, God too wants you to have the same confidence and assurance.  This simple explanation will be logical and straight forward.  If nothing else, you'll see the love of God manifested for you, and how amazing that love is.

BAD NEWS:  We've All Sinned

Romans 3:23 - "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

If you and I die, it does no good to say, "Hey, I got closer to Heaven than you did!"  Short doesn't make it.  Sin is what makes us fall short of Heaven.  Sin on your record means you're short.  Doing good is wonderful, but it never erases a sin.  You can't take a life, then save someone else's life and expect the police just to walk away.  It doesn't work that way.

And it's not an issue of who is better than someone else.  If you attempted to jump over a 20 foot ravine and succeeded in jumping 15 feet, you wouldn't brag about how much better off you are than the guy who only jumped 10 feet.  You are both at the bottom of the ravine.  In this case, it's not an issue of who is better or who gets closer.  If you don't get all the way across, you didn't make it.  Unfortunately, sin makes us short of Heaven.  We can't get there on our own.

BAD NEWS:  There Is A Price On Sin

Romans 6:23a - "For the wages of sin is death ..."

This death is Hell.  No one made you sin except you.  So if anyone is sending you to Hell, it's you, not God.  Hell was not created for us.  Initially, God created Hell for Satan.  However, it is the only place that exists that can punish sin.  That's the price on sin.  Knowing this, God sent Jesus to die on a cross, to pay for our sins.  But this teaches us something important: if you don't think that you're in need of saving, you won't seek to be saved.

If a drowning man doesn't believe he's drowning, he'll still drown.  He's got to believe he's drowning before he'll start shouting for help.  Until you believe you're on your way to Hell, you won't do the one thing necessary to be saved from Hell.  You won't call upon Jesus for salvation.  Jesus came to be our Savior.  That means He wishes to save us from something.  He wants to save us from the consequences of our sin - Hell.

But if you don't think you need to be saved, you won't seek the Savior.  If you think you're good enough on your own, or that a Church, or a person can get you to Heaven, then you won't seek the Savior.  Impressing the Savior as to how good of a person you are isn't seeking Him for salvation.  So until you believe that you are actually going to Hell, you won't think of needing a Savior and you won't turn to the Savior for salvation.

GOOD NEWS:  Jesus Is Our Hope of Salvation

Romans 5:8, 6:23b - "But God demonstrates His own
love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us.  For the wages of sin is death,
but the free gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord."

Salvation is a gift.  It's not something that you work for; it isn't something that you pay money for; it is simply something that you receive and accept by faith.

You may already believe that Jesus died on the cross.  You may already understand that God loves you, but until you personally accept the gift of eternal life, you don't have it.  Even the devils believe there is a God.  But the understanding that God exists, or understanding that Jesus died for you, is not acceptance.  To believe, Biblically, you must accept it.

It isn't a matter of going to Church, being a good person, loving your neighbor, being baptized, praying, or reading your Bible.  All of these things are wonderful, but if they get you to Heaven, then salvation wasn't a gift and Jesus wouldn't have to die on the cross for you.  Jesus is the only way!  Don't mistake a good life for acceptance.  You must put all your trust in Jesus for salvation.

GOOD NEWS:  You Can Be Saved Right Now!

Romans 10: 9, 13 - "That if you confess with your
mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that
God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." and
"For WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME
OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."

When a drowning man realizes that he is about to drown, he starts calling to the lifeguard to be saved.  The same is true for our spiritual state.  We must call upon Jesus to be saved from Hell.  Jesus came to this earth to be our Savior.  He is seeking to save us from the consequences of our sin - Hell.  Just as the lifeguard's job is to save people, so Jesus means to save us from Hell.

The lifeguard doesn't judge the drowning man on his swimming skills, or determines if the man had kept all the rules, or if he had disregarded the lifeguard's warnings.  His main job is to save people from drowning, not to determine if they are worthy of being saved.  Jesus isn't going to look at your life and determine if you are worthy of being saved either.  No, He will simply save you if you ask and trust Him.

At this point, there is still something that the drowning man must do to get saved.  He must trust the lifeguard.  We've all heard stories of drowning people who panic and actually fight off their rescuers.  Why?  Because they are still trying to save themselves.  They aren't willing to relax and trust the lifeguard.  Going to Heaven is very much like trusting the lifeguard.  You must trust Jesus completely.  A lifeguard will instruct a drowning man to do nothing, just relax and allow him to do his job.  Jesus, just like the lifeguard, wants to do the same for you and take you to Heaven.

If you shrug Jesus off, determined to do it your way, you'll still end up in Hell, just as the drowning man who fights off the lifeguard still drowns.

It's still a matter of acceptance.  Are you willing to accept the salvation that Jesus wishes to give you?  It's a gift.  Something you just must accept.  This is the only way to be sure.  If going to Heaven is up to you, you'll never be sure.  You'll never know if you did enough, or was good enough.  You can't know where that line is.  You'll always live in doubt.  But accepting Jesus as your Savior changes all that.  You can know and be sure.  Because it isn't you who is taking you to Heaven, it is Jesus Christ.  Having Jesus take you to Heaven is much better than trying to get there on your own.

If this is you, and you want to get saved, to accept the gift of God and put your faith for salvation in Jesus alone, then pray this prayer to Jesus, mean it with all your heart, and believe it:

"Dear Jesus, I know I'm a sinner and that I don't
deserve to go to Heaven, but Jesus, you died on the
cross for me and then rose from the dead to save me from
hell.  I trust you and only you, to be my Savior and
take me to Heaven.  Please save me.  Amen."

The prayer is simple, because it is an acceptance issue.  Anyone can do this, even a little child.  If you put your faith in Jesus, then Jesus does the saving.  This the way that God intended it to be.

John 14:6 - "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way,
and the truth, and the life; no one comes
to the Father but through Me.'"

If you have prayed this prayer, and have additional questions, please feel free to comment and I will do my best to help you find the answers.  I would also like to encourage you to find a church where you are comfortable, and to use the programs they provide to learn more about living a Jesus-filled life.