How Can You Be Certain You're Going To Heaven?

Back when I was much younger, I heard Billy Graham make the

statement that he knew he was going to heaven. At that time, I thought this sounded like an arrogant thing to say. Since then, I've grown to agree with him. If you have asked Christ to come into your life and save you; if you have made him Lord of your life, then you can be assured you're heaven-bound. It is as simple as that. Salvation comes from God's mercy through Christ's sacrifice on the cross. It's free for the asking, so no person will feel proud that he's earned it. We could never be good enough, anyway, and that's why Jesus went to the cross for us.

"Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:14).

What is this? Is Jesus saying that few are going to make it to

heaven? I believe there are many people sitting in pews today who call themselves Christians, who have professed with their lips and been baptized, but who are bound for hell if they don't see the light. They've just gone through the motions and done what they thought was required to get them into heaven, but they've never really changed. They haven't accepted Christ into their lives and asked the Holy Spirit to help them make the needed changes. They haven't become a new creature in Christ. They are those lukewarm Christians that Jesus says He will spit out of His mouth in Revelations 3.

"Wherefore the Lord said, "Forasmuch as this people draw near to me with their mouth and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men" (Isaiah 29:13).

Francis Chan agrees with me. In his book, Crazy Love, he writes  “…chruchgoers who are 'lukewarm' are not Christians. We will not see them in heaven.” 

Don't think you have to be perfect, for you don't. But you need to desire perfection, even though you're going to keep messing up. You need to want to be obedient to God, although you will fail many times. You need to work on total surrender to the Lord and let Him take over your life, and yet this may be a process and not something you can achieve all at once. As long as your heart is right, grace has you covered, no matter how many times you fall short.

"If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). "Jesus said unto him, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself'" (Matthew 22: 37-39).

There is no reason to not to live the kind of life God wants for you. It's so much better, fuller, and more satisfying than anything you'll ever find on your own or that the world can offer. And, your final reward is to be with Him for eternity! If you've really asked Christ into your life with your heart, and not just given it lip service, then you know you're going to heaven.

(photo by Amber Speight)

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