Can you know whether or not you are going to heaven, while you're still on earth? The Bible says you can. Keep reading to find out more.
The first and most obvious reason people might doubt they are Christians is because they are not. If there has been no lifestyle change since your commitment, there could be cause to wonder.
The second reason people may doubt they are saved is because they have been told that they will never know for sure until they get to heaven. "You'll never know until judgement day, and then...surprise!" I have heard stories of people who have inquired with their clergy and their response? "I guess it boils down to this -- if you end up in heaven, you'll know that you were saved all along." BUT, "What if I end up in hell?" "Then you'll know that you weren't saved." Excuse me, but isn't it a little too late to find out?
The assurance of salvation is explicitly detailed in the Bible. You CAN be sure you are saved and going to heaven. Check out the following scriptures:
"...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved...For 'whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved'." Romans 10:9,13
"For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him." I Thessalonians 5:9,10
(see also Acts 4:10-12; Romans 1:16; I Peter 1:3-5)
These and other scriptures clearly state that if you have prayed and given God your life, you ARE saved -- forever! So now the question is not whether or not you can be sure you are saved and going to heaven, but whether you are saved; whether you have made a commitment to Christ, accepting Him as the Lord and Savior of your life. If you have not prayed and given your life to God, you are not a Christian. If you want to commit your life to Christ, don't wait any longer. If you have never made a commitment to Jesus Christ, now is the time. Keep reading to find out how.
YOU HAVE SINNED
TURN FROM YOUR SINS
BELIEVE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
PRAY TO INVITE CHRIST INTO YOUR HEART
Dear Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. Please forgive me for all of my sins and come into my heart through the power of Your Holy Spirit, right now. Take control of my life, and make me into the person You want me to be. I now accept You as the Savior and Lord of my life. Thank you, Jesus, for forgiving me and making me Your child. Help me to live for you from today forward. Amen.
God heard your prayer (Matthew 7:7, 9-11, John 14:14; 16:24). Through the power of the Holy Spirit, you have been made a "new creation" in Christ! Read the proof:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ [has accepted Christ as Savior and Lord], he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17
PROOF THAT JESUS WILL COME INTO YOUR LIFE
OR, MAYBE YOU HAVE WALKED AWAY FROM GOD....
You don't have to keep running away. It's time to come home.
Many times people give their lives to God, only to take them back. When you do this, you stop listening to God, and live in the world, for yourself (Proverbs 14:14). In this backslidden state, you are getting beaten up by the guilt of walking away from God, and by the world, with the effects and consequences of your sin. God wants you to come back to Him. Don't keep running away.
So, you gave your life to God once upon a time. You went up front, prayed the prayer and cried the tears. But now you're barely even going to church. You never read your Bible and rarely do you pray. You've fallen back into your old life; you're hanging out with all of the friends you used to party with. To put it straight, you've backslidden. And frankly, you're probably pretty miserable- feeling guilty for the things you are doing, trying to hide from God, and running into Christians right and left. So, do you want to come back? You might say, "You don't know how far I've fallen. You don't know where I've been. You don't know what I've been doing in open flagrancy for the last several months. I feel so worthless to God." Right now you are getting beaten up by the enemy with those little fiery darts. God says that He'll take you as you are. It is the enemy who tells you that you can't come back to God and that you've blown it, or you're not valuable anymore. Don't listen to those lies.
Come Today…Come to Jesus
Let's pray:
Lord, I have fallen from You. Please forgive me of all of my sins, right now. The Bible says that if I confess my sins, you are faithful and just to forgive me of my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). I need Your forgiveness and cleansing. The Bible also says that if we return to You, You will cast our sins into the sea of forgetfulness (Micah 7:19). Please renew my heart and mind, and create a clean heart within me (Psalms 51:10). Restore me, through the power of your Holy Spirit, in Jesus' name. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for receiving me back into fellowship with You. Amen.
Welcome home
If neither of these things relate to you, then continue steadfastly in your walk with Christ "...being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." Phillipians 1:6
