Are You Going to Heaven?

Have you ever had anyone ask you if you knew whether you are going to Heaven? How can we know the answer to that question? Can we tell the future? We may not have the ability to tell the future; however, we can know whether we are going to heaven. The way we know is evident in 1 John 1:6-7 “If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth—we’re not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin.” (Eugene Peterson, NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved., 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002). Moreover, Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins and if we are doing to the best of our ability to keep His commandments and we believe He is the only Son of God who died and resurrected from the grave three days later we have the assurance of salvation. Hebrews 9:11-15 states, “But when the Messiah arrived, high priest of the superior things of this new covenant, he bypassed the old tent and its trappings in this created world and went straight into heaven’s “tent”—the true Holy Place—once and for all. He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all. If that animal blood and the other rituals of purification were effective in cleaning up certain matters of our religion and behavior, think how much more the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out. Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God.” (Eugene Peterson, NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved., 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002). Therefore, His blood cleansed us ultimately, no more animal sacrifices, He was a pure sacrifice because He is the Son of the Living God; He freed us from our inability to reach perfection because of our sinful nature.

When someone asks me if I am going to Heaven, I say “yes” because I am a disciple of Christ. I believe that Jesus Christ is the only Son of God, which he died on the tree at Calvary and resurrected after three days then ascended into heaven to His Father. I am a sinner; however, I do the best I can to do God’s will in my life and to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and follow His commandments. Although I am imperfect; I know that through Jesus Christ I will dwell in Heaven because I accepted Him as my Savior, was water baptized and that is God’s promise to those who believe and keep His commandments.

Your Sister in Christ,

Mary Garris

4/25/2013

References

Eugene Peterson, NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved. (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002). The Message Bible. Colorado Springs, CO, United States: NavPress Publishing Group. Retrieved from http://www.messagebible.com