ASSURANCE OF
GOING TO HEAVEN
When we
think about heaven what kind of images come to mind? In describing heaven the apostle Paul quoted
Isaiah and wrote: “But as it is
written: Eye has not seen, nor ear
heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared
for those who love Him.” (1 Cor.
2:9; ref. Isa.64:4; 65:17) In Isaiah 65, Revelation 21 and 22 the
picture of heaven includes the following attractive images.
·
Joy and rejoicing in the
presence of God (Isa. 65:18; Rev. 21:3)
·
An end to weeping and
crying (Isa. 65:19; Rev. 21:4)
·
No more death, sorrow,
pain and curse (Rev. 21:4; 22:3)
·
Building and living in
one’s own house (Isa. 65:21)
·
Owning, planting, and
enjoying the fruit of one’s vineyard (Isa. 65:21-22)
·
Enjoying the work of
one’s hands (Isa. 65:22)
·
And end to laboring in
vain or bringing children into a world of trouble (Isa.
65:23)
·
“And there shall be no
night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives
them light. And they shall reign forever
and ever.” (Rev. 22:5)
Heaven is
the abode of God (1 Kng.
One of the
most attractive reasons for becoming a Christian is the hope of going to
heaven. All Christians want to go to
heaven but many are not sure how to get there.
At one time I was in the transit lounge of the
When I
returned to
On coming
back to the
Well, if
you ask one hundred people at random,
"Are you going to Heaven when you die?" the vast majority would answer with varying degrees of
doubt -- "I don't know . .
. "I'm working on it" . . . "I have no idea" . . .
"I'm not sure." Christians from various denominations will
give you different answers.
WHAT PREVENTS ONE
FROM GOING TO
HEAVEN
Most students know
definitely whether or not they are going to graduate. Most travelers know where
their destination is. Yet ask them where their final destination will be--where
they will be living forever--and very few know!
This uncertainty comes
from a misunderstanding of what is involved in attaining eternal life and going
to Heaven. We need to know the conditions of going to heaven. There are two key words for going to
heaven. The first key word is
“sin”. This will prevent one from going
to heaven.
“Behold, the LORD’s
hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot
hear. But your iniquities have separated
you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face
from you, so that He will not hear.” (Isa.
59:1-2)
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not
inherit the
“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which
are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery,
hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions,
dissensions, heresies, envy, murders,
drunkenness, revelries, and the like, of which I tell you beforehand, just as I
also told you in the past, that those who practice such things will not inherit
the Kingdom of God.” (Gal. 5:19-21)
Here is what God says: “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I
will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable,
murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have
their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second
death.” (Rev. 21:7-8)
“Blessed are those who do His commandments,
that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through
the gates into the city. But outside are
dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and
whoever loves and practices a lie.” (Rev. 22:14-15)
WHAT WILL SURELY
GET ONE TO
HEAVEN
The second key word for going to heaven is “holiness”. This will get one
to heaven. Heaven is a holy place where
God dwells. “But as He who called you is holy, you also be
holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Pet. 1:15-16) “Pursue
peace with all men and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” (Heb. 12:14)
God’s way for going to
heaven is really simple. First He gets
rid of man’s sin and secondly, He makes the person become holy to be like
Him. Two things are required to remit
sin – a perfect sacrifice and the shedding of blood. Why does God require a perfect
sacrifice? A sacrifice is something very
precious that is given to God in exchange for the redemption that the sinner
receives. The second thing that is
required for the remission of sin is the shedding of blood. (Heb. 9:22; Lev.
17:11) There was no one on earth to
provide this perfect sacrifice and shed pure blood to atone for man’s sin, therefore God was manifested in the flesh as the Lord
Jesus Christ. God said: “I, even I,
am the LORD. And besides Me there is no savior.” (Isa. 43:11) When Jesus was born an angel
proclaimed: “For there is born to you
this day in the city of
The first condition for
going to heaven is accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. “Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts
The second
condition is repentance and confession of sins.
Repentance is necessary for salvation.
Jesus asserted, “I tell you, no; unless you repent you will all likewise
perish.” (Lk.
13:3,5) Realizing one’s sins and feeling sorry
for them is only remorse. Repentance
involves both a change of mind about sin, and a change of heart-attitude toward
sin. The person who truly repents will
renounce and confess sin, and also make a determination to live a holy life.
When this is done on a regular basis the Christian will have the assurance of salvation
and going to heaven any time of his or her life.
Baptism into the Lord
Jesus Christ and receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit are essential
conditions for going to heaven. Our Lord
Jesus Christ said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water
and the Spirit, he cannot enter the
Water baptism in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in His blood remits sins, and baptism of the
Holy Spirit helps believers towards sanctification and leads them to
holiness. It is of utmost importance
that one receives the correct water baptism in the blood of Jesus Christ. The apostle John saw the vision
of the multitudes in Heaven are “the ones who come out of the Great
Tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb.” (Rev. 7:9,14; ref. 1:5-6; 5:9-10) Having been washed by the Blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ assures one a place in Heaven. There is no exception whatsoever.
Partaking of the “flesh and blood” of the Lord Jesus Christ
is highly essential for going to Heaven.
The Lord said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the
flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My
flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last
day. For My
flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh
and drinks My blood abides in Me and I in him.” (Jn. 6:53-56) Our Lord Jesus Christ
was talking about the Holy Communion. (Mt. 26:26-29; 1 Cor.
10:16-17)
After the Last Supper
our Lord Jesus Christ washed His disciples’ feet. When Peter refused to have his feet washed
Jesus said to him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” (Jn.
13:8) Having a part with the Lord Jesus Christ is
to have a very close relationship with Him.
We practice washing of feet because it is the Lord’s desire for us to do
so and also to receive blessings. (Jn. 13:12-17)
Here are some simple
steps of having this assurance of going to Heaven. Belief in the Lord Jesus Christ is the
initial step. “In Him you also trusted,
after you heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in whom also,
having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the
guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption
of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
(Eph. 1:13-14)
Keeping the Ten Commandments is an important
condition for going to heaven. Although salvation is through
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who gives us grace, but it does not mean that we
can commit sin (Rom.
During the
Old Testament time the people were unable to keep God's Laws because they were
doing it by their own efforts. In the
New Covenant God puts His Laws in the mind and write them on the hearts of His
people (Heb.
All Christians must remember to keep the seventh day Sabbath holy
because it is the fourth commandment. (Ex. 20:8-11) Why is keeping of the seventh day Sabbath so
essential for going to heaven? It was
established during God’s Creation. (Gen. 2:1-4)
Jesus said it was made for man and He is the Lord of the Sabbath. (Mk.
2:27-28) The Sabbath will continue to be
kept in Heaven. (Isa. 66:22-23) “There remains therefore a rest for the people of
God. For he who has entered His rest has
himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us be diligent to enter that rest, lest
anyone fall after the same example of disobedience.” (Heb. 4:9-11) The
word
“Sabbath” means rest. If we keep the Sabbath in our present age we
will continue to enjoy the Sabbath in Heaven.
It is difficult to talk
about all the conditions for going to heaven in one sermon, but I can give you
a hint as to how to have an assurance of going to heaven. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, “My sheep hear My voice,
and I know them, and they follow Me. And
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone
snatch them out of My hand.” (Jn. 10:26-27) I would
like to emphasize that it is not the false “eternal security doctrine” that
some preach you can do what you please, even commit sin habitually, and still
make it to heaven. The statement of our
Lord Jesus Christ does carry great moral responsibility and total obedience to
Him alone. We must hear His voice and
follow His instructions, not doing what we like. If we adhere to the Lord’s teaching then
there is definite eternal security – we are then assured of going to heaven,
and not otherwise.
Many are
deceived into believing that they can continue in sin and still make it to
heaven. (1 Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:19-21; Mt. 7:21-23) “We must through many tribulations enter the
Jesus
Christ gives us this wonderful promise, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it
were not so, I would have told you. I go
to prepare a place for you. And if I go
and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go
you know, and the way you know.” (Jn. 14:2-4)
After
dreaming about the Ladder to Heaven Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in
this place, and I did not know it. And
he was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the House of God, and
this is the Gate of Heaven!” (Gen. 28:16-17) To take the upward journey to Heaven you must
begin from the place where the Ladder is situated - the “House of God” and “Gate of Heaven”. Every person can
begin the quest and journey to Heaven by going to a Christ-centered,
Bible-believing, Commandment-keeping and
May God bless you
A sermon based on this article was preached by Paul Wong
to a
Congregation in
Updated on 01/04/05
For comments please write first to: arkpw@sbcglobal.net
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Paul Wong is a Christian minister and the
President of ARK International. |
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