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Christianity

How to Be Sure You Are Going to Heaven

"As it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment."¹

The question has often been asked, "If you knew today was the last day of your life, what would you do?"

Do you have any impaired relationships you would want to resolve before you pass on? Have you left a will so your loved ones will benefit from your life's work? Most important of all, when you come to the end of life's journey and you stand before a holy God at the entrance to Heaven, if God asked you, "Why should I allow you to enter Heaven," what would you say? In other words, if you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would spend eternity in Heaven with God?

If not, I urge you to make that preparation today. Eternity is forever. As I did in younger days, many people think that if they do enough good deeds to outnumber or outweigh the wrongs (sins) they have committed, this will qualify them to enter God's heaven. Wrong.

God's Word makes it very clear that nobody enters heaven because of their good works. It is only by God's grace (unmerited favor) that we are given God's gift of forgiveness and saved for all eternity. His Word says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast."²

God's Word also says, "For the wages [consequences] of sin is death [spiritual death which is eternal separation from God], but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."³

Because God is a God of infinite holiness no sinner can ever survive in his presence any more than a moth can survive in a flame. Furthermore, because God is also a God of infinite justice, all sin must be judged according to God's standard of holiness and perfection, and his justice calls for death; that is, spiritual death which is eternal separation from God in the place the Bible calls hell.

Fortunately however, God is also a God of infinite love. This is why he gave his Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cruel Roman cross 2,000 years ago in your place and mine to meet the demands of God's justice so we can be forgiven of all our sins and receive God's gift of eternal life. This is the expression of his perfect love.

All you need to do is believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died in your place to pay the penalty for all your sins, and to ask God for his forgiveness and accept his gift of eternal life. The following prayer will help you to do this.

Prayer: "Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner and am sorry for all the wrongs/sins I have committed. I believe that your Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross in my place to pay the penalty for all my sins. Please forgive me. I invite you, Jesus, to come into my heart and life to be my Lord and Savior. I commit and trust my life to you. Please give me the desire to be what you want me to be and to do what you want me to do. Thank you for dying for my sins, for your free pardon, for your gift of eternal life, and for hearing and answering my prayer. Amen."

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REAL CHRISTIAN OR FAKE

Q: We have a man in our office who is active in his church and claims to be a sincere Christian, and yet when he gets upset about something (which is fairly often), he swears and cusses without even being embarrassed over it. Is he a real Christian, do you think?

A: Only God knows this person's heart, and whether or not he has truly committed his life to Jesus Christ. We must never forget Jesus' warning: "Do not judge, or you too will be judged" (Matthew 7:1).

At the same time, this man's actions are wrong, and they certainly contradict his claim to be a follower of Christ. A person who is constantly angry has never allowed the Holy Spirit to take control of his life; the Bible says, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23). Nor has a person who dishonors God by his speech allowed the Holy Spirit to control his mind and his tongue.

Christians aren't perfect; we still have our old sin nature within us, and we still fall short of what God wants us to be. But no sincere believer ignores his or her sin, or acts like it isn't important. When we sin, we know we have offended God, and we want to confess it and seek His help for the future.

Don't let this person's bad example keep you from facing your own need of Christ and turning to Him for the forgiveness you need. Satan will try to persuade you otherwise --but God loves you, and the most important decision you will ever make is your decision to open your heart to Christ's transforming power.

BILLY GRAHAM

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Why is Jesus The Only Way To Heaven

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? Hebrews 10:26-29 NIV

Q: Why do Christians believe Jesus is the only way of salvation? Isn't that being rather narrow-minded and judgmental? The world has a lot of people in it who don't believe in Jesus but some of them are just as good as the Christians I know (or even better).

A: One reason Christians believe Jesus is the only way of salvation is because this is what Jesus claimed about Himself. He declared, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).

Why did He make such a startling claim? Was it out of pride or ego? Or was He mentally unbalanced, or even deliberately lying to trick people into following Him? No, none of those "reasons" stand up once you carefully examine Jesus' life and teachings. Why, then, did He say He was the only way to the Father? Simply this: He knew that He was the unique Son of God, sent by His Father into the world to save us from our sins.

You see, only one thing separates us from God and keeps us out of heaven -- and that is our sin. This is why our greatest need is to have our sins forgiven and cleansed, for only then can we be reconciled to God and go to be with Him throughout eternity.

But how is this possible? No matter how good we are, we can never erase our own sins. Only God can do this -- and that is what He did by sending Jesus Christ into the world for us. The Bible says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Don't turn your back on His love, but by a simple prayer of faith commit your life to Christ today.

BILLY GRAHAM

TRUE SECURITY

With all of the terrible things happening in our world at this time, we hear the word "Security," used a lot. Most news stories related to troubled areas of our world begin by talking about "Security forces" or "Ministers of Security" or perhaps the "Office of Security".

Ron Covey wrote this week, "I see by the news that we've got a new director of Homeland Security. Maybe this is so on the earthly, national scene, but I've got some news for the President, his new Director and all of government. My advice comes from Psalms 127:1, 'Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.' You see, God is the Director of our 'eternal' Homeland Security."

I think Ron is exactly right, yet this seems to be one of the truths regarding our world that our politicians just can't see and sometimes we also loose sight of that truth! It seems that whether you live in India, Great Briton, Kenya, Iran, and Iraq or even in America our leaders just don't get it, they refuse to see the lessons of history in which God has made this clear. That lesson is that, unless God is part of that which leads and governs us, there is no security!

Security comes in the form of protection Godly leaders can afford their people, but also in the form of God lending his protection to people who live for and love him! Godly leaders will make choices which put the needs and cares of their people first! Godly leaders will care less for themselves and their hold on power than they do for seeing that God is glorified by themselves and the people they govern.

The problem we face is that the majority of our leaders seem to have stepped away from putting God first. Sometimes they have become wrapped up in the thousands of details that make up government, they get so busy trying to put out fires that they forget who provides the water. Yet others have become more concerned with their personal power, wealth and comfort than for God or their people.

If you are like the majority of the people in our world you are not one of the leaders, you are part of a world governed by someone else. If that's the case, you probably realize how little security our leaders can provide, not just from the unrest in our world, but from life in general.

I don't think I have ever met a person who really lives the "fairytale life" where everything is perfect with no problems. I've talked with many people who others perceive to have "the perfect life". It doesn't take long to realize that they too have doubts, fears and struggle with feelings of insecurity.

You see real security doesn't come from "fairytale stories" or perceived safety found in your government or the nation where you live. Real security comes from having a right relationship with God. Real security comes, only when we understand that this life is only temporary and is only a preparation for the life to come.

Let me share with you a picture of that security from Revelation 21:2-4, "And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a beautiful bride prepared for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever." (NLT)

You can take all of the security measures humanely possible, but you will never have true security until you put yourself in the hands of God.

My prayer this day is for you and the leaders of our world; that we can all begin to trust in the right thing, the Creator of the Universe and the Giver of Eternal Life, Our God!

Russ Lawson

Can I Lose my Salvation?

The LORD had said to Abram, 'Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.' Genesis 12:1-3 NIV

I am convinced that once a person sincerely and honestly trusts Christ for his or her salvation, they become a member of God's family forever - and nothing can change that relationship. Jesus said, "My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand" (John 10:29).

Does this mean it doesn't matter how a professing Christian lives, since they will be saved anyway? No, not at all! For one thing, if that person refuses to follow Christ and lives a life of sin, it may well mean he or she wasn't a Christian after all. The Bible warns, "No one who lives in him keeps on sinning" (1 John 3:6). Outwardly Judas was a disciple - but inwardly his heart was rebellious and unbelieving.

In addition, sin separates us from God, and when we sin our fellowship with God is broken, and our witness for Christ is blunted. Peter stood at the fire and denied Jesus three times, and those around him must have assumed Jesus meant little to him (see Mark 14:66-72).

But listen: Peter repented, and God forgave him and restored him to usefulness. And that can happen to you. Don't let sin hold you in its grip any longer, but repent and ask Christ to forgive you and help you - and He will. His promise is for you: "If we confess our sins, he ... (will) purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

THE POWER OF PRAYER

     One of Erma Bombeck's favorite Jewish grandmother stories involves a grandmother who took her grandson to the beach. She put a sun hat on him and then dozed off to sleep as the little boy played with his bucket and shovel in the sand. Suddenly, a large wave came in and dragged the child out to sea. The grandmother woke and was devastated. She fell to her knees and prayed, "God, if you'll save my grandson, I promise I'll make it up to you. I'll join whatever club you want me to. I'll volunteer at the hospital, give to the poor and do anything that makes you happy."

     Suddenly, another huge wave came in and tossed her grandson on the beach at her feet. She noticed there was color in his cheeks and his eyes were bright. He was alive!
      As she stood up, however, she seemed to be upset. She put her hands on her hips, looked skyward, and said sharply, "He had a hat, you know."

     Though we may not always get everything we want when we pray, the Bible teaches a great deal about the power of prayer. Prayer truly makes a difference. As James said, "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." (James 5:16).
      We see it happen time and again in the scriptures. Abraham's servant prayed and Rebekah appeared. Hannah prayed and Samuel was born. Isaiah and Hezekiah prayed, and 185,000 Assyrians were slain. After three years of drought, Elijah prayed again and rain came. The church in Jerusalem prayed and Peter was released from prison. That's just a small sampling of answered prayer in the Bible.

     We've seen it happen in our own lives as well. We do not receive everything we ask for (even the apostle Paul didn't), but we have seen God's answers time and again -- for sickness to be healed, for safety through difficult times, for the wisdom to make right decisions, for needs to be provided.

     "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." (I John 5:14)

     Praise be to God -- our Heavenly Father -- who is willing to hear us and cares enough about us to answer our prayers. Most of us have been more than willing over the years to carry our burdens to God and tell Him what we want. May I suggest that you take some time today to give God your thanks for the many times He has heard and answered.
ALLAN SMITH.