If you were to ask the average person on the street “If you died today, do you know that you are going to heaven?” What do you guess they would say? Most, if they believe in heaven at all would say something like “I guess so” or “I hope so”. If you probe them a little more and ask them why they think they would be allowed to spend eternity in heaven, they would counter with something intangible, such as “Well, I’ve been a good person…” or “Well, I go to church once in a while…”

It may sound harsh, but most good Catholics have as much a sense of surety of their heaven – boundedness as any good Muslim, Mennonite, or Orthodox Jew: They think they have to “be good” or “do good things” and “go to church” and pray such-and-such a prayer ‘x’ number of times in order to, as Weird Al puts it, in his song Amish Paradise, “Score points for the Afterlife”

You can now ask the question, dear reader, “Is it possible to know that you’re going to heaven?” The answer, is written all throughout the Bible. I encourage you, of course, to check for yourself. We’ll discuss a few examples:

In Acts chapter 16 Paul and Silas were in prison for telling the people of Israel the Good News of Jesus: that the Christ, their Messiah had come. After a minor miracle (a major earthquake) the prison guard realized the people in his care were telling the truth. In desperation for the confidence and security of his soul he asked

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” -Acts 16:30-31

That’s it… Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. Saved from what? do you ask: From the wrath of God. God, being a just God, has to punish sin: any transgression from the ten commandments. To avoid this punishment we have to live a perfect life, but have we? Can we? Our works do not redeem us… they can’t un-do a sin… You can’t un-ring a bell… Once you tell your first lie, steal your first piece of bubble gum or covet someone else’s something-or-other there’s no taking it back. You’re stained. And no stain of sin will ever enter heaven, much less be allowed in God’s presence.

At least the Israelites of old had the sacrificial system: you tell a lie, sacrifice a few doves. Steal a neighbor’s donkey, pay him back and sacrifice an ox, a lamb, or something to that accord. But the sacrifices never end because you’ll never stop sinning. And its important to note that we’re not considered sinners because we sin all the time… we sin all the time, because we are sinners. That’s our root problem. (Thanks a lot Adam… I appreciate that!)

The Good news was that Jesus’ sacrifice was the final sacrifice. That’s why he was called the Lamb of God: the final sacrifice necessary for our sin to be covered. That’s why he said “It is finished” before he died on the cross. The price was paid and not only do we get our sin’s paid for, but we inherit His perfection: his righteousness, so when we face God in heaven (we believers, that is) God will see us in the same manner He sees Jesus: He’ll see us perfect, sinless, and like His son. And like any father to His son, he will welcome and embrace him.

How do we know that salvation is that easy? That’s hard to believe! But Jesus told us numerous times. In John 14:6 Jesus said

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” -John 14:6

Did you get that? No one. Nobody… NOBODY goes to heaven except by believing in the single sufficient work of Jesus: He did a work we could not do. He paid a price he did not owe so we will get something we could never have gotten on our own.

Let’s not just look a the New Testament: God made this clear in the Old Testament as well. In Jeremiah 17 the young prophet passes on the message to rebellious Israel:

Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” -Jeremiah 17:5-8

If you make your flesh your strength: if you think you will get to heaven by praying to saints, praying the rosary, doing your good deeds, showing up to church like good little boys and girls and giving to charity and joining the local civic group; if you think you will earn you way to heaven, God says “curses” on that person: you are relying on your strength and not God’s grace.

But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord: the one who gave you His son: who gave you the way to salvation. Your faith is rock solid and when the heat or drought comes in your life, be it physical, financial or spiritual hard times, when you rely on the Lord he will keep you fresh and vibrant.

What should you think about a teacher, leader, priest, or pastor that tells you otherwise? That there’s more to salvation than faith in Christ? Well, once again, Scripture has an answer in Galatians Chapter 1. Note here that The apostle Paul was rebuking the church in Galatia who were listening to people who were leading them away from Christ. He says

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel–not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. -Galatians 1:6-9

Pretty harsh words… Anyone who proclaims another way to avoid God’s wrath and to spend eternity in heaven other than belief in Jesus: That man will be accursed. In fact, in three of the four Gospels it was recorded that Jesus said that it would have been better that a millstone were hung around that blasphemers neck and he be thrown into the sea rather than leading God’s children astray. (I’ll leave it as an exercise for you to find those passages in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.)

See for yourself … if the Bible truly is the inspired Word of God as it claims to be, and as the Church affirms, check the facts for yourself. Nothing will help you understand the Bible better than reading the Bible for yourself. In Second Timothy we are told that

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

So you see, Scripture is good for teaching, so you will learn the ways and thoughts and plans of God. It is good for reproof and correction, so you can admonish and correct someone who may have an incorrect belief about something God is purported to say or you may have to point out sin in their (or your) life. Ultimately, it’s good for our training in righteousness, giving us the information, tools, and wisdom for every good work.

Get excited. Learn what God has to say. Pickup the Bible and read. It’s not hard. Steer clear of Numbers and Deuteronomy for a while but God’s really got something to say to you. And he wants you to know him better, and that he’s got the plan all figured out. The ball is in His court… He took care of it.

He wanted me make sure that you’re sure, that you are sure you’re going to see Him.

-Anthony