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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
Face it. The day we step into eternity may come sooner than we think. In preparation for that moment, we need to know this truth-not everyone is going to heaven. How can we know for sure that we ar...
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Bryan Naidoo
Supporter
I think you have summed it all up. A question of this nature need all our attention and a very careful examination of what the holy scriptures really teach concerning eternal life. Accepting Jesus and the cross is one thing, making him lord of our life is another. If Jesus is The Lord than we should be humble servants of The Lord. Our lifestyle must be of obedience, our Lord will demand nothing less. May I take this opportunity by laying down some pre- requisites to help one to find their destination after death. It is my belief there must be one main ingredient called"faith". Faith is believing and acting on what you believe. Faith without works is dead. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith is trusting the one you believe in. If we can not trust God here on earth how can we trust him in heaven. If we believe God for who he says he is, than we need never to doubt no matter what the circumstances may be. Your faith in God must be proven here on earth.Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8 NKJV) Our Faith in God develops a relationship with God, confessing "my lord is my shepherd I shall not want". Relationships are built on one word called trust. We can not claim to have a relationship and live in sin.All relationships demand faithfulness. Relationship also demands a leaving and cleaving process. You can not serve God and Mammon. You cannot abide in him, if you are abiding with someone else. What does relationship do, the bible says it brings forth fruits and by their fruits you will know them. If our life presently is not bringing glory to a God on earth what use will it be in heaven. I encourage all who have accepted Jesus as your Lord and SAVIOUR, sin not by word, thought or deed. Live a life of loving and forgiving. As a disciple of God you are called to serve, Mathew:28:19 is applicable to you. We cannot be selfish and self centered. If you are not of service here on earth what are you going to do in heaven. I do not think there will be any pews for us to sit on. The bible is very clear that many fall away. Our faith will be tried, tested and tempted. The bible says "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (I Corinthians 10:13 NKJV) I trust when our eyes close on earth, it will be open in that place being with the one whom we love and cherish. Stay blessed
Ben Zickefoose
Supporter
After becoming a Christian, that is, after hearing the gospel, believing, repenting, confessing and being baptized, the Apostle Peter wrote about how to make one’s calling and election sure in 2 Peter 1:3-10. Peter wanted his readers to grow in the Christian virtues: “add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.” 2 Peter 1:5b-7 NIV By doing this, the Apostle Peter assures his readers that they will make their calling and election sure and that they will never fall. 2 Peter 1:10 NIV Not only will they have these blessings, but they: 1. Will be effective and productive in their knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, v 8 2. Will not be nearsighted and blind, v 9 3. Will remember that they have been cleaned from the past sins, v 9 4. Will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ v 11 2 Peter 1 NIV 3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. 10Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Blessings
Walrus theCat
Supporter
Jesus Christ's blood is sufficient to atone for your sins. You can believe on Him and have his righteousness credited to your account.
James Kraft
Supporter
First we have to know that all men are sinners. Romans 3:23 All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All, not some, but all. Romans 3:10 There is none righteous, no not one. We have to be perfect to got to heaven, and no one is. So, God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, who never sinned, went to the cross to pay the sin debt for everyone in the world, First John 2:2, So that anyone who would believe in Him, He would give everlasting life as a free gift. He rose from the dead after three days to prove He is our savior, and that we also shall be raised from the dead. Salvation is by a one-time faith alone in Jesus' finished work on the cross alone. It is only what He did for us plus nothing that can save sinners. Man can do nothing to save himself. We have already established the fact that we are all sinners. One little lie your whole life, and you have to go to hell forever to pay for your sin. God is a just God, and in order to be just He has to punish sin. And the way of sin is spiritual death. But God made a way for sinners to be saved. Christ died for sinners. Jesus' one blood sacrifice was accepted by God for the sins of the whole world. The gospel is given in First Corinthians 15:1-4, that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures, that He was buried and rose again on the third day, according to the scriptures. The Second be believe that gospel, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise and can no longer be condemned to hell. John 3:18 Ephesians 1:13-14 Our guarantee of eternal life. Our sin debt was paid in full, past, present, and future sins. Paid in full. Now, if Jesus paid for all our sin debt, then we can no longer got to hell no matter what. We have no sins to pay for. Jesus paid our whole debt to God so that we can never be condemned again. John 18, Believers are no longer condemned. Romans six:23 For the wages of sin is death, and we are all sinners, First John 1-8, but the GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus one blood sacrifice for all sin. Since it is a GIFT, we have to do nothing but believe it to get the free GIFT. Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace ye are saved, what Jesus did for us, through faith, the second we believe it, and that not of yourselves, we did nothing for it, it is the GIFT of God, not of works, you can not earn it, lest any man should boast. You can not boast in free. John six:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that BELIEVETH on me HATH, PRESENT TENSE, EVERLASTING LIFE. If you have everlasting life today, then you have it forever because it is everlasting. It is eternal, and it cannot be earned, but we receive it as a free gift. John 10:28-29 Double eternal security.
Rotimi EWEDEMI
Supporter
Dear Anonymous friend, your question is very timely and it is of utmost importance that we know the correct answer to the question. However, with your permission, the question requires an amendment of some sort. No doubt, you are concerned about how to get salvation. That is a good concern. But what is salvation? The Bible says that salvation, or to be saved, means to live forever, or to inherit everlasting life. And Jesus Christ, whom the Bible refers to as the means of salvation, plainly told us in John 17:3, as follows: "For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He...gave up His only begotten...Son, so that whoever believes in (..clings to..) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life." John 3:16 AMP Similarly, Jesus' words in John 17:3 apply: "And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive.., become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent". John 17:3 AMP So, what anyone must do in order to get salvation is quite clear from Jesus' words as quoted. Our goal, then, is gaining salvation, of course not by our own power, but through the grace and support of God. Having said that, we need to know and believe what God himself means by salvation. We have seen that salvation means living for ever, ultimately. The question, then, is: WHAT IS THE DESTINATION FOR THE SAVED? Is it heaven? Or, does God have the intention of taking all the saved to heaven? Most professed Christians--and of course they mean well and are very sincere in their believe--will say YES to the question. That is, all the saved will be taken to heaven to be with God and Jesus. But a serious study and meditation on the word of God will reveal that the vast majority of approved Christians who meet the requirement of John 3:16 and John 17:3 will inherit everlasting life on earth, while only a minority will inherit everlasting or immortal life in heaven. If one reads carefully Luke 12:32 and compares it with John 14:1-4, Daniel 7:13,14,18,21,22,27, it will be clear that Jesus promise to take people to heaven applies only to the " people of the saints of the most high", or " the little flock". The "saints of God", or the "little flock" are being taken to heaven to perform special assignment, as clearly specified both in the old and new testaments. See Daniel 2:44; 7:13,14,21,22,27; Luke 12:32; 22:14,28-30; 1 Corinthians 6:1-4; Revelation 5:9-10; Revelation 1:5b-6; 20:4-6. These scriptures reveal that: 1. Jesus will be the king or ruler in the Kingdom of God, which is God's Government that will rule the world in the future. That Kingdom will bring peace, justice and righteousness to the earth, Isaiah 9:6-7 2. Saints of God will rule with Jesus in the heavenly kingdom. 3. The number of the " people of the saints of the most high" is 144,000 spiritual Israelites. Let me quickly emphasize that this number is NOT, repeat NOT, the number of humans who will be saved. These are the ones that will inherit eternal life in the heavens. The Bible assures us that there will be a "great crowd which no man can number". God has not placed a limit on the number of those to be saved. These will inherit everlasting life on paradise earth! Luke 23:42-43. After all, the Bible teaches that God created the earth for everlasting habitation by humankind, Psalms 115:116; Isaiah 45:18; Ecclesiates 1:4; Psalms104:5. Death entered the world through Adam's disobedience, Genesis 2:15-17; 3:17-19; Romans 5:12. The tree of life in the garden was meant to be eaten by Adam for him to live for ever, Genesis 3:22-24. God made provision for man's salvation right there in Eden, Genesis 3:15. The seed of the woman was to be a deliverer of mankind, which Jesus proved to be, Revelation 21:2-4. Finally, it is God that decides "destination" for each saved human- whether heaven or paradise earth.
Kevin Honeycutt
Supporter
You can be assure by doing what the Apostles told everyone when they asked "what must I do to be saved?" Hear- Romans 10:17, Matthew 11:15, Acts 18:8. Believe- John 5:24, Mark 16:16, Acts 16:31-33, Acts 18:8. Confess- 1 John 4:15, Romans 10:9-10, Acts 8:35-38. Repent- Luke 13:3, Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19, Matthew 9:13. Baptized- Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, Acts 8:35-38, Acts 16:31-33, Acts 18:8. Then God adds you into the Church- Acts 2:41, Acts 2:47, Colossians 2:12, Galatians 3:27, Romans 6:3-11. Study the Scriptures daily- 2 Timothy 2:15. Endure to the end- Matthew 24:13.
mary h
Supporter
No-one but God decides who goes to heaven, and the only way is through Jesus and believing on him and following his life. Like It says in Matthew 20:20-23 and Mark 10:36-40.Even Jesus himself couldn't say who goes where, eveything is in Gods hands. He decides who goes to heaven. But you can give all your heart to God, and do what you can and leave it in Gods hands. Jesus says in the chapters above. Are you willing to drink from the cup of which I drink? And be baptized from the baptism i am baptised with? In other words are you willing to take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow him? (Matthew 16:24) And are you willing to be baptized with the word of God and take his word into your heart? It's through his life you will be saved. (Romans 5:10) We must follow Jesus' life, then live it out, putting our sinful lives behind us. And God will decide where we are going. We should just be content with the day we're in we don't know when the end of our life will be, today, tomorrow or in years to come? And live our lives as best as we can each day to please God! (James 4:13-17) In the bible Jesus also says, that many will turn back and those who endure to the end shall be saved! (Matthew 24: 12-13) and revelation 2:10 tells you to keep faithful until the end of your life! And he will give you his crown of life!
Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
How can I prepare myself for heaven? I can do 3 things: 1. Believe in Christ. The Bible says in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 11:25 records the Savior [saying to Martha] -- Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even if he dies." In Romans 6:23 Paul said, "[For] the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." 2. A second thing I can do to prepare myself for heaven is to live for Christ. Paul the Apostle tells Titus (Pastor Titus) in the Bible in Titus 2:11-13, "[For] the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people." (verse 11). Titus 2:12 "It [God's grace] trains us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age," "Nos entrena para rechazar los caminos impíos y los deseos mundanos y para vivir vidas autocontroladas, rectas y piadosas en la era present." Titus 2:13 "as we wait for the happy fulfillment of our hope in the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ." PDT "Mientras tanto, esperamos ver la gloria de nuestro gran Dios y Salvador Jesucristo. Aguardamos ese día feliz, mientras esperamos el feliz cumplimiento de nuestra esperanza en la gloriosa aparición de nuestro gran Dios y Salvador, Jesucristo." 3. A third way I prepare myself for heaven is speaking for Christ. Jesus told his followers which includes you, Christian, and me, in Matthew 28:19-20, "[Therefore] go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Mateo 28:20 "enseñándoles a obedecer todo lo que les he mandado. Y recuerda, estoy contigo siempre, hasta el final de la era ". And then, lastly, St. Peter tells believers, "[But] sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to answer every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear" in 1 Peter 3:15.
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