Are you going to Heaven when you die?

Thank you for taking the time to learn about the most important question we can ever ask: where am I going to spend eternity? Am I going to go to Heaven, or am I going to Hell? You know, the Bible says that we can actually know. In 1 John chapter 5, verse 13, let me read that. It says, these things, the Word of God, have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, it says here, that ye may know that ye have eternal life and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

God says the Bible was given to us so we can know the answer to that very important question. Am I going to Heaven when I die? There are four things we need to understand, and may I say, first of all, our faith must be in the unchanging Word of God. I can tell you what I believe about going to Heaven, but that doesn't mean anything unless God says the same thing. God is the final authority on all things eternal, and God says that we can know for sure we're going to Heaven. And let me share with you what the Bible says.

First of all, we need to understand our condition before God, and God says in Romans chapter 3 verse 10, as it is written, there is none righteous, no not one. That word righteous there is the word perfect. God says there's nobody perfect. I know I'm not perfect, and you are also not perfect. And we're not perfect because in verse 23 of the same chapter, God says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

There's one thing we all have in common. I don't know who is reading or listening to this. I don't know what nationality you are. I don't know where you came from or your background, but there's one thing we all have in common. In the sight of God, we are all sinners, and nobody has to convince me of that. I know I'm a sinner, and that's why God says none of us are righteous. Nobody is perfect. That's the first thing we need to understand if we're going to go to Heaven. First of all, in God's eyes, nobody is perfect.

The bad news about being imperfect is that there's a penalty for that. There's a consequence. God says, "For the wages of sin is death." God says what I owe for my sin is death. You may say, that's not too bad. I die, and I'm buried in the grave, and that's it. The only problem with that is that we all must live somewhere forever and that death that the Bible talks about is not just being buried in the grave. It is actually an eternal place. The Bible calls it the lake of fire. In the book of Revelation, God says, "And death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."

God says because I'm not perfect, because I'm a sinner, I deserve to be penalized. The consequence of sin is death. I deserve to go to Hell and stay in Hell forever. That's the bad news. So if we're going to go to Heaven, we need to first realize that there is bad news. The bad news is before God, who is righteous, He is the only one that is perfect; we're all sinners. And because we're sinners, we deserve to die and go to Hell. And once we're there, we're there forever. There's no escaping from Hell.

But there is good news. God says that 2,000 years ago, someone was born here on earth, a very special someone. His name was Jesus. Jesus is God, the Son. And the reason He came, the Bible says, He came so He could die for our sins. In the book of Romans, the Bible says, "Christ died for us."  Jesus, who is God, did not need anybody to pay for His sins. He did not have any sins or bad in Him. But he came so he could pay for our sins because we're sinners. He lived a perfect life and was accused wrongfully of wrongdoing, though he was guiltless. And on the cross, the Bible says the guiltless was punished for the guilty.

The Bible says Jesus died for me. The sinless one died for the sinner. On the cross 2,000 years ago, God knew all the sins we were going to ever commit. And God the Father put all our sins on his Son. On the cross, Jesus died for my sins. He didn't deserve to die. I deserve to die. And he took my penalty on himself. He died, and he was buried. And after three days, he rose again. When he rose again, it showed us that sin had been paid for. I can't pay for my sin. The only way I can pay for my sin is to die and go to Hell. And you can't pay for your sin because the only penalty for sin is death. But Jesus Christ, the Bible says, died for us. He was buried. He rose again. When Jesus rose again, he purchased the gift of eternal life.

Eternal life is a gift. I have a pencil with me right here. Let's imagine that it is a time when we give gifts. And let's imagine I'm going to give you a gift. I say this pencil is a gift for you. But before I give it to you, you must give me money first. That's not a gift because now you're paying for it. I say, forget the money. If you wash my car, then I'll give you a gift. That can't be a gift because you're working for me. You're doing something on my behalf. If I say, you don't have to give me money. You don't have to wash the car. But if you go to church, read your Bible, pray every day, and just be good to your neighbors, I'll give you a gift. Some people would say, yes, that would be a gift. But you have to realize you're still doing something in return. You see, the Bible says, "For by grace are you saved through faith and not out of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast."

I used to think that if I'm going to go to Heaven, I had to do certain things. I have to obey certain rules, but that doesn't pay for my sins because the Bible says, "The wages of sin is death." The only way I can pay for my sin is to die and go to Hell. That's why Jesus had to die. That's why Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth so that he could be our sacrifice. And when He rose from the grave, He bought eternal life for each of us.

Now, just because it's available doesn't mean it's yours. The gift of eternal life is available for those who want it, but that doesn't mean it's yours just because Jesus paid for it. The way you make it yours is to simply ask. That's how simple it is. God says if you're willing to admit that: Number one, you're a sinner and that you deserve to die and go to Hell, and that there's no other way for you to go to Heaven, not your works, not your religion, not church membership.

I'm a Baptist, but being a Baptist will never get me to Heaven. You see, if we reject all those other ways to go to Heaven and accept only the way that God has provided, God says, I'll give you eternal life. In John 14, verse 6, Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Then he says, "No man cometh unto the Father but by me." There's no religion; there's no church; there's no amount of good works that will ever get us to Heaven. The only one that can get us to Heaven is Jesus Christ because 2,000 years ago, on a hill called Calvary, He paid what you and I cannot pay. He died for us. And God says all you have to do is ask Him for the gift of eternal life. If you will ask God to give you eternal life and put your faith in Him as your personal Savior, Jesus says I'll give you eternal life. And when you die, you will go to Heaven.

The way to ask is Romans 10, verse 13. The Bible says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." It's as simple as that. If you, in a simple prayer, would ask Jesus Christ to be your Savior and put your faith in Him alone to take you to Heaven, nothing else, no one else, not even yourself, Jesus says, I'll give you that gift.

Jesus did that because He loved us. He doesn't want anyone to go to Hell. The Bible says, "He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." He wants you to go to Heaven. God says in John 3, verse 16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." I'm so glad for that verse because it shows God loves me. How much does God love me? Look back two thousand years ago, and see that one on the cross dying. He didn't have to die. He didn't have to die for me. He wanted to. He loved me so much. He wanted to die for my sin so I don't have to go to Hell.

If you say, I'm a sinner; I know that. I deserve to go to Hell, just like the Bible says, "The wages of sin is death." But I don't want to go to Hell. And I believe Jesus Christ is the only one who can take me there. If you believe that, I'll lead you in a prayer. It's not a magic prayer. It just shows the faith that you have in Jesus. In that prayer, you'll say something like this, "Dear Jesus, I'm a sinner. I deserve to die and go to Hell, but I believe you died for me. Please save me. Please give me eternal life and take me to Heaven when I die. I'm not trusting anything else but you, Jesus.

A prayer like that in simple faith, trusting Christ, no one else but Jesus Christ. So if you're willing to pray that prayer. I want you to bow your head and pray this prayer with me. I want you to believe it in your heart. Simply say this prayer, "Dear Jesus, I know I'm a sinner, and I deserve to die and go to Hell, but I believe you died for me. Please save me and take me to Heaven when I die. I accept your gift of eternal life, and I trust you and only you to take me to Heaven. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me. Amen. If you prayed that prayer and believed it in your heart. That means that you're trusting only Jesus, nothing else, no one else but Jesus. Take God's promise for you. God says whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Because of faith in Christ alone, we have everlasting life. So because of that, when I die, I'm not going to go to Hell because I have everlasting life.

I prayed this prayer back in 1986. I've not been perfect since then, but ever since then, I've had eternal life, and I'll never lose it because it is eternal life. My salvation is not based on my action. My salvation is based on Jesus Christ and his truthfulness and his promise. He says, if you believe me and trust me, I'll take you to Heaven. I'll give you eternal life. That's what I'm trusting.

I'm going to Heaven not because I'm good. I'm going to Heaven not because I'm a Baptist. I'm going to Heaven not because I live a good life and try to be good to people. I'm going to Heaven because I realize I'm a sinner and I need a Savior, and I asked Jesus Christ to be my Savior. Praise the Lord for that day. I'm glad somebody showed me what the Bible says about going to Heaven. If you're not saved, would you get saved today? Thank you for reading and listening. Have a good day.

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