“How can I know I have eternal life and will go to heaven when I die?

 

In I John 5:13, the inspired writer says, “These things I am writing to those of you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you already have eternal life.”  Eternal life is both for here and now as well as the hereafter since it says that those who believe already have eternal life.   God wants us to know that we have eternal life, not just hope that we do or wish that we did.  What can give us confidence that we have eternal life?  It cannot be our own abilities to be good enough to deserve eternal life, because none of us are good enough. Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.”  “All” includes every good person you know.  Romans 3:10 says, “There is none righteous not even one.”  All are sinners.

We all deserve the same eternal damnation.  Some may be greater sinners than others, but we have all earned death and hell.  Romans 6:23a says “For the wages of sin is death.”  Since all sin, we are all deserving of eternal death; thankfully, the rest of the verse says, “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Eternal life is a free gift that has already been stored up for you.  It was purchased by God, Himself, through the shedding of the blood of Jesus on the cross.  He loved you so much that He would pay for your redemption by giving “his only begotten Son so that whoever believed in Him would not die but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

The word “believe” is important.  In 1 John 5:13, those who should know that they have eternal life are “those of you who believe in the name of the Son of God”.  John 3:16 says that God “gave His only begotten son that whosoever believed in Him would not die but have everlasting life.”   Believing is trusting in, relying on, depending on, and holding to, and being secure in the faith in Jesus who can and will save us.  Romans 10:9 says, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.”  Romans 10:13 says that, “Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”  That means that you have to ask Him for the gift if you want it.

The good news is that our hope for salvation is not an eternal chance we have to take, but it is a choice we make to accept God’s eternal gift.  Jesus has already done what must be done to save you from your sins.  If you will turn in faith to Him, confess your sins, ask for His salvation, and publicly profess Him as Lord (in the New Testament public profession of faith is done at Baptism), you will have eternal life for here and hereafter.

Please consider Jesus’ love gift to you and accept it now.  No matter what you have done, forgiveness of all of your sins and a transformation of your life awaits you if you ask Jesus to be Lord of your life.  We would love to talk to you more about this.  You can come by the church, call 870-735-5241 or e-mail me at DrK@fbcwmem.org. Please know that we really do care about you at First Baptist Church of West Memphis.

 

Estate and Charitable Planning

The Arkansas Baptist Foundation is pleased to announce a new web link on its website for estate and charitable planning.  The link is located at: http://www.abf.org/individuals_estate_planning.htm.  The link provides information on the estate planning process, charitable gifting strategies, upcoming teleconferences and other information that may be helpful.