First Bible Baptist Church, North Adams, MA

              Can A Person Be Certain That He
                          Is Going to Heaven?

There are big questions that haunt all of us. What happens when I die? Where will I spend eternity? The single most important question that you will ever answer is this: “If I were to die today, would I spend eternity in Heaven with God?” Your relationship to Jesus Christ is central to the answer to that question.

The Bible tells us in I John 5:13, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life...” The simple truth is God wants you to know where you're going!

I John 5:11-12 says, "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life and this life is in his Son. He that hath the son hath life: and he that hath not the son of God hath not life." Eternal life does not come through church
membership or even by being a good person; in fact, the Bible is quite clear that we cannot earn heaven, it only comes through personal faith in Jesus Christ:

          First you must admit that you are a sinner - Romans 3:23 says,
          "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:10
           says, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one."

          As sinners, we all owe a penalty- Romans 6:23a says, "For the
           wages of sin is death..." The Bible speaks not just of physical death
           but of a second death, which is eternal separation from God in the
           Lake of Fire. Revelation 20:14-15 describes this penalty for sin:
          "Death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second
           death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life
           was cast into the lake of fire."

          We must accept that Jesus took our punishment- God loved us
           so much that he became a man in order to pay for our sins. When
           Jesus hung on the cross, he was our perfect substitute. The sinless
           one died for sinners. Romans 5:8 says, "But God commendeth his
           love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

          Finally, the only requirement to receive God's gift of eternal
           life is to personally believe in Jesus as your Savior- John 3:36
           says, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that
           believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth
           on him."

          To believe in Christ is to trust in His death, burial, and
           resurrection as your only hope for forgiveness of sin. Believing
           is not simply agreeing with a list of facts about Jesus or even
           believing that he is the Savior of the world. Believing is when you
           put your faith and dependency for salvation in Christ ALONE. Are you
           ready to acknowledge that there is absolutely nothing that you can
           do to save yourself and that without Christ, you will face an eternity
           of punishment in Hell? Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace are ye
           saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not
           of works lest any man should boast."

          Right now, wherever you are, you can put your trust in Jesus-
           In your heart, call out to the Lord. Tell Him that you know that you are
           a sinner and that you are now trusting in Jesus' shed blood and
           resurrection from the dead as your only hope for forgiveness. If you
           will believe in Christ, He will forgive your sins, make you His child,
           and give you a home in heaven.

         "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
          saved." -Romans 10:13