Once we've developed a friendship and we've shared our experiences through "witnessing" or by sharing our "personal testimony", we move on to the next part which is to share the good news about what Jesus Christ has done for us.
I'll be sharing the below, and the messages to follow, as though speaking directly to someone:
I'd like to ask you a question - Have you come to the place in your spiritual life where you know for certain that if you were to die today that you would go to Heaven? Or is that something you would say you’re still working on?
Now I know that can be quite a daunting question. The subject of one's death is not necessarily a topic that people like to think or talk about; and in this context, it's about whether one is sure that they'll go to Heaven should they die. The other question is, is that something we can even be certain of?
1 John 5:13
"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."
John 6:38-40
"For I have come down from heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. For My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
Based on the above passages, there's an assurance given that we can know that eternal life is available to us.
The next question I'd like to ask you is, if you were to stand before God and He asked you, "why should I let you into Heaven?", what would you say?
I'm sure for many people their response would be something along the lines of how good they were or that they weren't as bad as some other people out there; so they base getting into Heaven on their good deeds or actions but is that an accurate guide by which to measure whether or not we can be certain of our salvation?
Let's see if we can answer this question by looking at what the Bible says about the subject:
Firstly, we must know that eternal life is a free gift and is not something we can earn or deserve.
Romans 6:23
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Titus 3:4-7
"When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life."
Ephesians 2:8-9
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast."
This concept of a gift is similar to buying someone a present for their birthday.
For example, let's say it's your birthday and I were to buy you a watch but then the next day I gave you a call and said that you need to help me pay it off and that I expect the first installment by the end of the month ... that's not how we define a gift. A gift is something that is freely given and freely, and easily, received (you just have to take it)
If you were to buy a loved one a gift, you'd give it to them out of the love you have for them, not because of anything they’ve done for you or whether they deserve it or not. It’s the same with God, He loves us, and because of that love, eternal life is a free gift available to us all – there’s nothing we can earn or do to deserve it.
We've just established that eternal life is a free gift and is freely available and accessible to all. If this is the case, does it mean that everyone will automatically enter Heaven one day? (please read part 15)