God's Grace enables believers to be certain about going to heaven
By Peter Kaye |
Chapter 7 Page 129
‘You believe heaven is a real place—don't you?’
Well, that was a question she wasn't expecting. Janet nodded. ‘Yes, the Bible makes that very clear.’
‘What's it like?’
‘It's where God lives with his angels and other heavenly bodies. Everyone who trusts Jesus Christ as their Saviour goes there when they die. The last book of the Bible, Revelation, gives the best description saying the streets are paved with gold, and it has walls made of precious jewels with gates of pearl. That's where the expression 'pearly gates' comes from.’
‘Is that where your mum is?’
‘Yes, Mum's in heaven.’
‘How can you be sure?’
‘It was Mum who first explained to me about God and Jesus, so I know she believed. And I could see it in her face, in the way she lived and the excitement in her eyes when we used to talk about Bible passages.’
‘My parents never went to church, but they made me say prayers each night when I was very young. And they wanted me to get confirmed... But maybe that's not enough,’ Peter said dejectedly.
‘Just because someone never speaks about their faith, it doesn't mean they haven't got any. Did you ever hear them say Jesus didn't exist?’
Peter shook his head.
‘I think what God doesn't like are people who deny Jesus as the son of God. And while you can't get to heaven by just doing good things, some stuff is done through God's guidance by people who believe but wouldn't call themselves Christians.’
‘What stuff?’
‘Your parents gave up a lot of things for you. You might think mistakes were made, but I'm sure they acted with your best interests at heart. Which is just the way God would guide them. Unlike the way the world sees things, he is more concerned with our motives and less about whether we succeed or not.’
Peter moved his gaze from the sea to look at Janet. ‘Suppose Mum and Dad never read those words in the Bible, which say you have to believe to get to heaven?’
‘Bible verses aren't like passwords; that you must get right, or you don't get in! Whether your parents ever read these verses doesn't decide if they go to heaven, although it would affect their peace of mind about what happens when their earthly life ends. It's not what we say, how many good deeds we do, whether we go to church or which Bible verses we can quote that count. It's whether God sees true belief in our hearts, which he says starts from looking at the world around us, revealing his nature and power and grows as we learn more about him and acknowledge our sinful nature. God will know if our faith is genuine, and there are some scary bits in the Bible for people where it isn't. They'll be in for a nasty surprise when their life ends.
‘Does that mean hell?’
‘Yes. The Bible makes it clear that if we die without accepting God's offer of Grace, then, as he cannot look on sin, we'll end up being separated from him forever. And that's another way of describing hell.’
‘What's Grace?’
‘The forgiveness of our sins. A gift from God that we don't deserve and could never earn, no matter how many good things we do. All we’ve got to do is accept it.’
‘I thought God is supposed to love us all, even those who are really wicked. So, how can he send people he loves to hell?’
‘God doesn't send anyone to hell. It is the just consequence of the things we've done wrong. Every one of us will die with a long list. You, me, my mum, your parents. We all deserve hell, and that's where we'd end up if it weren't for Jesus' death at Easter. He paid for our sins by suffering unjustly for things where we should be punished. This is why accepting Jesus means we can be sure we will be with God forever when our life down here ends. But each of us must make a conscious decision to do this, and you can't buy salvation for someone else, as the Catholics once believed.’