How Can I Know That I Have Eternal Life?
The most important question a person will ever consider is, “Where will I spend eternity.”
More literature has been written about this thought than any other. More songs have been sung, more poems quoted, more questions have been asked about this topic than any other…The great question is, “How can I KNOW that I have eternal life?”
We would like to discuss that for a little bit today. I would like to ask you a few questions and then we will look at the Scriptures for the answers:
- If you died today, are you 100 percent sure that you would go to heaven?
- If you died today would you want to go to heaven?
- If I could take the Bible and show you how you could know for sure how you could know for sure, would you be willing to look at it?
You see, we do not go to heaven because of what we do. We go to heaven because of what we believe and accept from the Word of God.
The first thing that you must believe and accept from the Bible is that, “You must realize that you are a sinner.”
In Romans 3:10 the Bible says, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”
That word “righteous” means to do right ALL THE TIME. Or to be perfect.
Do you “Do Right ALL THE TIME?” No, of course not. None of us do. Notice what the Bible says in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
The Bible very clearly tells us that all of us have sinned. We have all done things that the Bible calls “sin”. We have come short of the Glory of God. That means we have fallen short of the standard. We are not perfect.
Let’s suppose that Jesus Christ walked into this room. Could we point our finger at Him and say, “Jesus, I am as good as you are”?
No way! But that is how good we would have to be to go to Heaven because of what we do.
So you must believe and accept that you are a sinner. Do you believe that?
The second thing that you must believe and accept is that there is a price for sin.
The Bible says in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
We must recognize that God has put a price on sin. That price is death. That means more than just the body dying, it means an eternal death, separated from God for eternity.
We see that in Revelation 21:8, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
The Bible here lists a lot of different kinds of sin, and sinners. All of us are in that list somewhere. But notice that it says that those sinners (all sinners) will have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Now, what place does that sound like to you? That is exactly right, it is Hell. That is THE ONLY place where we can pay for our sins.
It is like this, when you go to the grocery store can you pick up all of the items that you need and then walk out without paying for them? No, of course you could not. Why? Because every item in the store has a price tag on it.
Let’s suppose that we went to the store and you got all of your groceries, and I got my two favorite things, a Dr. Pepper and a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, could we just walk out of the store without paying for it? No! Where would both of us have to go before we could leave the store? (The cash register) We would have to go to the cash register and pay for our items. It would not matter how many things that you have, there is only ONE PLACE where you could pay.
Sin is exactly that way. It does not matter how much sin we have. We could be a really good person and only have done what we think are little sins and somebody else could be a serial killer and both of us would have to go to the same place to pay for our sins and that place is Hell and the payment is death for ever, separated from God.
- Do you believe and accept that you are a sinner?
- Do you believe and accept that you owe a payment for your sin and that payment is death in hell forever?
So far, we have heard a lot of bad news, but there is some good news! We read in Romans 6:23 where the Bible says “For the wages of sin is death;” I am glad that verse does not end there. It goes on to say, “…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
God loves you and does not want you to go to hell. So He has made a way for you to have your sins paid for without you going to hell. Notice what the Bible says in Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
You see, God did more that love you. He did more than love me. He demonstrated that love by having his perfect, sinless Son, the Lord Jesu, come to this earth, live a perfect life and then die on the cross for your sins. Jesus was buried, and then he rose again from the dead.
You see, Jesus paid your sin debt, He paid for mine. It is sort of like this. Every time that I stop to fill my car up with gas I have a choice to make. I can pay cash or I can put in on my charge card. Sin is that way. You and I can pay cash for our sins by dying and going to hell forever OR we can charge that sin to Jesus because He has already paid the price of death for us.
Do you believe and accept that Jesus paid for your sins when he died on the cross, was buried and then rose again from the dead?
The next thing that we must believe and accept from the Bible is that we must repent of our sin.
The Bible says in Acts 3:19. “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out…”
That word repent means to have a change of mind about your sin. You agree with God that you are guilty. It is like a criminal who stands before a judge and accepts a plea bargain. Before the judge will allow him to do that, the criminal must admit to the court, and to the judge, that he is guilty. Then the judge is free to help him.
We must come to God and admit that we are guilty sinners before him and that because of our sin we deserve hell.
In Acts 20:21 we find this truth, “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”
That means I repent toward God, because it is His law that I broke…
And I have Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ because He paid my sin debt and made it possible for God to grant to me His Grace and Salvation.
- Are you willing to accept and believe and then admit to God that you are guilty before him as a sinner?
The next thing that we must believe and accept from the Bible is that we must receive Christ as our Saviour.
The Bible says in Romans 10:9-10 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
We must believe that Jesus died on the cross, was buried and then rose again to pay the price for our sins. The payment for sin was death. Jesus paid the penalty in full. Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, but the whole world is not going to heaven. Just knowing that he died for your sins is not enough. We must ask Him for the gift of salvation.
Notice what the Bible says in Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Salvation is a gift to be received by asking for it.
Let’s pretend that I was a millionaire. I’m not, but I would like to try it for a day or two. But let’s say I wrote a check to you for $1,000,000. Then let’s say I gave that check to my friend Bob here. I told him that one day you would come and ask for it. There was nothing you had to do to get it. You couldn’t buy it. You couldn’t work for it. All you had to do was ask and he was to give it to you. Then I come to your house and tell you that I have written a check for a million dollars with your name on it. I have given the check to Bob. For you to get that check you just have to go and ask Bob for it. You can’t work for it. You can’t buy it. You can’t give me anything for it. All you can do is ask for it and accept it.
Now what do you have to do to get that check?
That’s right, you would just have to ask for it.
Now let me ask you a question, “Would you ask for it?”
Sure, you would! I would!
You would do it in a heartbeat. But you know, God has done something better than that for you. He has written a check for eternal life with your name on it. He gave that gift of eternal life to His Son, Jesus Christ. He told Jesus that one day you would come and ask for that gift of eternal life. You couldn’t buy it. You couldn’t work for it. All you have to do was ask for it. When you do, he will give it to you.
Now, what would you have to do to get that eternal life?
That’s right, you would just have to ask for it.
“Wouldn’t you like to do that right now?”
- So do you believe and accept that you are a sinner?
- Do you believe and accept that there is a price for your sin?
- Do you believe and accept that Jesus has paid for your sins for you?
- Are you willing to admit to God that you are a guilty sinner?
- Would you like to ask Jesus for that gift of eternal life right now?
If you would like to do that, I invite you to pray, and ask God to save you right now. There is no “magic” formula. Now I will help you word the prayer. There are no magic words. You just have to come to God with a sincere heart, and ask him for the gift of eternal life. Let’s pray.
Pray this prayer after me, now the words won’t save you. It is what you believe in your heart.
“Dear Jesus,
I know that I am a sinner. I am sorry for my sin. I owe a debt for my sin, and that debt is to die and go to a place called Hell. I know you died on the cross, was buried and rose again to pay for my sin. I repent of my sin and I turn to Jesus Christ, and ask you to save me right now. I admit my sin to you. I do now, receive Jesus as my Saviour. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me, Amen”
Did you mean that prayer when you just now accepted Jesus Christ as your Saviour?
According to the Bible, what did Jesus just do for you? He saved you!
The Bible says in John 3:16, “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.”
The Bible clearly says that if you believe on Jesus Christ you will not perish, meaning, “go to hell to pay for your own sins…
The Bible says you will have “ETERNAL LIFE”
That means you will go to Heaven when you die.
According to the Bible, if you died right now where would you go? Heaven!
Why? Not because you are good or perfect, But because Jesus is all of that and He gave you eternal life when you trusted him.
If you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour today, we would like for you to connect with us and let us know. We have this booklet, “Salvation, Life’s Greatest Decision,” as well as some other materials, to help you in your new faith in Christ.
It is our prayer that you have received Jesus Christ. Please let us know, so that we may rejoice with you.
Thank you.