This is a very important question! I can tell you whether you’ll make it to Heaven. Seriously. It’s not that difficult. I can tell whether anyone will make it to Heaven… not because I’m special, but simply because I know what it takes to go to Heaven. When I’m done explaining it to you, you too will know whether you, or anyone else, will make it to Heaven. First, let’s clear up a couple of things.
What will NOT get you into Heaven?
- Being good.
- Being good enough.
- Being mostly good.
- Being more good than bad.
- Sinning less.
- Going to church.
- Reading the Bible.
- Praying.
- Anything else YOU do to earn going to Heaven.
You see, nobody has what it takes to get to Heaven on their own. Nobody ever has, and nobody ever will. That’s not how it works. If it did, we could just make a checklist of things to do, and things to not do, that would make sure we get to Heaven. There is no checklist. So:
What does it take to go to Heaven?
Trust.
That’s it. Seriously. That’s all. Of course, that raises a few questions. Trust what? Trust who?
Trust God. In the Bible, over and over again, we see the word “believe.” The Greek word that was originally used is better than just “believe.” It’s PISTEUO, and it means ‘to be persuaded,’ and ‘to commit.’ We can’t just believe in God and go to Heaven. We have to TRUST God. We have to be persuaded that God exists, and that He’s trustworthy… and then we have to commit to trusting Him.
Think of it like a chair. If you see a chair, you know that it’s something used for sitting. That’s knowledge, not trust. If you’re confident that the chair will support your weight, that’s belief, not trust. The only way to actually trust the chair is to sit on it. Until you sit on the chair, you’re not actually trusting it to hold you up.
Believing in God is just like that. We can learn all kinds of things about Him, but that’s only knowledge. We can say that we believe He’s trustworthy, but that’s not the same as trusting Him. When we tell God that we DO believe He’s trustworthy, and we surrender our lives to Him, we’re saying that we’re going to do things His way instead of our way. It’s not enough to know about God, or even to believe He’s awesome. To go to Heaven, we have to sit. Like on the chair. We have to actually trust God to guide us through life.
When we do that, God does something in us. In John 3, Jesus called it being ‘born again.’ The apostle Paul said that if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here. The Holy Spirit – who is God Himself – comes and lives in us. He guides us, helps us, trains us, and corrects us. It’s pretty awesome, I must say. Living God’s way has made my life so much better than living life my own way! I have a tendency to mess things up, but He doesn’t. He knows better than I do.
What happens after we’re born again? Well, that’s only the beginning of the awesomeness! God will change you from the inside out to be the person you were always meant to be. Some of the things you don’t like will change. Sometimes, the things we do like will change, too… if they’re not good for us. That doesn’t sound like fun, but you can trust God’s decisions. He’s always right.
That’s God’s part. He remakes us. What is our part? Well, remember PISTEUO. The word suggests some level of commitment, like deciding to actually SIT in the chair. Our part in God’s plan is that we trust Him, and we follow His lead. The Holy Spirit will do a lot of that on the inside of us, and you should always listen to Him. That’s not all, though. God has already given us some helpful information on how to live well. It’s in the New Testament. I would suggest that you take some time to regularly – daily, if possible – read what God says in the New Testament. We all need help and encouragement from time to time, too… so I recommend looking around for some people in your area who already trust God, and build good relationships with them. You need them, and they need you. Let me know if you need a hand finding some of these folks. I’d be happy to help. God also puts us to work, helping other people learn to trust Him. For me, that’s one of the best parts of following Jesus.
You may have noticed that I didn’t mention baptism. There’s a very good reason for that: baptism has nothing to do with going to Heaven. New believers are baptized to show other Christians that they’ve decided to trust God with their lives. It’s not a spiritual thing, it’s a social thing. You should be baptized, but you wouldn’t go to Hell if you died first. It’s a ritual that tells your community of faith that you’ve joined them.
There you have it. Does that make sense? You and I can both know whether we’ll make it to Heaven. All we have to do is trust God with our lives. Reading the Bible will help you trust God better, since you’ll understand Him and His plan better. Spending quality time with other people who follow Jesus will help you trust God better. I can also recommend some websites and radio programs that you can learn from, for free… they can help you trust God better, too. They’ve definitely helped me.
What do you think? Do you trust God? Have you been born again? If not, or if you’re not sure, just do it now. Tell God that you want to trust Him completely, and that you’ve decided to accept His invitation to become a citizen of His Kingdom. I’d love to hear that you’ve done that, so I can call you my brother, or my sister.
If you need help, I will help you. Feel free to email me, too. Have a great day, my friend!
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