Are you going to heaven? - Joey Ferrell
When you ask a question of such - “Are you going to heaven,” generally, you will get different answers. What would your answer be?
Think about the youngest of our young in a church setting. They have been taught maybe by their parents, or maybe in Bible school about God and heaven, even though maybe they don’t always grasp the deeper ideas of salvation. When you ask one of those precious souls, their answer - rightly so - is a resounding YES!
As one gets older, the mental idea changes. Sometimes it is because of sin in their lives, or maybe just their faith has weakened, or some other idea of less than worthy may come into play. The answer often heard to the question of “are you going to heaven,” is often “I think so!’
Then, when we see our parents, grandparents, older friends and loved ones reaching the peak of their lives, that time in which the reality of eternity really begins to set in and the years living on earth seem to be less than the time already spent based on the life expectancy of man, and they are asked that same question…”Are you going to heaven?” Unfortunately, many times the answer may come in a subconscious mindset of “I hope so!”
While it is understandable that many times in our ever-changing lives, we are faced with things that can absolutely destroy our faith, push us to a point in which we may not realize how confident we were in our younger years, or even just something discouraging that honestly makes one doubt the reality of a chance in heaven, Christians need to stand firm on their hope of eternal life!
1 Peter 3:15 talks about that hope that we need to carry. Peter tells his audience that they need to be ready to give an answer…an answer of the defense of the hope that we must have. Too often it seems, that defense is short-sighted and can be knocked down way too easily.
Here are four things to remember about our hope of Blessed Assurance!
Certainty - we must be certain of our ideology in heaven and the way to get there. Jesus has already “paved” the way for us. (John 3:15-16) Paul also tells us that we can be certain that NOTHING can take that away from us once we are obedient to Him (Romans 8:31-39)
Confidence - we must have confidence in our salvation. Hebrews 10:19-23 tells us of the powerful tenet that we have that can be embraced “as we see that Day approaching.” 2 Timothy 1:7-12 tells us to not have fear in our lives when it concerns our faith in God and promise of eternal life.
Conviction - The Hebrew writer tells us in Hebrews 6:11-19 that we MUST have diligence toward our hope of eternal life. We must set our sites and true them in daily in order to have that blessed assurance that we have been offered. We MUST continue to grow in faith, learning, and love toward the Savior as we diligently study, learn, and seek opportunities to share with others.
Continuity - Once we have obeyed that form of doctrine as is described in Romans 6, we must continue living faithful lives toward God, with our Savior and the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was writing to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-10, there were some challenges. The church in Ephesus was an example of one that had done some great things…however, Jesus charges them with something that seems so disappointing. He says “you have left your first love.” He does give a hope that if they return that things will be okay for them…but then he ends His thoughts in this letter to the church with “be faithful unto (some translations say until) death” and they would receive the crown of life. Interestingly enough, many times a very big part of context is missed in this passage. Here it is…these people….our brothers and sisters in Christ…were about to be persecuted SO HARD that some of them would even experience death. The text alludes to ten days. TEN DAYS. Can you imagine being persecuted in such a way for ten days in such agony, knowing that the outcome would and could be death…would that be a test of faith? For most…it would. The words of Jesus here are a comfort. They are an admonition to press on…keep on keeping on…hold strong to their faith…because the reward IS coming!
Blessed Assurance…Jesus is mine! Are YOU going to heaven? If you cannot answer with Certainty, having the Confidence of your answer, being Convicted of your relationship with God, and Continuing to live a life that is toward righteousness, please give consideration today to your soul and eternity!
In the field…
As fall has approached, many congregations are winding down from special meetings, days and so on. As you are, we would like to ask that one of our field reps be able to talk to you about a visit.
Many times, we find out that there are a lot of members of the church that do not know how they can utilize the resources on our website, the program, our app, and so on. We want to make sure that YOU know as well as everyone around you. We would love to come and visit with you soon! Give us a call at 855-458-3905.
We have launched on several new local markets once again this month, and as a reminder, you can find us Nationwide on FETV, Roku, AppleTV, and online.
Until next month!
~Joey