This is a very important as well as personal question. I do not ask this to make you feel bad or get upset. I am asking it because I care. There is no greater question to know the answer to than this question. In regards to this question, let me share with you some introductory thoughts. 1) There is a God, 2) God loves you, 3) The Bible is %100 true, 4) God lives in Heaven, 5) Since God loves you and since God lives in Heaven, He wants you there, and 6) Since He wants you there, He makes it easy for you to go to Heaven. God does not want you going through life wondering if or hoping that you would go to Heaven. The Bible says in 1 John 5:13 "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." God gave us in the Bible how we can know 100% for sure we will go to Heaven. He gives us in the Bible some things we need to recognize in order for us to go to Heaven.
1) Realize that no one is perfect ~ Romans 3:10 "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one."
No matter what a person may do in life, he is never going to be perfect. Why is it that no one is perfect? The answer lies in point number 2.
2) Realize that man is a sinner ~ Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
The reason that we are not perfect is because we have sinned. Sin is anything wrong we do. It does not matter how big or how small the sin is; sin is still sin. The latter part of that verse talks about falling short of God's glory. That means that because of our sin, we cannot get to Heaven. Heaven is a perfect place. If we as imperfect people go to a perfect place, it will cease to be perfect. You might be thinking, "I am a good person though." Let me illustrate it this way. If you were washing your car, and at the end of washing it, you notice a big spot of dirt your miss. At that moment, do you care about all the good spots on the car or do you care about that spot you missed. All of us focus on the spot we missed. God is no different. He is concerned about the spot we fall or the sins we commit. He compares our good deeds to "filthy rags." No matter how good you are, you cannot get to Heaven on your good works. (Ephesians 2:9 "Not of works, lest any man should boast.")
3) Realize the penalty for sin ~ Romans 6:23a "For the wages of sin is death..."
Once a person gets a job, he starts earning a paycheck. On that pages are the words "total wages." The word "wage" means earning. The Bible is saying here that the earnings of sin is death. We are all going to die one day. The body we live in will die on day and be buried; however, God put a part in us called a soul. That soul is and immortal part. The Bible talks about another death in Revelation 20:14, "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." Because our sin has a price, we will have to pay for our sin one day in a place called Hell. This is not a good place; it is a place of torment. This is the only other place that the Bible talks about our soul going besides Heaven.
4) Realize that God gave an escape route ~ Romans 6:23b "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Thankfully that verse did not end after the first part. God gave us the bad news first but finished with good news. God does not want anyone to go to Hell; He created an "escape plan" to avoid having to go to Hell. He has a gift for you. You do not have to do anything to earn this gift; you do not have to pay God back for giving you this gift. What is this gift that He has for you?
5) Realize that the gift was the death of His Son to cover your sin ~ Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
God's gift to you was that He sent His only Son to earth to die for your sins and take your penalty for sin. Remember, God loves you and He does not want you to go to Hell. His Son Jesus was born in a manger and lived a perfect, sinless life. He was 100% God and 100% man at the same time. About thirty-three years into His life, He was crucified on a cross. He shed His blood to cover your sins. He died in your place and bore the penalty of sin for you. Three days after He died, He rose again from the grave and now sits on the right hand of God in Heaven. Jesus Christ's death on the cross is that gift that God has for you. How then can you get this gift.
6) Realize that Christ is your only way to Heaven and trust Him ~ Romans 10:9 and 13 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
God's gift to you is Christ's death on the cross. That does not mean though that every person automatically has this gift. God gives it to everyone, but not every person receives it. To receive this gift, the Bible says you need to call upon God and confess to Him. Confess means "to say the same thing, to be in agreement with." This means that you need to agree with God that you are a sinner deserving Hell, you cannot get to Heaven on your own power, Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven, and that you are accepting what He did on the cross to cover your sins. The method of going about this is to say a prayer. It is important to know that the prayer alone does not save you because he adds in the verse "and shalt believe in thy heart." Words do not save you; it is whether or not you truly believe it in your heart and truly trust Him for salvation. If you would like to receive Christ now, say this simple prayer:
Dear God, I know that I am a sinner. I know that I cannot get to Heaven on my own power.
I know that I deserve Hell. I know that your Son died for me on the cross. Right now,
as best as I know how, I am asking you to forgive me of my sins and take me to
Heaven when I die. I am trusting you and you alone to take me to Heaven.
God please save me. In Jesus' name, Amen.
If you truly meant that prayer, then God just became you Saviour. When you die one day, Heaven is your home. God will never change His mind about what you just did and there is nothing you can do to lose what you just received. Congratulation on just becoming a member of God's family.
If you were saved as a result of reading this, please contact 239-261-0122 or email us at info@sbcnaples.com