The Bible says there is a heaven and that it's more beautiful than any of us can imagine.

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

The Bible also says you can know that you'll be in heaven, even before you die.

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW [capitals added] that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:13)

Aren’t those wonderful words of hope? Now you may be asking, “Okay, how do I go about knowing for sure?”

Here’s how:

First, you must realize that you’re a sinner. You’ve done, said, and even thought things that are wrong. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23) As a sinner, then, you are short of the glory of God, as the Bible says. That means you can’t get into heaven on your own. Heaven is God’s home. It is a holy place, but you’re a sinner.

Your sins have also earned you the penalty of death: “For the wages of sin is death;” (Romans 6:23a) You don’t know how, when, or where you will die, but it will happen one day. And if you die without your sins forgiven, Revelation 20:14-15 tells where you will go: “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” How horrible.

Yet here is the best news you will ever hear: “…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23b) When you think of the word “gift,” you think of something nice that someone gives you because they love you, right? Well, even though you’ve sinned against God, He wants to give you the most important gift of all: the gift of eternal life!

The gift of eternal life must be paid for, like any other gift. Jesus Christ, God the Son, paid for your eternal life with His own life! The death penalty had to be paid for your sins, and Jesus loved you so much that He paid it! “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) In fact, Jesus paid for every sin you would ever commit in your entire life! “Who [Jesus] his own self bare our sins [all of them] in his own body on the tree,” (1 Peter 2:24)

     Jesus was also buried, but He rose again! “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen;” (Revelation 1:18) He had said prior to His death that He would die for sins and rise again. The fact that He actually rose again proves that what He had said was true!

Now that you know all this, what should you do? John 1:12  tells you: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” In order to be saved, you must receive Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour. Just as you receive someone by inviting him into your home, you receive Jesus Christ as your Saviour by inviting Him into your life.

To do this, you realize you’ve sinned against God and deserve sin’s punishment of death and hell. You also realize that Jesus, God the Son, died on the cross to pay your entire sin-debt, was buried, and rose again. Finally, you call on Jesus in repentance, turning from sins and honestly desiring to be forgiven, and invite Him to be your personal Saviour, trusting Him entirely to forgive you all your sins and get you to heaven when you die.

If you’ll receive Jesus as Saviour, God’s Word promises you’ll have four wonderful things:

1. Complete forgiveness of all sins, past present, and future: “In whom [Jesus] we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:” Colossians 1:14

2. An eternal home in heaven to look forward to: “For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;” Colossians 1:5

3. A new birth as a child of God: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13

4. Jesus’ indwelling presence: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:” Galatians 2:20

If you want to receive Jesus but you’re not sure how, you could pray like this: “Lord Jesus, I know I’m a sinner and deserve hell. But your death paid for all my sins, and you were buried and rose again. Forgive me my sins. I repent. I’m inviting you into my heart and life right now to be my personal Saviour. I’m trusting entirely in you to get me to heaven when I die. Thank you, Lord Jesus.”

   If you’ve received Jesus as Saviour, you have just made the best decision of your life. You can now say confidently that those verses above apply to you. If you want to know more about your new relationship with Jesus, please contact the church where you found this essay.