Can You Know for Sure You Will Go to Heaven?

Jesus Fixes Our Broken Relationship with God

This week, President Donald Trump made headlines with a comment aboard Air Force One. When asked if his efforts to end wars might help him get into heaven, he said, “I don’t think there’s anything that’s gonna get me in heaven. I really don’t. I think I’m not, maybe, heaven-bound.” This statement sparked a lot of discussion, and, with it, much sadness on my part. Every person deserves the right to know the answer to this question: Can you know for sure you will go to heaven?

Let’s focus on what the Bible says about being sure we can go to heaven. I want to explain how Jesus fixes our broken relationship with God enabling us to become friends, primarily using 2 Corinthians 5:19-21. This text is all about something called reconciliation, which means fixing a broken relationship. By the end of this post, I want you to be able to answer this question, “Can I be sure I am going to heaven and why?”

What Is Reconciliation?

Reconciliation is like repairing a broken toy so it works again. It means taking two people who are not friends and making them friends again. The Bible tells us our relationship with God is broken because of sin – not simply the sins a person commits but sin in our hearts, known as our sinful disposition. Sin is when we do things God says are wrong, like lying, being mean, or not listening to Him. Sin makes us far from God, essentially like enemies.

The Bible says in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” That means everyone – you, me, President Trump, everyone – has sinned. Our sin breaks our relationship with God, and we cannot fix it on our own because God is perfect, and we are not.

But here is the amazing part: God does not want us to stay far away from Him. He loves us and wants to fix that broken friendship. That is what reconciliation is all about – God making us His friends again!

God’s Big Plan to Fix Things

Please consider with me 2 Corinthians 5:19-21 to see how God fixes this problem:

“That is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

This might sound like a lot, but let me break it down for you. God had a plan to fix our broken relationship with Him. He sent His Son, Jesus, who never sinned – not even once! The Bible says in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus took our sins, like whenever you have taken the blame for something to help a friend. On the cross, Jesus took all our sin – the wrong choices made and everything sinful in our hearts – and paid the price for them.

Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Sin should make us die and be separated from God forever. However, the great news is – but Jesus died in our place. That is God’s big solution! He loves us so much that He sent Jesus to make things right.

What Happens When God Fixes It?

When Jesus died on the cross and rose again, something amazing happened. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says God made Jesus, who had no sin, “to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Righteousness is a fancy word that means being right with God, like getting a perfect score on a test. When we trust Jesus by faith, God gives us His righteousness. It is like Jesus gives us His perfect report card because He did everything perfect, and God sees us as clean and good! Get this: God sees us as clean and good not because we are but because Jesus is and God allows Jesus’ righteousness to be ours.

This means we are not enemies with God anymore. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We have peace with God, like being best friends again. And Romans 8:1 adds, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” That means God does not punish us for our sins anymore – any punishment we deserve, Jesus took care of it all on the cross!

What Do We Need to Do?

God did all the hard work to fix our relationship with Him, but we need to say “Yes” to His plan by faith. 2 Corinthians 5:20 says God is pleading with us, “Be reconciled to God.” That means we need to believe in Jesus, say sorry for our sins, and ask God for forgiveness of them – this is called repentance. Romans 10:9 explains it: “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Believing means trusting that Jesus died for your sins and came back to life. Confessing means telling God you want Jesus to be your Savior and Lord.

Romans 10:13 promises, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” That means anyone – you, me, or anyone who asks Jesus to save them – can be friends with God. It is like saying, “Jesus, I want to be on Your team!”

Why Is This So Important?

Reconciliation is super important because it changes everything. Imagine if you did something wrong, and a judge said you were in big trouble. But then, the judge paid your fine and invited you to be his friend.

That is what God does! He is the judge, but He loves us and makes us His friends through Jesus. It took God’s love and Jesus’ sacrifice to make this happen, and all we need to do is believe and say yes. If God as judge of the world only looks at you and what you have done, you are cooked. It is impossible for you to earn heaven or earn God’s love. Your good will never outweigh your bad. However, Jesus’ good and sacrificial death will and does outweigh your bad and provides for your reconciliation.

Plus, when we are friends with God, it helps us be better friends with others too. Reconciliation fixes our relationship with God (that is the up-and-down part) and helps us love people around us (that is the side-to-side part).

A Promise for You

When you trust Jesus, you become righteous in God’s eyes. You are not just forgiven – you are part of God’s family! You can talk to Him, love Him, and know He loves you back. If you want to be friends with God, you can pray a simple prayer like this:

“Dear God, I know I am a sinner and have sinned and done wrong things. Thank You for sending Jesus to die for my sins. I believe He rose again. I want Jesus to be my Savior and Lord. Thank You for making me Your friend. Amen.”

If you pray that and mean it, you are reconciled to God! You are His friend forever, and He will never leave you.

Let Us Remember

God loves you so much that He fixed the broken friendship caused by sin. 2 Corinthians 5:19-21 tells us Jesus took our sins so we could be right with God. All you need to do is believe in Jesus, say sorry for your sins, ask for forgiveness, and follow Him. The Bible promises in Romans 10:13 that anyone who calls on Jesus will be saved. That is the best news ever! If you prayed this prayer, tell someone today, or reach out to a pastor or friend to learn more about following Jesus.

Every person deserves the right to know the answer to this question: Can you know for sure you will go to heaven? Share on X

If you have been encouraged or taken the next step toward eternal security, please share your story with me. You can do that here.

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For further help on going to heaven, consider this post: If You Commit Suicide, Can You Go to Heaven?