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[youdontknowwhothisis]

I was wondering, once a person has accepted that Jesus Christ died for their sins and that accepting that is the only way to get to heaven.... Is there any reason they would not go to heaven? Even if they got sidetracked and stopped going to church or praying? How does someone know for sure that they are saved?

[jimwalton]

That's a great question, because a lot of people do that. Here's what I say: once you are truly saved, you can't lose that. But one of the signs that you are truly saved is that you don't walk away from it. That's not to say people don't flub up, because everybody flubs up. what the Bible assures us is that God isn't so fickle that he'll write you off just because you're flubbing up. The problem is that sometimes people treat their decision to accept Jesus as their "fire insurance," and then they can feel free to ignore him, and laugh about their faith, and do whatever they want. they have a serious misunderstanding of what this is all about. To me, 1 Timothy 2.11-13 is instructive: Here is a trustworthy saying: "If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself." We are expected to hang in there through all of life. If somewhere along the line we flub, he won't desert us. But if we disown him, it says he will also disown us.

So how can you be sure that you are saved? In Matthew 7.21-23, Jesus said that lots of people will call Jesus "Lord," but they're fakers. It's not in their hearts, and they don't treat it as real. Jesus also said, in Matthew 7.14, that the real road to the real heaven is narrow, and the gate is small, and few will find it. How does someone know for sure that they are saved? Let me ask you this first: How does someone know for sure that their spouse knows they are loved? Well, you make sure every day that you say so, and that you treat them in loving ways, and you do loving things for them, and you communicate with them—and you do that every day. If you want to make sure, you don't let a moment slip by without letting them know: "I love you today." Great, back to the question at hand: how can you be sure you are saved? Every day make sure you communicate your love to God, you listen to what He says, you live your life in a ways that says "I love you" (which Jesus says is by obeying what he says), and you don't let a minute slip by. If you're serious about wanting to be sure you're saved, then keep the relationship as strong as you can. Make sense?

[unknown]

So whats the truth if this is the situation...?

I once was very into worship and praying and going to church and living the christian life. I believe in Jesus Christ, that he is the Son of God and accepting that he died for my sins and that is the only way to get to heaven. I know the stories in the Bible, all of the hymns at church. I have taken communion, helped at VBS... all the things related Christian.

Then some things happened including my laziness and life circumstances and choice... and I stopped going to church and praying and studying the Bible. All along I would never disagree with any of my beliefs about God. I still believed Jesus was his son and he way holy. Things like that never changed. I very very rarely would talk about it if at all. For about 3 years or so this has been going on. I never "dissed" God.

Now i am thinking about everything lately and I just have been confused, then a friend told me about your site so I took it as a "sign" i guess. Do i really have to be saved again? Do i have to be rebaptized? Do i just have to start "practicing" again to go to heaven? Will i ever be saved since i knew the "truth" and ignored it? I want to go to heaven obviously but i am just muddled down with too much "you should do this and you should do that" Bible stuff that I can't even begin to figure this out. Heaven would be great, I just dont understand why God cares if you live a "good" life or live a "Modern Day Christian American's Life." I say American like that because being a Christian is generally very different from say truly living a Christian life in China.

I guess that is a lot of questions all in one post. What do you think?

[jimwalton]

It isn't the mistakes you make, but what you do after your mistakes that make all the difference. Anything can be forgiven if we just turn back to God, turn away from whatever it was, and come back to His love. In the Old Testament, Saul was the king of Israel. He flubbed up badly, and his attitude after it was sort of, "So what?" God said, "OK, then, forget you." David was also a king of Israel. He flubbed up badly, and his attitude after it was, "Oh, God, I am SO SORRY" (Ps. 51). God said, "Come back to me, and I will have you again." It's not what you've DONE, but what you DO. Moses was a murderer; David was an adulterer; Saul/Paul was an accomplice to a murder. It can all be forgiven. You don't have to be saved again. You don't have to be re-baptized (though you can be, just as married couples now sometimes have 2nd ceremonies where they renew their vows with each other). The truth is, God wants you back, and if you turn back to him in true repentance, he will have you.

The rules part? After Jesus came, he said, It's not that the rules don't count anymore, but just be like me and that will take care of it. I recently met my brother at a restaurant in Northern New Jersey. After the meal, we got in our separate cars to head back to his house a half-hour away. I had a GPS, but my brother said, "Just follow me." I turned on the GPS for fun, and it wanted to take me a different way. No chance—I was going to follow my brother. He's the one who lived there; he's the one who knew the way. Sure the GPS would have gotten me there, but I didn't let my brother out of my sight. It's not that the rules in the Bible don't count, but I follow a person. That's all I have to do, since I know he respects and follows the rules. Of course the rules matter. I have to drive on the right side of the road, I have to stop at red lights, and I still can't go the wrong way down the wrong side of the thruway, and I can't just blow through the toll booths. But I obey the rules not because I'm earning the right to have an evening with my brother. I'm not earning anything; I'm just driving safely to my destination.

Why does God care if I live a good life? That's how I show my love. Why does my wife care if I live a good life? If I drink and destroy myself, my attitude, or my relationships, what did that freedom get me except problems? If I steal money from work to buy her things, but get caught and put in jail, what did that accomplish? I WANT to be good because that's the best way to show my love. Our good works don't earn us anything with God, but they show that I love him and want the best for myself, because that's what will be best for Him.

You had a lot of questions for one post. Let me know what I didn't answer, and ask that part again.