Gooding, David: Can We Be Sure of Heaven?

In this first series of talks, we shall be considering the question, can we be sure of heaven? That is, not can we be sure that there is a heaven, but can we be sure, can you be sure, can I be sure, in this life, that one day we shall arrive in heaven? This, after all, is life's biggest question, is it not? Life is a journey, a journey that is daily carrying us towards its end. We may perhaps be enjoying the journey and finding it full of pleasure and happiness, or we may not be enjoying it. It may be full of pain and sorrow. But the most important thing of the journey is where the journey will end. The Bible tells us that ultimately there are only two ends to the journey of life. The one is God's heaven, and the other is hell. Now, many people believe this with all their hearts, and consequently they try to live in such a way as to avoid hell and arrive in heaven if they can, when life's journey is done. But when they have done their best to live as they think they ought to live, they are still not sure, not absolutely sure, of where they are going to end up. And so they live their lives in uncertainty. They travel along life's journey, unsure of what their destination is going to be. They fear that, after all, they may be lost at last. Now that's a thousand pities. For the Bible not only shows us the way to God's heaven, it tells us how we can be certain of getting there. Now, maybe that surprises you, or even perhaps shocks you. You have always thought, it may be, that it is quite impossible for anybody in this life, while still on earth, to be sure that they will arrive in God's heaven. You think that it is perfectly all right to hope that one day you will be in heaven, but you likewise think it is impossible for anybody to be sure. And here's me saying that it is possible to be sure. Well, now what shall we do? I suggest that what we better do is to look at what the Bible says. The Bible, of course, is God's word. And it can't be wrong, and it will never lead us astray. Now, when we turn to the Bible, we find, first of all, that it does in fact tell us of certain people, some individual people, who were absolutely sure of heaven while they were still on earth. Let's look at some of those people. The most famous of them, I suppose, is the man whom we normally refer to as the dying thief. He wasn't really a thief, he was more like a bandit or a freedom fighter. But whatever he was, we read his story in Luke twenty three verses thirty nine to forty three, and there we find that while he was still in this life, he received from Christ the assurance that he would be in heaven. Said our Lord to him as he hung upon the cross, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. What a lovely assurance that was. Let's go over it and enjoy it together. Today, said Christ to the dying thief. Today. There was to be no waiting, no long interval between his dying and his arriving in paradise. Today, said Christ. Today thou shalt be with me in paradise. There was to be no distance between him and Christ, no separation from Christ. The moment he arrived in paradise, he would be with Christ, where Christ was, exactly with Christ. There was to be no distance, no separation. Today, said our Lord, thou shalt be with me in paradise. That's a lovely word. Originally, it meant a pleasure park, and God uses it to indicate all the wonderful joys and pleasures of heaven. And so our dying thief knew from Christ the assurance that that very day he would be with Christ, and when he got there, it would be a place where there was no pain, no sorrow, no suffering. He would be with Christ in paradise. Now all this, the bandit, now converted, knew before he died. And of course, he was utterly sure of it. You say, how could he possibly be sure? Well, he was sure that he would be in paradise that very day because Christ said so. It was Christ who told him, today shalt thou be with me in paradise. And because it was the Son of God, our blessed Lord, the Savior, who told him, then the man was absolutely and unshakably sure that what Christ said was true, and therefore that very day he would be with Christ in paradise. Now let's notice that when that man became absolutely sure that he was going to be in paradise, it wasn't presumptuous of him to say so. Many people, you know, think it is presumptuous for anybody to say that they are sure that they will be in heaven. But it wasn't presumptuous of this man, was it? Because he was not relying on his own merit to get him to paradise. Had he been relying on his own good works to gain him entrance to God's heaven, then for him to say he was sure of getting in would certainly have been a sign of exceeding great presumption. But the man was not relying upon his good works. He was a self-confessed sinner. He was relying simply upon Christ's word. Christ said it. Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. And of course, it is not presumption for anybody to believe what Christ says. Christ, after all, is the Son of God, and when God says anything, we have to believe what he says just because he says it. In fact, if we do not believe what God says, God takes a very, very, very serious view of it. Listen to what God says in the first epistle by John and chapter five and verse ten: He that believeth on the Son of God has the witness in him. He that believes not God has made him a liar because he has not believed in the witness that God has borne concerning his son. If you tell me something and I don't believe you, what I am saying is that you are not worthy to be trusted. I'm making you out to be unreliable. And if God says something, if the Son of God says something, and we don't believe him, we are making out that he is not to be trusted, he is not worthy to be believed, he is in fact a liar. And of course, that would be a very exceedingly serious thing to do. So it is not presumption to believe what God says, far from it. It is our duty to believe implicitly anything that Christ tells us. And so the thief was absolutely sure that he was going to paradise. And had you been able to ask him outright, tell me, my good man, you are soon to die. Soon your life in this world will end. By nightfall, you will be dead and buried. Tell me, are you sure where you are going when life is done? He would have replied, of course I am sure. I shall be in paradise. Christ has said it. Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. And it wouldn't have been uncharitable either, would it, for the dying thief to be sure and to say so? Many people are, of course, afraid of being uncharitable in this matter. They observe that many other people around them cannot say that they are sure of being in heaven. And because the other people cannot say they are sure, they think that they oughtn't to be sure themselves. I notice that when I tell some of my friends that I am sure of being in heaven, then they seem to think that I mean that I am very good, and they are not so good as I am. And because they're not so good as I am, that's the reason why they can't be sure. And of course, they resent my saying that I am sure. But their argument is false, isn't it? As we can see if we look again at our story of the dying thief. There were, you remember, two thieves crucified along with the Lord Jesus. One of them came to be sure of going to God's heaven. The other one wasn't sure. Now, it would be foolish to say, wouldn't it, that because the other wasn't sure, the first one ought not to have been sure either. What we had better ask is, why wasn't the second one sure of going to paradise? Was it because he wasn't quite so good as the first one? Well, no, of course not. Both these men were bad, equally and utterly bad. Listen to the first one confessing his sin. We receive the due reward of our deeds, says he. Of course, both had richly deserved not only the judgment of men, but the wrath of God. Then why was the first one sure of heaven? Why, because though he had lived an exceedingly sinful life, yet now he had genuinely repented. He had confessed himself a sinner. He had called on the name of the Lord, and he had trusted the Savior. Remember me, said he to Christ, when thou comest into thy kingdom. And the Bible tells us, in the Epistle to the Romans, chapter ten and verse thirteen, whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. And so the first one was sure. Why was the second one not sure of heaven? He had the same opportunity, after all, as the first one did, of calling upon the name of the Savior. Then why was he not sure of heaven? The simple answer is that while he could have repented, he didn't, and he wouldn't. Had he trusted the Savior, he would have received the same assurance, but he wouldn't. The first thief appealed to him. Dost thou not fear God, he said, seeing we are in the same condemnation? But he wouldn't fear God, and he wouldn't repent, and he wouldn't trust the Savior. That was why then, the second thief was not sure of heaven. I'm afraid he died without Christ, and to him applied those solemn words of our Lord Jesus, you shall die in your sins, and where I am, you never can come. But that does not mean that the first thief had no right to be sure, for he had repented, he had trusted the Savior, and Christ had personally told him, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. A few hours later, the first thief breathed his last on earth, and immediately he went to be with Christ. There was no waiting, no interval. Today, said Christ, thou shalt be with me in paradise. He closed his eyes on this world, being in tremendous pain of crucifixion. The next moment, when he opened his eyes on the next world, he found himself in paradise. No more pain, no more sorrow, no more suffering forever. He was with Christ in paradise. So here at least was one man of whom the Bible talks, and while he was still on earth, he was utterly sure of being in heaven. But perhaps you say, well, I have repented, but I'm still not sure like that dying thief was. Perhaps, therefore, the thief was a special case. He was able to be sure because Christ spoke personally to him, but he was a special case, and we can't hope to be like him. All right then, in our next talk, we must look at some other people of whom the New Testament talks, who likewise were sure, and find out whether we too can have the same assurance as they did. In these talks on the things in life that matter most, we are considering the question, can we be sure of heaven? Now, in the first talk, we thought about one man of whom the Bible tells us who was utterly sure of being in paradise as soon as this life ended. That man was the dying thief. But perhaps you say, yes, but the dying thief was a special case, and just because he was sure doesn't mean that I can be sure. Well, may I remind you of what the Bible says in Romans chapter ten and verse twelve. There is no difference, it says, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. If then the dying thief called on the Lord and was saved, so may you. The Bible says that in this matter there is no difference. Nevertheless, let's look now at another man in the Bible, the Apostle Paul. But there you are, you say, it's no good quoting the Apostle Paul to me. The Apostle Paul was a great and holy apostle. He had a dramatic conversion. He was a great preacher. I could never be like him. Well, if that's what you think, listen to what he himself tells us in the first epistle to Timothy and chapter one. It reads like this, one Timothy one verses fifteen and sixteen: Faithful is the saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. Howbeit, for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me as chief might Jesus Christ show forth all his long suffering, for an example of them which should hereafter believe on him unto eternal life. So then, from these verses, we learn that Paul was the worst of sinners, the very chief of sinners. But we also learn, not only did Christ save him, but when he saved him, he made him an example for the rest of us, to show us all how we too can be saved. So that we may argue, if Christ has saved the very worst and chief of sinners, namely the Apostle Paul, then obviously he can save me too. And he can save me on the very same terms as he saved him. For that's what Paul tells us, does he not, in that other letter he wrote, the letter to the Romans, chapter three, verses twenty three and twenty four. He reminds us that we all have sinned. We have sinned in the past and do still fall short of the glory of God. That is, in the present, we still fall short. So there is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But there is no difference in this too. We are justified, as he says in the next verse, freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Well then, what did Paul say on this matter of being sure of heaven? The passage where he speaks most about it, we find in his second epistle to the Corinthians and chapter five. And in this chapter, he points out that our physical bodies are like tents. Tents, we all know, are only temporary buildings. Well, they're not buildings at all, really. They're a make-do for a building. They're formed of fairly collapsible matter. They can easily be taken down. Let the wind be too strong, it'll blow the thing down. Just like a tent then, one day our bodies will perish and be laid in the grave. But listen to what Paul said, two Corinthians five and verse one: For we know, he says, we know that if the earthly house of our tabernacle, our tent, be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. But then, what exactly happens to the believer when his time comes to die? Paul describes that in verse six. Being therefore always of good courage, he says, and knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. We are of good courage, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. How lovely those words are, and how direct and how simple they are, and easy to be grasped. What is it for the believer to die? It is, says Paul, to be absent from the body and present in the Lord, uh, with the Lord. You see, in this body, says Paul, we are like a man who is away from home, away from his own country, in a foreign land on business. While he is in that foreign land, he is absent from his home. But the day comes when he's going to leave this foreign land and return home. He gets on the airplane, he leaves the land of his exile, and presently he's home once more with those he loves. So one day, the day will come for us to leave our bodies. While we are at home in the body, says Paul, we are absent from the Lord. But for the believer, when the day comes for him to leave the body, he will, so to speak, walk out of this tent, this human, frail, mortal body. The body will die, and the believer will walk out from his tent, and he will be absent from the body. In that very minute, he will be present with the Lord. And the thought of it fills Paul with great courage. We are of good courage, he says. Knowing his courage proceeds from his knowing with absolute certainty that for him to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. But you say, how could Paul possibly be so sure? What gave him that assurance? Well, he tells us here in verse five of this same chapter. Now he that wrought us for this very thing is God, he says, who gave unto us the earnest of the Spirit, that is the Holy Spirit. You see, when we repent of our sins and personally put our trust in the Savior, then the Bible tells us that God gives us his Holy Spirit, who comes and lives within us. He witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs of God. And what is more, our verse tells us this, that the Holy Spirit is the earnest that God gives us. Now, that's a very old-fashioned word that we don't often use nowadays. It means what, in modern terms, we call a deposit, a part payment. Suppose you want a TV set and you go down to the shop, and you buy the set. It could be, perhaps, that you haven't all the money with you to pay the man, uh, all the price all at once. So what you do is to give the man a deposit, and you promise to give him the rest of the money at some later date. And the fact that you put a deposit on the goods is your pledge that one day you're going to pay the rest. Of course, some people don't get round to paying the rest, but with God, of course, things are different. When we trust Christ and receive the Savior, then God gives us the Holy Spirit in our hearts, and we have him living with us in our hearts. And that Holy Spirit, says God, is my part payment, the guarantee that one day I shall give you all the rest of the things I have promised. Among all the rest of those things is, of course, heaven itself. How can the believer be sure of heaven? Why, because when he trusted the Savior, received him personally, then God guaranteed to him that one day God would give him his very heaven to enjoy. He guaranteed it to him by giving him, the very moment he believed, the gift of the Holy Spirit as the earnest, the part payment, the guarantee that one day God will give him heaven as well. And if God has given us the first payment, the part payment, God will never let us down. He will most certainly give us the complete gift. He will bring the believer home to heaven. So, says Paul, we are of good courage, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. We are of good courage, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. In fact, in another place, in Philippians chapter one, he tells us, I have a great desire, he says, to depart and to be with Christ, for it's very far better. But perhaps you're saying to yourself, oh yes, well, Paul was certain that when he left this body, he would be at home with the Lord. But could it not be that there would be some interval between the time when Paul would leave his body and the time when he would arrive with the Lord? Could it not be that there would have to be an interval for him, or if not for him, at least for us, so that when we come to die, there would be an interval between our dying and our going to be with Christ, an interval in which we should have to be purified and go through some kind of purgation. Well, if you put that question to the New Testament, the answer of the New Testament is no. There isn't to be any interval at all. And that we can see from what the Bible says is going to happen at the second coming of Christ. Well, you say, what is going to happen at the second coming of Christ, and what do you mean by the second coming of Christ anyway? Well, now that's a big subject, and we shall have to deal with that in our next talk. This is the third talk in the little series of talks we are giving on the things in life which matter most, and we are considering the question, can we be sure of heaven? Now, in our second talk, we promised to look at what the Bible says about the second coming of Christ, and to see what is going to happen when Christ returns, and what that has to tell us in answer to our question, can we be sure of heaven? So first of all, let's read what Christ himself told his disciples about his second coming. We may find that in the gospel by John, chapter fourteen and verses one to three. And first of all, let's read it. Said Christ to his disciples, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you, for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. What delightful verses they are. And shall we notice first the promise that they contain? If I go and prepare a place for you, says Christ, I come again. The promise certainly will be fulfilled. We may know that because of the reliability and the truthfulness of the one who gave it. Then notice the purpose of his second coming. If I go and prepare a place for you, I come again and will receive you unto myself in order that where I am, there you may be also. That is, the believer is promised that when the Lord comes again, the Lord Jesus will receive the believer to himself. And the purpose of that coming is that where Christ is, the believer may be also. And you say, where will that be then? Why, our Lord has just told us in the opening verse, in his Father's house there are many abiding places. And Christ has gone now to prepare for us one of those places, so that when he comes, he may receive the believer to himself, that where he is, the believer may be also. You say perhaps, well, how will all this take place? And in what order will the events come? Well, of this we read in the first epistle by Paul to the Thessalonians and chapter four. Again, let me read you the verses. One Thessalonians four verses fifteen to eighteen. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words. Now, in these verses, we notice that there are mentioned two groups of believers. The first group are what is called the dead in Christ, that is, the physically dead. These were people who, in their lifetime, repented of sin and personally trusted the Savior. Now they have died physically, and their bodies have been buried or burned. They are physically dead. But because in life they received the Savior, they are now called the dead in Christ. That's the first group then. The second group, uh, come under this phrase, we who are alive and are left, who remain. That is, the believers who shall still be living on this earth when the Lord Jesus comes back again. We notice there's nothing said in these verses about those who are non-believers. What happens to them is a very big topic, and we cannot now speak of it here. You say, when will Christ come again? Well, we do not know, and we must not attempt to place dates on his coming. We are told, however, that we must be sure that we are ready for his coming. But all I want to do now is to ask this question. Suppose Christ returned tonight. What would happen according to our verses? Well, what would happen is this. The first group, the dead in Christ, we are told, they would rise first. That is, they would be raised from the dead and given new bodies, like the bodies of our, uh, Lord's glorified body. Next, the second group, the believers who, uh, are alive and remain and have not yet died. What shall happen to them? Well, we're told they are caught up together with the other group to meet the Lord in the air. When that lovely event happens and the Lord comes, and the dead believers are raised, and the living believers are caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air, now notice what happens. There is no interval, no waiting, no period of purgation, for the very next phrase says, to meet the Lord in the air, so shall we ever be with the Lord. No uncertainty. The believer may be absolutely confident. That's why, of course, Paul adds the words, wherefore comfort one another with these words, and what a great comfort they are. For we may know that when the Lord comes, suppose he came tonight, then whether dead or alive, the believer would be raised and caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and in that very moment he would be with the Lord, and thereafter he would be forever with the Lord. And in that confident certainty, the believer finds great comfort. Now, yes, you say, but yes, that is what these verses are saying, but perhaps there will, after all, be an interval. Only perhaps these verses don't happen to mention it. Well, we can find the answer, if we like, uh, to that question in another letter by Paul the Apostle, one Corinthians chapter fifteen, and there we read in verses fifty one and fifty two these words. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. Notice again our two groups. The dead, first of all, the physically dead, the believers that have died. The verses tell us they shall be raised. Then the believers that are still alive, we shall be changed. But now notice how long that operation will take. We are told it will happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Dead raised, the living changed, caught up to meet the Lord in the air in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. No waiting, no interval. And so the believer looks forward to the second coming of Christ with great joy and certainty, not with gloom and fear. He does not fear the coming wrath of God, since God has plainly told him he will never suffer that wrath. And I read you now the words of the Apostle Paul from in one Thessalonians chapter five verses nine to ten. Speaking to the Christians in this city, Paul says, for God appointed us not unto wrath, but to the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we shall live together with him. So the believer shall not come into wrath, as the Savior said, he that heareth my word, believeth on him that sent me, has everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, but has passed from death unto life. Perhaps you say, how can that be? How can the believer be sure he will never come into rot? Well, our verse tells us the answer to the question. It is because the Savior died for us. He died for us that whether we wake or sleep, we shall live together with him. In his death, therefore, lies the secret of how we can be sure of heaven. And in our next talk, we shall have to examine exactly what Jesus did for us then, when he died for us on Calvary's cross. Now, in our last talk, we found that the believer can be utterly sure that he will never suffer the wrath of God. And the reason for that is because Jesus has died for us. Just let me read you again the words that I quoted in our last talk. They come from the first epistle by Paul to the Thessalonians, chapter five, verses nine and ten: For God appointed us not unto wrath, but unto the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. What exactly, then, we might ask, did Jesus do for us when he died? Now, many people think that when Jesus died, what he did for us was, first of all, to deliver us from the curse and taint of Adam's sin, and then secondly, to obtain redemption for us in the sense that he opened for us the gates of heaven. But they believe that the fact that he freed us from the taint of Adam's sin and opened the gates of heaven does not mean that we are fit to enter those gates, and certainly gives no guarantee that we ever shall enter those gates. Uh, opening heaven's gates, then, merely means that he made it possible for us to get in if we, on our part, behave well enough, live our lives well enough to qualify to enter. What we have got to do, therefore, is to try and live in such a way by God's help and grace, and to do such works by the help and grace of Christ that eventually we qualify to get in through those gates. But we are to know that if our works are not good enough, we shall not get in. Now, people who believe this try, of course, and try most sincerely to live as best they can so as to get into heaven at last, but they have no certainty that they are going to get in. For they prove how true scripture is when it tells us all have sinned in the past and do still come short of the glory of God. They know in their hearts that they still come short of the glory of God. In and of themselves, they are not fit to enter heaven. What is more, they suspect in their hearts that when life ends, they still will not be fit in and of themselves to enter heaven's gates. And that's why, incidentally, they hope that there is going to be a purgatory, and that somehow purgatory is going to do for them what this life didn't manage to do, and make them fit to enter the gates of heaven. But when all is said and done, they have no certainty. How different it is when we look at what the Bible says about what Jesus did for us when he died. Here are the words of Holy Scripture that I read from Hebrews chapter ten verses fourteen to seventeen: For by one offering, he that is Christ has perfected forever them that are being sanctified. And the Holy Ghost also bears witness to us. For after that he has said, this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord. I will put my doors on their heart, and upon their mind also will I write them. Then he says, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Now in these verses there are some exceedingly important statements. Let us notice them. First of all, we are told that our Savior has offered one single sacrifice for sin. In contrast to the Jewish sacrifices, which had to be offered day after day and year after year, our Lord has offered one sacrifice for sin forever, then sat down on the right hand of God. Secondly, we are told the result of his one sacrifice. Verse fourteen: for by one offering he has perfected forever those that are being sanctified. And the third important thing is to notice that according to the New Covenant, God says, I will put my laws on their heart, and upon their minds will I write them. That is to say that when a person trusts Christ, then God gives to that person the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit gives him new life and a new nature, so that the very laws of God are written on that man's heart. And then we come to the fourth, and perhaps the most interesting thing in light of our question. Fourth thing says, verse 17, and their sins and iniquities I will remember no more. You say, what does that mean when God says, I will remember no more their sins and iniquities? Well, it doesn't mean that God will forget that they have been sinners. The word remember is here a special word. It is being used in a legal or judicial sense. It means to bring up before the court a man's sin, to try the man for the misdeeds he has done, to find him guilty and to punish him. So in the book of the Revelation, chapter eighteen we read of that wicked city Babylon and the time of her judgment. Revelation chapter eighteen verses five and six run like this. Her sins have reached even unto heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. But what happens, what will happen when God remembers her iniquities? Verse six tells us, render unto her even as she rendered, and double unto her the double according to her work. That is, when God the great judge remembers Babylon's sin, it means that they will come up before him for judgment, and they will receive the punishment due. What a lovely thing it is, therefore, to be told in the Epistle to the Hebrews in chapter ten, In those verses we read earlier, that for the believer, because Christ has offered the one great sacrifice for sin, God will never again remember the believer's sin. They will not come up for judgment. The believer will never have to suffer the punishment for those sins. That is why in Romans chapter eight and verse one the great apostle Paul can say, there is therefore now no condemnation for them that are in Christ Jesus. Of course, the fact that Jesus died does not mean that everyone will be in heaven. If we wish to be there, we must personally repent and personally receive the Savior. By faith, we must do like Paul did, who said, the Son of God, he loved me and gave himself for me, personally for me. Personally like Paul, we must repent and personally trust the Savior. And those who have thus trusted the Savior, the Bible describes them as people who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Let me read you some lovely verses from the book of the Revelation, the Apocalypse, chapter seven and there verses fourteen to seventeen. And he said unto me, These are they which came out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple, and he that sitteth on the throne shall spread his tabernacle over them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore, neither shall the sun strike upon them, nor any heat, for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall be their shepherd and shall guide them unto fountains of water of life. And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes. What a lovely prospect lies before the believer. How wonderful shall life be in the presence of God? So let's come back to our question. Can we be sure of heaven, of enjoying the life of heaven? And the answer is yes. How? Because Christ died for us, and because the person who has trusted the Savior is said by God to have washed his robes, made them white in the blood of the Lamb. So let's close my talk by reading to you some verses from the last chapter of the book of the Revelation, the Apocalypse, chapter twenty two and verse fourteen. Blessed are they that wash their robes, that is, of course, in the blood of the Lamb, that they may have the right to come to the tree of life and may enter in by the gates of the city. How can I be sure that I shall have the right to enter into the very gates of heaven. The answer is simple. Blessed are they that wash their robes, that is in the blood of Christ, that they may have the right to come to the tree of life and may enter into the gates of the city. I wonder if you would let me ask you, have you washed your own? Have you the right of entry into that city? Your eternal happiness depends on that. How solemn a thing it would be to fail to enter in. And what a million pity when every one of us can freely wash our own in the blood of the land, and so have the right to enter into the gates of the city. This is the fifth talk in our series of talks on the things in life that matter most, and we are considering the question, can we be sure of heaven? The answer to the question, of course, is yes. And to show us how sure we can be, when Jesus died, God did a wonderful thing. Matthew tells us in his gospel, chapter twenty seven and verse fifty, that when Jesus died on the cross, God rent the veil in the Jewish temple from the top to the bottom. Let me read you the story. Matthew chapter twenty seven and verse fifty: And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. Behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake, and the rocks were rent. What was this veil which was rent when Jesus died? What was its function? And what was the significance of rending it? Well, it was the veil in the Jewish temple. You'll see, in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, there were two parts. There was, first of all, the holy place, and then secondly, there was the most holy place, or the holiest of all. And between those two parts, between the holy place and the most holy, there hung a veil. And the veil was there because in the most holy place, in the holiest of all, the presence of God dwelled. Now, Hebrews chapter nine tells us that the Jewish priests were allowed every day of the week to come into the first part into the temple, into the holy place, but into the second part, past the veil, no one was ever allowed to come except the high priest, and he was only allowed to come once in the year. And you say, why was that? Why? Because, as I say, in the second part, in the holiest of all, beyond the veil, the presence of God dwells. And the Jewish priests and people were not clean enough, not holy enough to come inside the veil and meet God. The Bible itself tells us, the Epistle to the Hebrews, chapter nine and verse eight, that by putting the veil in between the holy place and the most holy, the Holy Ghost was signifying this, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was standing. So then, in the Jewish temple, people could not come inside the veil into the immediate presence of God, except and only the high priest, and he only once a year. Oh, but when Christ died, God changed all that. God rent the veil in the Jewish temple to show that it was all changed. So let us notice two very big differences between that Jewish temple and what has happened now since Christ has died. In Hebrews chapter nine and verse twenty four we read the first big difference. For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us. You see, Christ, when he died and then rose again, he entered not a temple on earth. He has entered into the heavenly temple, into the heavenly tabernacle, into the very presence of God, and he appears, says the Bible, now in the presence of God for us. So that's the first difference. Not any longer some temple here on earth, some holy place, some shrine on earth, as the Jews had. Christ as our great high priest has entered into heaven itself, into the immediate presence of God in heaven. Now let us notice another big difference. In chapter ten of Hebrews and verse nineteen we read, having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest of all by the blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and a living way through the veil, that is to say his flesh, and having a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. That's the second big difference. Now that Christ has died, the way into the holiest of all is made manifest, and all may come who will. Not, of course, the way into the holiest of all in the temple in Jerusalem, but the way into the holiest of all in heaven itself, where God is, where Christ is, where Christ has entered. Having, brethren, says the verse, boldness to enter into the holiest of all. And so that you should see where that is, it adds, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way through the veil. We have boldness to enter the other side of the veil into the very presence of God. That means that here and now, the believer in Christ has that boldness, that freedom to enter the presence of God. Here and now, in spirit, as we sit here, a believer can raise his heart to God in heaven and in spirit enter the immediate presence of God and know himself welcome in the very presence of God through the veil. He may come boldly to the throne of grace. How welcome is he, you say? Why, the believer is as welcome as Christ himself. In chapter six we have a lovely word used. It is the word forerunner. We're told that, uh, our Lord Jesus Christ has entered in within the veil. Within the veil, says the scripture, Hebrews six and twenty, whither as forerunner Jesus entered for us. He has gone into heaven, but not merely for himself alone, but for us. He has entered as our forerunner. You know, in the ancient world, if one king was going to another country to meet the country, to meet the king of that second country, he would take the precaution of sending a forerunner before him, and that forerunner would go on ahead in front of the king. And the idea was that when the forerunner reached the foreign country. The king would watch how his forerunner was received. If he was received well by the king of the second country, the first king would know that when he arrived, he too would be welcomed. But if his forerunner was rejected, then the king would be warned in time that if he arrived, he too would be rejected. And so, of course, he didn't try to go to that foreign country. Now Christ is the believer's forerunner. He has entered heaven as a forerunner for us who trust him, so that we can know how welcome we are in that heavenly country. How, you say? Well, if you can see how Christ has been welcomed, then you will know how welcome every believer in Christ is. Well, we know how Christ has been welcomed. He has entered through the veil. He has sat down on the right hand of God. He appears in the very presence of God for the believer at this very moment. He has been welcomed one hundred percent, And we are to know, those of us who have trusted him, that as our forerunner, the reception he has been given shows how welcome we are. Let us come boldly, says scripture. We may come through the veil. Well, now let me point out to you what that means. Here am I sitting here, a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and I am told I may enter in spirit through the veil, right into the presence of God, right now, because Christ has died. His sacrifice has put away all my sin, and I have peace with God and am welcome in his presence. And if today I may enter in spirit through the veil into the presence of God and am urged to do so, if every day I may thus come, how can you may say sensibly that when I come to die or the Lord comes, I can't be sure of entering in? Why, in spirit I enter in every day of the week. And when the Lord comes, or when I die, I shall go to be with the Lord bodily, where now I go every day of the week in spirit. This is the sixth talk in the series of talks on the things in life that matter most. We are considering the question, can we be sure of heaven? The answer to our question is, of course, yes, we can be sure of heaven. But this answer is an answer that worries many people. They argue that if we could be sure of heaven, then that would mean that we could do just as we liked and still be sure of getting into heaven at last. It would mean that it makes no difference how a man lives, that even if he'd been the worst scoundrel on the world, yet, uh, he could get into heaven. Well, of course, that is not true. Scripture itself tells us that it will make a great deal of difference how a man has behaved. So let us look at two scriptures that talk about the genuine believer in the Lord Jesus, who is sure of heaven, and yet these two scriptures tell us that it will make a very big difference to that man how he behaves. The first of those scriptures is found in the first epistle by Paul to the Corinthians and chapter eleven. And here are, uh, the apostle is telling the believers how they ought to live, warning them that they ought not to partake of the Lord's Supper unworthily, and what will happen if they do partake of the Lord's Supper unworthily. One Corinthians eleven verse twenty seven therefore. Whosoever shall eat the bread of the Lord or drink the cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he that eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment unto himself, if he discern not the body. For this cause, many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep. But if we discerned ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. Now, these are very solemn verses, and they are written to people who have trusted Christ. They are genuine believers. And they are told that they are to see to it that they live worthy of Christ. And if they sin, they are to judge themselves and confess their sin to the Lord. Moreover, they are to discern themselves. That is, they are constantly to examine themselves in the light of God's word and ask God to show them those attitudes of heart that are wrong and displeasing to the Lord, and ask his forgiveness and ask the help of his spirit to change those attitudes. Now, says the apostle, if we thus discern ourselves and judge ourselves, we shall not be judged. But suppose a believer, because he is sure of heaven, begins to live carelessly, then what will happen? Well, then the believer will be judged by the Lord. And when we are judged by the Lord, says verse thirty two, we are chastened of the Lord. And that can be a severe thing. For this cause, says the apostle in verse thirty, many among you are weak, that is physically weak and sickly, and not a few sleep. That is to say, these believers that have been misbehaving and careless and have not judged themselves, so that the Lord has had to judge them. And under God's judgment, they have taken sick, and some of them have died. They have fallen asleep. They have died prematurely. God has disciplined them. So it makes a tremendous amount of difference whether a believer behaves himself or not. But now let us notice an exceedingly important thing. Paul tells us that when a believer who is thus living carelessly is judged of the law, suppose the extreme case in which God has had to take away his physical life, then notice, Paul says that this is why God does that. This is why he disciplines him. He does it so that we might not be condemned with the world. The Bible is emphatic. The believer will not be condemned with the world. Because there is this eternal difference. If man, if he is a true believer, has trusted Christ, trusted his sacrifice, Christ has for his sake borne the wrath of God. And in that sense, the believer will never perish, never come into condemnation. He will never be judged, condemned with the world. Now let's look at another scripture in this same epistle and chapter three that helps us to understand these things even more clearly. Here upon, uh, Paul is exhorting his fellow Christians to work for the Lord Jesus. And if they work well, he says, they will get a reward. What happens if they don't work well? Well, let's read the passage. One Corinthians three and verses ten to fifteen. According to the grace of God, which was given unto me as a wise master builder, I laid a foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let each man take heed how he builds thereon, for other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. But if any man builds on the foundation gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, stubble, each man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it because it is revealed in fire, and the fire itself shall prove each man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work shall abide, which he built thereon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire. There are several very important things to learn from those verses. First, the foundation, the foundation for life and the foundation for eternity, the very foundation of our salvation. What is that foundation? Well, Paul tells us it is Christ. There is no other foundation on which to build for eternity. But now, secondly, if I am on that foundation, I am saved. Now I'm asked to build on the foundation. If I build well, I shall get a reward. But please notice what it is I get for my good work. I don't get salvation for my good work. You see, salvation is not by works. We learned that in Paul's letter to the Ephesians, chapter two. By grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should glory. Salvation, then, is not of works. I never get salvation as a reward for my work done. Salvation is a gift. But when I have received that gift of salvation and am sure of heaven, then I am allowed to work for the Savior, and if I work well, then I shall get a reward for my work. Other scriptures tell us what the reward shall be. We shall be given tasks of reigning with the Lord Jesus when he comes again. But suppose the believer doesn't work well, or doesn't work at all for the Lord and grows careless. Suppose his work is shoddy and doesn't, uh, satisfy Christ. What shall happen to him? Well, we are told, if any man's work shall be burned, that is, in Christ's criticism, it doesn't come up to standard. Well, then, if any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss. Yes, most certainly he will. Because, first of all, his work is burned, so there'll be nothing to show for all those years he lived. And secondly, he shall not get a reward. So there's nothing to show for his work and no reward for doing the work. He shall suffer loss. And that will be sad and solemn. But now notice what he said. He shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved. You say, how can that possibly be? The man's works have all been burned up. Yes, they have, but then you see salvation is not by works. Reward is by work, and because he worked so very badly, he doesn't get a reward. His works do not survive Christ's criticism, but he himself shall be saved because his salvation never did depend on his works, but by grace are we saved through faith, that not of ourselves. It is the gift of God. He shall be saved, even though it is so as by fire. So let's go now to that epistle to the Ephesians from which we have just read that salvation is not of works, it is by grace through faith. What does salvation mean? What does it bring us? Well, in chapter one verse seven we read, in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses. So the first thing that salvation brings us is forgiveness. And then in chapter two verse one we read the second thing. And you did he quicken when you were dead through your trespasses and your sins. Verse four again, that God, being rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive. He quickened us together with Christ. The second thing we receive, not only forgiveness, but salvation brings us new life, new spiritual life. And then verse six tells us the third thing that salvation brings us, that God raised us up with Christ and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ. You see, when a man trusts Christ, then Christ gives him the gift of eternal life, and that life is the very life of Christ. Christ receives the man. The man becomes joined with Christ, receives the very life of Christ. And as in the human body, every member of the body shares the common life of the body. So when we trust the Savior, we receive the very life of Christ. We share the same life as Christ himself. And because of that, we are joined to Christ, who even now is at the right hand of God in heaven. He's seated in heaven. And because the believer has the same life as Christ has, God says that, in a sense, the believer is already seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. What nonsense that makes, doesn't it, of the argument of those who say that a believer cannot be sure of heaven. Why, in this very real sense, God says the believer is already seated with Christ in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And finally, let us read those lovely words that Paul has written in his epistle to the Colossians, chapter three, verse one following. If you then were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth. For you died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory. Two lovely things are told us there. The believer has been given this new life in Christ. It belongs to the believer. Your life, says Paul. The eternal life, the spiritual life that the believer has been given, and he already has it. He that hears my word, says Christ, and believes on him that sent me, has, already has the life of the ages, eternal life. Now, where is that life? It is hid with Christ in God. So, because I have trusted Christ, I am to understand that God has given me this life, and it is with Christ in God, in heaven. My very life is there, and I am to set my thoughts on things above, where Christ is, where my very life is. And when Christ comes again, what will that mean for me? Well, the apostle tells us here, you die and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory. I can be sure of heaven. As a believer, my life is already there. When Christ comes again, it will be shown what now is already true, that I'm joined with him. My life is in him. I am seated with him in heavenly places. I have access into the presence of God within the veil. And when Christ comes out and is revealed from heaven at his second coming, then every believer shall be manifested with him. God bless these simple talks to lead all the believers who hear them into the glad assurance of eternal life, that they are right with God and can be sure of heaven.