I did a funeral for a good friend some time ago, a friend who for sure is in heaven even as you read this.
But that brings up the question of "How do we know for sure we are headed for heaven?" There are lots of theories on how God decides who gets into heaven. Most of those theories can be explained by comparing them to a grading system in school.
RIGHT MINUS WRONG
Some people think that God grades on a "right minus wrong" system. Do more right things than wrong things and you are in.
PERCENTAGE SYSTEM
Others think that just squeaking by with 51% right actions like those who believe in the "right minus wrong" system, isn't enough. There must be a percentage higher than that, that a person has to hit. No one knows what that percentage might be, but it has to be more than a simple 51% majority, they presume.
GRADING ON THE CURVE
Still others think that a percentage system isn't the way to go, but that God grades on a curve. All you have to do is be a better person than that old church-going hypocrite up the street. If he is going to get into heaven with all his faults, surely "you" are going to get into heaven, since you have fewer faults. (Nevermind the "pride" factor that is a serious problem with this view! LOL!)
E IS FOR EFFORT
Others suggest that none of the above are correct. What really matters is trying to be a good person. Effort is what this is all about. God knows who is trying and who isn't trying. All who make an effort to be a good person should get into heaven in this view.
BREATHING
Still others don't like any of these grading methods that have been listed. As long as we are breathing we get to go to heaven, these folks think. Breathing, being alive, that's all that matters. Effort shouldn't matter. God is love, they say, so all should get to go to heaven (never mind that that God is also just!)
Of course you immediately see the problem with these views: They can't all be right at the same time. Second, in every class I have ever been in, the teacher or professor selected the grading system. Third, with these grading systems those who hold them are only guessing!
But there is an answer to what God's grading system is. It is the percentage system. If we are going to get into heaven on our own merit, we have to be 100% perfect. And of course there is immediately a problem for us with that grading system: We all know that we have sinned. We know that we have done some wrong things in life.
Thankfully God in his mercy has provided a way out for us. He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross in our place, paying the penalty for our sin. When we put our faith in Christ's death on the cross as payment for our sin, asking God to forgive us through Christ's payment, God does forgive and grants us the eternal life he promised.
The Bible says in 1 John 5 in the New Testament:
God has given us life and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has the life, he who has not the son of God has not the life. I write this to those of you who believe in the name of the son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
John also wrote in the Gospel of John:
For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Paul wrote:
If we confess with our mouth that Jesus is (our) Lord and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved.
While these statements are either true or false, they are not unclear. Your decision is whether to believe them or not. My recommendation is that you believe them and bet your life on them. Ask Christ to come into your life before it is too late.
Here's a prayer to pray sincerely so you can be sure you are headed for heaven when you die:
Lord God, I recognize today that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. I ask you to forgive my sins through Jesus Christ dying on the Cross as payment in full for my sins. I trust in his payment and his payment alone for my forgiveness. I surrender my life to you and give it to you to do with what you will. Fill me with your Holy Spirit as you promised and grant me the eternal life you promised through Christ.
If you prayed that prayer, tell someone you love and trust about it. When the day comes for your funeral it will give them and your family comfort to know of the decision you made. And find a Bible believing church to attend.
