WHEN ASTRONAUTS blast off into outer space, they hope for a safe re-entry, but do not know. Airline passengers, when their plane rumbles down the runway and reaches for the sky, hope for a safe landing, but do not know. When folks leave for a vacation, they hope for a safe return, but do not know. When two take their marriage vows, they hope for a loving and lasting marriage, but do not know. Anything can happen! Yes, we are living in a world of uncertainties. God says, "Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth" (Proverbs 27:1). To boast in such matters is pure presumption.

However, there are areas where we can know without a shadow of a doubt what will take place in the days that lie ahead of us. "WHAT!" you exclaim, "That is impossible!" Oh no, it isn't, and I will prove it to you from the Holy Bible!

It is simply amazing how the old devil has deceived the world. People try to convince me that no one can know in this life that all of their sins have been forgiven, and that no one can know without a shadow of a doubt that they will be in heaven when they die. Ask them, and their answer usually is, "Well, I hope so!" But they can't say for sure - they just "hope so."

UNCERTAINTY

Now all of this uncertainty is very sad indeed. I certainly would not relish lying on my death bed wondering if I was going to be in heaven or not. What if I didn't make it to heaven? The only other place, according to God, is hell, where souls weep and gnash their teeth. No, my friend, the issue is too tremendous to play with lightly. One's eternal destiny is a very solemn matter. I want to know for sure, right now, where I will be when I die.

Some have the strange idea that God will weigh their good works against their bad deeds and whatever weighs the most will determine where they go. Where did folks ever get that kind of an idea? Why, they got it from the devil himself, of course. Who else? God never says such a ridiculous thing, so it has to come from the devil. Of course, such deceived folk hope that their good works will somehow outweigh their bad deeds and that hopefully heaven will be their eternal home. However, we all have been found guilty by God. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). God says that salvation is "not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:9). That rules out the devil's lie of works being weighed at death to determine my destiny.

How One Can Know For Sure!

Be sure of this, my friend, God never intended souls to be held in suspense or doubt. There are absolutely no uncertainties with God when it comes to your eternal destiny. God wants you to know that you are a sinner, unfit for heaven. That's the bad news! However, He also wants you to know that, "Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures,. And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3,4) That's the good news! He also wants you to know that, "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). There is not one shade of doubt in this tremendous statement, is there? God also states, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life" (John 3:36). That word "hath," means a present possession! After all, folks, the following Bible verse tells me one of the reasons the Bible was written. "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God" (1 John 5:13).

God's Written Guarantee

Let me drive the nail in deeper. God again says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24). Jesus exclaims, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life" (John 6:47). What could be plainer? What could be more pure and simple?

Has the Word of God convinced you? I certainly hope so, for if you are simply hoping, you are lost, my friend! "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). Trust Christ and know the immediate forgiveness of all your sins by God and a home secured for you in heaven. Don't go through life hoping - be sure!