You may have heard someone say something like this: “If I make it to age sixty five, then I will retire to Florida.” This forward looking and hopeful statement sounds reasonable. But it must be admitted that it is also uncertain because no one is guaranteed sixty five years of life. Therefore, the statement is qualified by the conjunction, "if." The Bible says, whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away (James 4:14 NKJV). However, I have also heard a similar statement that goes like this: “If I make it to heaven, then…” Yes, heaven is conditional, but to say it in this way reveals some uncertainty that the speaker has within himself of where his eternal home might be. Thankfully, when it comes to man's eternal home, he does not need to think of it in terms of "if.”
We find in the pages of holy writ this bedrock statement: These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God (1 John 5:13). We can "know" we are going to heaven and do not have to live with uncertainty. We can live our lives in confident expectation of going to heaven as long as we obey the Son of God, which is well within our power to do. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven (Mt 7:21).
Entering into heaven is conditional upon two things: God’s grace, and our obedient faith: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). We know that God is faithful and will not falter in giving everyone the opportunity to be saved from their sins (cf. Hebrews 6:18). For our part, if we are diligent to make our calling and election sure, then, ... an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:11). So we will not make it to heaven by the “skin of our teeth,” but the gate will be wide open for us.
Therefore, instead of saying, “If I make it to heaven,” perhaps it would be more accurate to say, “If I remain faithful, then heaven is my home.” I do not believe this is a trivial point because to say it the former way, may imply some doubt, whether intended or not, of God’s ability to deliver on his promise of eternal life. The “if” has everything to do with the will of man, not the will of God. Therefore, Jesus told the church in Smyrna, and by extension us, Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life (Rev 2:10c). That’s the promise of Jesus. If we remain faithful in obedience to the word of God, then heaven is our home.
Do you live with that certainty? If not, could it be that you are not doing the will of God? If so, will you seriously consider making the necessary corrections in your life to be right with God today? As James said above, we do not know what will happen tomorrow. Therefore, repent and turn to God while it is in your power to do so. Live with the confident hope of eternal life rather than with a certain fearful expectation of judgment.
Brotherly, Jamie
