How to Know That You Are Going to Heaven As a Christian

Last Updated: December 12, 2024 Approved

Surely, knowing where you will be after you die is the most important thing you will ever need to be sure of. And this is the short, simple answer for how to get to heaven: Jesus. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." ( John 14:6 )

Does that answer seem too simple? In that case, let's look at the long answer below (The answer is still simple of course, and it's still Jesus; but it may be helpful to include some additional information and background).

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1
Identify a trustworthy source of information. Let's say you were trying to become a citizen of a foreign country. Which of the following would give you more assurance?
- The king of that country promising that you would be granted citizenship.
or
- A citizen of your own country promising that you would be granted citizenship (in the country to which they have never been).
So, if we seek citizenship in heaven, we would want assurance from God Himself, rather than assurance from anyone else, right? The Bible claims to be the trustworthy word of God. ^{[1]
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Research source} If you're not so sure, and would like to further investigate the Bible's trustworthiness, you may first want to read How to Understand Why Christians Believe the Bible is True .
God is holy, perfect and without spot. He is also a just judge, before whom we must appear, to give an account of our lives. ^{[2]
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Research source} In other words, God is righteous, and anyone who dwells with Him must also be righteous. ^{[3]
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Why wouldn't you go to heaven? You must first recognize that your default condition will prevent you from being accepted into heaven. You, as a human being, are infected with a spiritual disease (as all humans are—other than Jesus). This disease is called "sin”. All the bad things you do and think are symptoms of this deadly disease. ^{[4]
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Research source} Unless dealt with, sin disqualifies us for heaven and separates us from God. ^{[3]
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God is holy and just, but He is also loving. God wants us to go to heaven, to be with Him. He also knows about our disease of sin that has separated us from Him. ^{[5]
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Research source} Because of God's love, He chose to send Jesus to earth, in order to save us. ^{[6]
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Research source} Jesus lived a perfect life and then took the death penalty on our behalf (because the punishment for sin is death). By doing this, God made it possible for sinful humans to be reconciled with Himself. In fact, this is the only way we can be reconciled with God. ^{[7]
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God has provided the way for us to be reconciled with Himself, through Jesus' death on our behalf. However, He does not force us to be reconciled; rather, He allows us to make the choice. ^{[8]
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Research source} "But to all who did receive him [Jesus], who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God," ( John 1:12 ) If you want to put your trust in Jesus and return to God, then you can simply tell Him so. ^{[9]
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Research source} Not sure what to say? God knows your heart; just be honest with Him and ask Him for help. You could tell Him something along the lines of: "God, I know I'm a sinner. But I read that You love me and sent Jesus to pay for my sin. I choose to trust in Jesus. Please come and take Your rightful place as King in my life." And there you have it, how to be reconciled with God, who is in heaven. Jesus, in speaking to the Father, said, " And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. "

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Can I go to heaven if I have tattoos?

Liz Cooledge Jenkins
Christian Theology Expert
Liz Cooledge Jenkins is a Christian Theology Expert based in Seattle, Washington. She is a freelance writer and preacher. Liz’s writing is focused at the intersections of faith, feminism, and social justice. She is the author of Nice Churchy Patriarchy: Reclaiming Women's Humanity from Evangelicalism. She also blogs at her own Substack, and has written for outlets such as Sojourners, The Christian Century, Premier Christianity, Christians for Social Action, Red Letter Christians, and Feminism & Religion. She worked as a Chaplain for King County Fire District in Burien Washington. Prior to that, she served as College Ministry Director at Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California. She received a Master of Divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary. She earned a BS in Symbolic Systems from Stanford University.

Liz Cooledge Jenkins

Christian Theology Expert

Expert Answer

Your outward appearances don't affect your relationship with God. The Bible focuses on inner transformation and a changed heart, not external appearances. So, if you have tattoos and you believe in Jesus, you're good to go and your tattoos won't prevent you from going to heaven. God looks at your heart and your faith, not at any markings on your skin.

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Question

If I have used the phrase "Oh My God" so many times in my daily life, can I still be forgiven and go to Heaven?

Acrocanthosaurus

Community Answer

Absolutely. God forgives all sins, but that's not a free pass to do whatever you want, though. After you ask for forgiveness, ask God to give you the strength to resist saying it.

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Is it possible to live sinless after being baptised and accepting Jesus as my lord and savior?

Community Answer

No. Every single Christian on earth commits sin. Just do your best every day and pray for the strength to do better.

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Tips

Have you put your trust in Jesus, but still doubt if you are going to heaven?
- 1. Ask God to strengthen your faith. We are dependent on God to give us faith in the first place, so we can also look to Him to strengthen our faith. ^{[10]
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- 2. Trust the promises of God: You can look through the Bible to find past promises of God; then examine His faithfulness to fulfill them (e.g. Genesis 8:21-22, 9:8-17; Jeremiah 31:35-37; Micah 5:2; Isaiah 7:14; Ezekiel 29:13-16 —to name just a few). Doing so may help to build your confidence in God’s promises to you who have put your trust in Jesus (i.e. John 3:16; 1 John 5:11-13; John 20:31; 1 Peter 2:4-6; John 5:24, 6:27-29, 37-40,47, 10:27-30; Romans 8:28-39 …).
- 3. Remember that genuine faith in God’s promises can be seen by your actions, not just your words. ^{[11]
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  Research source} 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” . So examine your life; ^{[12]
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  Research source} if you have put your trust in Jesus, you should eventually see at least a gradual change in your life from what you were before you trusted in Jesus. That’s not to say that you will be perfect of course; in fact, you will probably sin many times after trusting Christ; and when you do, you can admit your sin to God and ask Him for His help to turn from it. Know also, that if Jesus is in your life, He will not let you go on living in sin without Him pointing it out as something that should no longer have a place in your life. ^{[13]
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Do you think you are good enough for heaven without God’s help? If so, please ask yourself if you have kept these 2 important commandments:
- “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
- “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
  - Remember also that the Bible says “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” None of us have perfectly kept these 2 simple commandments. We have all disobeyed God’s commandments, and are in need of Jesus to save us. ^{[14]
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You may say, “But what about ___?”, where “___” can be one of the following:
- Being a good person: No one is good enough for heaven on their own. ^{[3]
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  Research source} That being said, if a person receives God’s forgiveness through the righteousness of Christ (Jesus is the only truly-good person), Jesus living inside of that person begins to transform their life from the inside-out, to make them into that person which God intended them to be. ^{[13]
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- Believing in the existence of God: This alone is not sufficient to save us. James 2:19 says, “You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.” It is our trust in God that saves us, not our mental assent to His existence.
- Being baptized: While baptism is something that Jesus commanded ( Matthew 28:19 ), it is not necessary for salvation (examples would be the criminal on the cross and the gentile believers ). That being said, if someone has trusted in Jesus, they should become baptized as an act of obedience.
- Taking the Lord’s supper, or Eucharist: In regard to this, Jesus said, “ Do this in remembrance of Me. ” . While some people may be confused by John 6:53 , thinking that the Eucharist is a requirement for heaven, the context of the rest of the chapter (as well as the rest of the Bible) show that this is not the case. Jesus went on to say in verse 57, “ As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. ” ; this seems to help clarify that our “eating” Him was a metaphor, to signify our dependence on Him (similar to how Jesus depended on the Father, and similar to how we depend on food for physical sustenance) rather than physically eating Him with our mouth. This is further proved by what Jesus said in verses 61-63. In response to His disciples’ shock, He said, “ Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. ”
- Obeying the law of God: Romans 3:20 , Galatians 2:16 and Galatians 3:11 all make clear that the law is not able to save us. It is only able to point out what the problem is: our sinfulness.
- Repentance: Repentance can be described as a change of mind that leads to a change in action. ^{[15]
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  Research source} We can see this repentance in Jesus’s story of the lost son ( Luke 15:11-32 ). He had a change of mind, and then he took action; he got up and returned to his father. If we want to be saved, we must return to our heavenly Father, through the means He provided for us: Jesus. ^{[21]
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- Going to church: Hebrews 10:25 contains an admonition to not neglect our meeting together. While this doesn’t save us, it is something that you would expect a person who is on their way to heaven to do. Granted, the people you’ll meet at church will be imperfect (but don’t forget that you’re one of those imperfect people too!). And of course, there will be the very-real possibility that counterfeit Christians will be there as well. In spite of all this, Jesus said, “ For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. ” If Jesus is going to be present, wouldn’t you want to be there?
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Warnings

Whether you know it or not, you have an enemy who desires your harm. This enemy seeks to keep people from being saved. His name is the devil, or satan. The Bible tells us, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” And as you may already know, we also have 2 enemies in addition to the devil: our own sinful nature, and the corrupt world-system we live in. But if Jesus is in your life, don’t let all this overwhelm you with fear, for “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” ^{[24]
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If you have placed your trust in Jesus, there will inevitably be times when you don’t “feel” saved. When that happens, remember that the firm foundation of your faith is Jesus, not your feelings. Feelings are frequently fickle, Jesus is unchanging. You can fix your eyes on Jesus and ask Him to grant you a new heart with new desires, and to help you grow in holiness and be more like Christ. You can ask for His help to bravely proclaim the good news that you have come to know. Walk by faith, not by sight! ^{[25]
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