Can you KNOW that you KNOW?

Can you KNOW that you are going to Heaven??

This was the topic of this weeks bible study on John 7:25-52.

Matthew 7:21-23 says "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kindgom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord,' did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never KNEW you; depart from me..."

In todays words they will say to Jesus, "Lord, didn't we attend church on a regular basis, give money to good causes when we could, feed the homeless and be nice to others?" Yet his response to these people is, "depart from me, I never KNEW you."

What does this mean? Jesus implies that He has to KNOW you in order for you to enter Heaven. So how do we do that? Many people, when asked if they will get into heaven, respond, 'I hope so." Surely, this is something we want to be sure of and we have a God who loves us enough to want us to have a confident faith that we can KNOW that we will spend eternity in Heaven. Jesus tells us in the Matthew verse that doing good things and practicing religion do not grant entrance into Heaven. That only by KNOWING Him are we granted this. So what does it mean to KNOW Him? The word KNOW comes from the greek word "oida" meaning full or complete knowledge of someone. This is an intimate, personal knowledge. Jesus calls believers friends in scripture. How sweet that the Creator of the universe desires friendship with us!! John 10:14 says, "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me." So how can we be sure? In John 7, Jesus gives an invitation to KNOW Him. He stands up in a crowd and cries out, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." What does this mean? The key words here are thirsty, come, and drink. We have to seek God, come to Jesus, and receive Him. How simple? Aren't we thankful eternity isn't based on our goodness!!! I know I am because I would be in big trouble if that was the case. In summary, believer: be confident if you have placed your trust in Christ as the only means for your salvation and repented of your sin. Unbeliever: you know what Jesus requires of you. Turning from your sins, and simply trusting in Him as the only way to heaven, because of Him paying for our debts on the cross. I hope this is encouraging, it was to me.

I don't think anyone actually reads this blog so I suppose I wrote this to encourage myself too!!