How Can I Be Sure I’m Going to Heaven?

Devotional Thoughts on 2 Timothy 4:6-8

“The time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing”
(2 Timothy 4:6-8).

If you were dying, would you echo the apostle Paul, as quoted above?

Or, looking back on your life, might you be tempted to think, “Have I really fought the good fight . . . finished the race . . . and kept the faith—perfectly—as the Lord, the righteous judge, requires? Is a crown of righteousness really waiting for me when I close my eyes for the final time? How can I be sure I’m going to heaven?”

The devil works hard to sow seeds of doubt in the hearts of Christians throughout our lives. I imagine he works especially hard when the time for our departure from this earth is near.

How could Paul write these words to Timothy with such confidence? He hadn’t finished the race—he wasn’t home in heaven yet! How could he be sure that he would keep the faith and that a crown of righteousness was waiting for him? How could he be sure he was going to heaven?

How can we?

Paul’s confidence in his salvation wasn’t in how well he had fought the good fight of faith throughout his life and ministry.

He could certainly look back on his accomplishments for the sake of the gospel . . . but he could also see the blood on his hands from his former way of life. He could see the many sins he had committed—and would keep committing until the day he died.

Paul’s confidence in his salvation wasn’t in how well he pressed on toward the goal to win the prize for which God called him heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14). Nor was it in how he kept the faith, as though it were something he did for God.

Paul knew he had been saved by God’s grace alone, through the gift of God-given, Spirit-worked faith in his heart. Not by works or anything Paul had done, but solely because of what Christ Jesus had done for him.

Dear Christian, the same is true for you and me.

Throughout our lives—and especially as our time for departure draws near—the devil works hard to get us to look back at our long list of deeds and misdeeds instead of at the righteousness won for us by our Savior Christ Jesus.

Focus on your Savior. Know that he has done all things for you. Know that you can echo the apostle Paul with confidence rooted in Christ Jesus and what he has done for you. Your sins are forgiven because of your Savior Jesus. His righteousness is yours. Heaven is your home.

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For Further Reading

Want to learn more about the confidence you have in salvation? Wayne D. Mueller’s Justification: How God Forgives answers the question, “How can I be sure I’m going to heaven?” and reassures you that you are saved by God’s grace through God-given faith in Jesus Christ and what he has done for you.

If you’ve ever thought, “How do I know that I’m actually saved? I know what Jesus did for me, but do I really know it from the depths of my heart? How much belief is enough?”  I Know That I Know tackles these common questions about faith with God’s Word.

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