Thursday, July 21, 2011

What should Christians believe about how people get to heaven?

This summer I’ve had the pleasure of leading a small group through the Reason for God small group curriculum.  Last night was our final night of the curriculum and the topic was Hell – how could a loving God be full of wrath, and how could God send people to Hell?  It’s a question that has definitely been brought to the forefront lately with the release of Rob Bell’s book Love Wins, which occasioned several book-length responses, including Francis Chan’s Erasing Hell, which I intend to read but haven’t yet purchased.

During our discussion the question came up – how can we be sure we’re saved?  Are the people who think they’re going to heaven that in fact aren’t going to heaven?  (According to Jesus in Matthew 7.21-24 there are.)  How can we be sure we’re not one of those people? 

Here are a few links I passed along to my group on the topic and I hope you will take the time to read them too.  If you’re a Christian I hope they encourage you and give you hope, that they remind you where the burden of your sins lies.  If you’re not Christian, reading them could help you understand just what it is the Bible teachers about salvation and forgiveness after all.

Michael McKinley, author of a book called "Am I Really A Christian?": How Can I Have Assurance of Salvation?, Is it wrong to look inward for Assurance?The Basis of Our Assurance, How Can I Be Sure That I'm Not a Christian?

Tim Challies: 3 Statements on Assurance of Salvation, The Basis of the Christian's Assurance

Tullian Tchvidjian's blog: Where To Look When You're in Trouble, The Subjective Power of an Objective Gospel, Christ Died for the sins of Christians too
The Gospel Coalition's Review of "Am I Really A Christian?"

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