Hey, podcast listeners! Thanks for streaming today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. Our mission is to pierce the darkness with the light of God's word through the most effective media available, like this podcast. To support Pathway to Victory, go to ptv.org slash donate or follow the link in our show notes. Now, here's today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. God's Word with you every day on this Bible teaching program.
On today's edition of Pathway to Victory. When that day comes that you meet God face to face, do you want to be found wrapped in your righteousness or do you want to be found wrapped in the righteousness of Jesus? Only those who trust in Christ in this life can know for sure they're going to heaven when they die. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress. You know, at the end of this life, we're all headed toward one of two possible destinations with two very different outcomes. Now, one is a place of eternal torment, while the other is a place of eternal paradise.
Do you know which one you're going to? Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress explains how you can spend eternity in heaven. Now, here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.
Dr. Jeffress. Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. In the winter chill of January, who wouldn't want to escape to ocean breezes on an 11-day cruise vacation?
Doesn't that sound refreshing? Well, I'm pleased to invite you on our Pathway to Victory journeys of Paul Mediterranean cruise. This is a once-in-a-lifetime vacation with like-minded Christians.
The dates are May 5th through 16th. During our extravagant adventure, we're going to visit the biblical city that inspired Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Plus, we'll glide our cruise ship into the world-famous ports like Santorini, Greece, Mykonos, and Naples, Italy. Plus, you can check out musical artists that are coming along with us, including Michael O'Brien and comedian Dennis Swanberg. And you can reserve your spot today by going to ptv.org. Before we begin today's study, I'd like to say a word of thanks for your personal encouragement to me and our staff at Pathway to Victory. And I'm especially grateful to those who give to this ministry, sometimes at sacrifice.
Well, we have met a lot of new listeners over the last few weeks. These are new friends who have come our way searching for answers and looking for hope. These connections are made possible because people like you give generously. So, please keep up the good work. And remember, when you give today, I'm going to send you tangible evidence of my thanks. It's a copy of my best-selling book entitled, How Can I Know?
Now, let's get started. We're answering one of the most important questions in all of life. How can I know I'm going to heaven when I die? What I want to do is look at five truths that the Bible teaches us about heaven, the kind of heaven you're going to experience if you know Jesus as your savior. First of all, the Bible teaches heaven is an actual location.
It's not a state of mind. It's a very real place. Secondly, heaven is both an immediate and an ultimate destination.
It's both an immediate and an ultimate destination. The Bible says if you're a Christian, the moment you shut your eyes for the last time here on earth, you awaken in the presence of God. To be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord, but that's not your final dwelling place. There is a new heaven that is under construction. The Bible says heaven will be primarily a recreated earth. When we talk about this ultimate destination that we're going to spend eternity in, what does the Bible teach us about it? Well, it will primarily be a recreated earth. Well, what is that new heaven going to be like? Well, the new heaven and the new earth, the center of it is going to be a new city called the new Jerusalem.
Look at it in Revelation 21 verse 16. Jesus talked about this new city, the new Jerusalem, that is going to be the center point of the new earth. The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width, and he measured the city with the rod. 1,500 miles, its length and width and height are equal. John says, I saw this city and it was 1,500 miles in length and width. That means the new Jerusalem is over 2 million square miles, but that's not all. Not only did he say it's a square, he said it's a cube. It's more than 2 million square miles, 1,500 miles high.
That's a big city. And by the way, that's not the only place we can dwell. It's just the center place. There's no reason to think we can't zip around the universe and our new bodies just like Jesus had.
We'll talk about that in a moment. The point is this is going to be a new heaven, a new earth with a new city. Verse three of Revelation 21, and I heard a loud voice saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is among men and he shall dwell among them, and they shall be his people and he shall be among them. Look, our eternity is not a case of us going up someplace. That's not what heaven is.
It's not our going up there. The new heaven and the new earth is God coming down to where we are. We are not going up to dwell with him. He's coming down to dwell with us. The full meaning of the word Emmanuel, God is with us.
He is coming down and will rule over us forever and ever. And that leads to a fourth truth about heaven. Heaven is a continuum of our earthly existence. It is a continuum of our earthly existence. This is one of the most frequent misconceptions people have about life after death.
They think our life after death has nothing to do, no connection with our life on earth, but nothing could be further from the truth. For example, there's a continuity between the present earth and the new earth. Notice in Revelation 21 verses one to three, the descriptions of this new earth that God gives us.
Just enough detail to whet our appetite. He said, then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal coming from the throne of God and of the lamb. And in the middle of the street, there was a tree of life bearing 12 kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month.
And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. What is the new earth going to be like? It's going to have trees and rivers and water and mountains.
I mean, just think of the most beautiful place that you have ever gone here on earth. That's only a pencil sketch of what heaven is going to be like and the new heaven and the new earth. But it's going to contain those things that we are going to be familiar with. And by the way, I think part of that new heaven and new earth are going to be animals. God included animals in the garden of Eden.
Why not think he's going to do the same now? And I'm not saying it's going to be your pet Fido, but I'm saying there are going to be animals most likely in the new earth that God creates. Secondly, there's a continuity between our earthly bodies and our eternal bodies. A continuity between our earthly bodies and eternal bodies. People ask me all the time about heaven. Will we know one another in heaven? Will we all be the same in heaven? Will we eat in heaven? What exactly is going to be our existence like in heaven? And interestingly, the Bible gives us a lot of detail about that.
If you want to know what your body is going to be like in the new heaven and new earth, just look at Jesus' resurrection body. Remember, after he was raised from the dead, he spent 40 days on earth interacting with his disciples and other people. Interestingly, his disciples recognized him, though not always immediately. They weren't expecting to see him. But then when they realized who he was, they recognized him.
He bore similarities in his new body and his first human body that he had. He ate. He was able to eat with his disciples. They were trying to ask him all these questions. He said, I'm hungry.
Does anybody have something to eat? He got hungry in his new body. He had a supernatural quality to this new body.
He didn't have to use doors to enter a room. He just appeared. And there'll be that supernatural aspect to our bodies as well. Now, you may be a little doubtful of this. You say, well, maybe Jesus' body was like that.
How do I know my body is going to be like that? The simple answer is Colossians 1 18. Paul wrote, for he is the head of the body, Christ, the church. And he is the beginning, the first born from the dead so that he himself will come to have first place in everything. Jesus is called the first born of the dead. The Greek word, protodocus.
Protodocus. It's the word we get prototype from. Jesus is just the prototype of others who will receive this new body. You know, if the General Motors Corporation wants to manufacture a new automobile, the first thing they do is to make a prototype, a sample.
And then everything else on that assembly line is made to conform to that prototype. Well, Jesus, his resurrection was not just a one-off event. He was the prototype of everybody who trust in him for salvation.
You and I are going to have exactly the kind of bodies that Jesus did. And thirdly, there's a continuity between our present choices and our future existence. And this is what is so important to understand. As brief as our life here on earth is, the choices we make impact us forever and ever and ever. For example, a believer's decision to trust in Jesus to be his savior, that choice reverberates throughout eternity. John said, I am the resurrection, the life he who believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
And everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. The choices that Christians make about how to spend their time, their money, their resources results in either the acquisition or the forfeiture of eternal rewards. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 9, Paul said, for we have as our ambition, whether at home or present, to be pleasing to him.
Why? For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one of us may be rewarded for what we have done in the body, whether it is good or worthless. In the same way, the decision an unbeliever makes in this life to reject or simply neglect the gospel of Jesus Christ has eternal ramifications. Revelation 20, 15 says, if any man's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Do you know, to me, one of the most horrible aspects of hell is not just the fact of the physical suffering, the eternality of suffering, the forever destination.
It's the fact that in hell, people will have the opportunity to remember their earthly existence. Remember what Abraham said to the rich man who was in agony in the flames. He said, child, remember that during your life, you received your good things, and likewise, Lazarus' bad things. But now he is being comforted here and you are in agony. Abraham was simply saying, remember, you had many opportunities while on earth to thank God for your provisions, to acknowledge his sovereignty over your life.
Remember. An unbeliever who ends up in hell will be able to remember those opportunities to receive Christ. When a friend invited him to church or shared the gospel with him, but it will be too late. There's a continuity between life here on earth and life in heaven. Remember, when you die, it's not somebody else who goes to heaven or to hell.
It is you. Randy Alcorn writes it this way about that continuity. Earth leads directly into heaven just as it leads directly into hell. Life here is a running start into one place or the other. Heaven and hell are both retroactive to earth. The best of earth is a glimpse of heaven, and the worst of earth is a glimpse of hell.
Earth is the in-between world touched both by heaven and hell, affording a choice between the two. That leads to the final truth about heaven, and that is heaven is reserved for those who trust in Christ. If you believe that there is life after death, and if you accept that Jesus is probably the best authority to tell us about heaven and hell, then it only makes sense that we would trust what he said is the way to heaven.
How can I know I'm going to heaven when I die? What did Jesus say about that? Jesus linked our entrance into heaven to what we believe. Belief and salvation are inseparably linked to one another. In John 6.40, Jesus said, truly, truly, I say unto you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and does not come into judgment but has passed from death into life, he who believes. Or John 6.40, for this is the will of my Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I myself will raise him up on the last day. Or Jesus said in John 11, I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live again. It's clear, only those who believe in Christ will be saved by Christ.
But here's the $64,000 question. What does it mean to believe in Jesus? If you don't hear another word I say today, hear this. To believe doesn't mean to agree with a certain amount of facts about Jesus. To believe in Jesus doesn't mean to believe, well, I believe, I agree that he is the Son of God. I believe that he died on the cross for the sins of the world. I believe that he was raised from the dead on the third day. I believe, I believe in these facts about Jesus.
That won't get you into heaven. You know how I know that? Because the demons, even Satan themselves, believe all of those facts. Did you know that the devil and his demons believe that Jesus is the Son of God?
They were always saying, the demons, who are you, Son of God, to do this to us? They recognized him. They believe that he died on the cross for the sins of the world. They were there that Friday afternoon.
They watched it. They know that Jesus was raised from the dead, but does anybody want to argue that they're going to be in heaven? No, they believe those things. In fact, they believe them more than you do and I do because they were there to witness those things.
But intellectual belief is not enough. No, to believe in the Bible, that Greek word means to trust in, to depend upon, to lean upon, to put your whole weight upon. It means to come to that point that you say, God, I know I'm a sinner. I know I deserve your punishment, but I am trusting and believing in depending on what Jesus did for me to save me from my sins. Jesus said it this way, for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Jesus shall not perish, but shall have everlasting life.
To illustrate what it means to believe in Jesus, I like to use this illustration. Just imagine you want to take your wife out to a nice restaurant here in Dallas, an expensive restaurant. You arrive at the restaurant. You're in nice but casual clothes. You're ready to be seated, but the host said, sir, I'm sorry, but, and he points to a sign, jackets are required for our establishment. You have to be wearing a jacket.
You get frustrated and mad. You say, well, that is so out of date. Nobody requires that any longer.
You can say, well, I didn't know about this requirement. It's unfair that you would make me follow this, and the host said, you know, you're not the first person who's coming here with that same problem, and that's why we keep a spare jacket in the back. Let me go get it. He comes out with this jacket. He said, now, if you want to put it on, you're welcome to come into the restaurant.
You've got a choice to make. You can continue to protest of how fine your clothes are and how unfair this law is, and you'll be turned away and miss a great meal, or you can humble yourself, put on the jacket, and enjoy an unforgettable evening. Did you know God has a dress code for heaven?
Not our physical clothing, but our spiritual clothing. He demands for entrance into heaven. You have to be absolutely perfect.
Perfect. Well, pastor, nobody can be perfect. Exactly, and that's why God sent Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5 21 says, God made Him, Jesus, who knew no sin, that becomes sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. When Jesus died on that cross, He took all of our sins. God placed all of our sins and wrapped them around Jesus so that Jesus became the recipient of the punishment we deserve from God. He took our unrighteousness and wrapped it around Jesus, and He took the perfect righteousness of Jesus and wrapped it around us so that when God looks at us, He doesn't see our soiled and imperfect garments of sin that we wear.
He sees the perfection of His Son. See, the Bible says in Isaiah 64 6, the best we can do, our righteousness is like a filthy garment to God. So, we've got a choice. When we approach God, we can take a chance and just see if our garments, our behavior, are good enough to get into heaven. If we take that chance, we're going to lose, because nobody's perfect enough to go to heaven. Or we can wrap ourselves in that perfect garment of righteousness, Jesus Christ. You know, the apostle Paul had to make that decision. He described himself before he became a Christian as the Hebrew of the Hebrews, the Jew of the Jews. I was righteous in my mind.
I kept the law. But that encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus changed everything. And suddenly, Paul saw his sinfulness and his need for a Savior. And that's why in Philippians 3 9, he prayed. He said, my prayer is that I might be found in Christ, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but that righteousness that comes from Christ on the basis of faith. Let me ask you, when that day comes that you meet God face to face, do you want to be found wrapped in your righteousness? Or do you want to be found wrapped in the righteousness of Jesus?
If you wait until you die to make that choice, you will have waited too long. Only those who trust in Christ in this life can know for sure they're going to heaven when they die. If you're not sure that you're going to be welcomed into heaven one day, if you want to be sure, why not take that perfect righteousness Christ offers you and wrap it around yourself?
How do you do that? How do you receive that righteousness into your life? God made it so simple that even a child can understand. First of all, we have to acknowledge to God that we have sinned, but then we place our faith in what Jesus did for us. We don't place our faith in our goodness or in baptism or going to church or anything else.
We're not depending on anything except what Christ did for us. And today, if you would like to receive that forgiveness in your life, I want to invite you wherever you are to pray this prayer in your heart as I prayed out loud, knowing that God is listening to you. Would you pray this with me? Dear God, thank you for loving me. I know that I have failed you in so many ways, and I'm truly sorry for the sins in my life. But I believe what I've heard today, that you love me so much, you sent Jesus to die on the cross for me, to take the punishment I deserve to take for my sins. And right now, I'm trusting in what Jesus did for me, not in my good works, but in what Jesus did for me to save me from my sins.
Thank you for forgiving me and help me to live the rest of my life for you. In Jesus' name, amen. There's no response more appropriate right now and nothing more urgent than saying yes to God's call.
Go ahead, trust in His provision, and put on the garment of God's love and forgiveness. At this very moment, men and women all across America are listening to God's voice and securing their future in eternity with Him. Nothing gives us more joy at Pathway to Victory than hearing from grateful friends who tell us about their decisions to trust in Christ. And when you invest in this nonprofit ministry, you're the one who's reaching listeners with Pathway to Victory. Yes, it's my voice they hear.
Yes, it's God's Spirit who transforms. But it's God's people like you who partner with us. So, if you have given a gift or if you're one of our Pathway partners, thanks so much. When you give, you have a ministry of your very own. To say thank you for your financial gift today, I'm prepared to send you my best-selling book titled, How Can I Know? Answers to Life's Seven Most Important Questions.
It's the one that complements our teaching series by the same title. Then, as God's Spirit prompts you, please follow His lead and become one of our Pathway partners. A Pathway partner agrees to give a gift every month and, in doing so, multiplies the impact of their gift by 12 over the course of one year. Our team has been praying, asking God to move in the hearts of 300 people like you to become Pathway partners.
Are you prepared to step forward and say yes to God's call? Here's David with all the details about signing up right now. Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. You know, it's easy to become a Pathway partner when you fill out a brief form online at ptv.org. Simply look for the donate button at the top right of the screen and scroll down until you see the option to become a Pathway partner. And when you give your first monthly gift or when you give a one-time generous gift to support Pathway to Victory, we'll say thanks by sending you Dr. Jeffress' best-selling book, How Can I Know? To request these resources, call us toll free at 866-999-2965 or visit ptv.org. And when you give $75 or more, we'll also send you a newly revised edition of the How Can I Know?
teaching series on both audio and video discs. One more time, call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org. You could send your donation by mail right to P.O. Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. Again, that's P.O.
Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. Is it possible to reconcile the reality of evil with the certainty of a loving God? I'm David J. Mullins, inviting you to join us again next time when Dr. Jeffress answers the question, How can I know God is good with all the suffering in the world? That's next time here on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. To become a Pathway partner, go to ptv.org slash donate or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.
Whisper: medium.en / 2025-01-23 05:05:03 / 2025-01-23 05:14:51 / 10