Certainty of Heaven
When Jesus died for our sins and rose on Easter morning, all our debts were cancelled and paid in full. Correct? So, through Christ's death/resurrection, belief in Christ, and being baptized, we can be assured we will be in heaven. Correct? A fellow Catholic friend of mine suggests, no, we cannot be assured - how do we know we have paid for the damage of our sins? We need final purification before entrance into heaven and that the Bible states that few get gateway into heaven. Please help me to understand.
You are correct in understanding the significance of Good Friday and Easter. On the cross Jesus proclaimed, “It is finished” (John 19:30). He announced that he paid in full the debt of our sins. His rising to life on Easter Sunday was proof positive of the Father’s acceptance of his redeeming work (Romans 4:25).
You are also correct in understanding that Spirit-worked faith in Jesus brings into a person’s life the blessings of forgiveness, peace and eternal life. As followers of Christ we can be confident that we will be with God forever in heaven because we have God’s own assurance and promise of that (Mark 16:16; John 3:15-16; 10:28; 14:2; Romans 6:23).
When the debt of sin has been paid in full, there is no more debt to be paid. When the perfect sacrifice for sin has been paid—and forgiveness of sins has been received in faith—there is no more sacrifice that can be made or needs to be made. Hebrews 10 makes that very clear.
Finally, 1 John 1:7 tells us that “the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” Not some sins or most sins, but all sin.
Because salvation is God’s doing from beginning to end, you and I can be absolutely certain of our status right now as members of God’s family, and we can confidently claim heaven as our eternal home.