Are You Really Sure Of Your Eternal Salvation?"

by Ron Boatwright

Welcome to studying the Bible on the Internet. You are to be commended for your interest in studying God's word, the Bible.  This course pertains to a very important subject concerning our Eternal Salvation. What subject could be more important? It is my hope that the scripture references pointed out in this course will be of benefit to your faith in your striving to go to heaven.

This course is divided into twenty-five (25) lessons. After each lesson you are asked to answer several interactive multiple choice and true-false questions concerning what you have just studied. The correct answer is found in the scripture reference that is listed with the questions.  Click on the answer of your choice and a dialog box will appear telling you if your answer is correct or wrong and why.  It is my hope and prayer that this course will help you in some way.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life". God is truly a loving God to give His only begotten Son to die for us. That is the ultimate of love. Nothing could be greater.

Not only is God a loving God, but the Bible speaks of other aspects of God's nature. God is a vengeful God. In Hebrews 10:30-31 we read, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. And again, the Lord will judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God". Most people like to think of God as only a loving God, and nothing else; but this is not true. On the day of judgment, the majority of people will find out just how fearful, that it is to fall into the hands of the living God.


Not only is the Lord loving and vengeful, but he is also just. Jesus says in John 5:30 (KJV), "I can of my own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just". Yes, when we stand before the Lord on the Day of Judgment, he will be just. But justice demands that guilt be punished. Let me give you an example. Just suppose I went out and robbed a bank, and was caught. Also suppose that the judge and I were good friends. So the judge calls me up to his bench and whispers to me that he doesnít want to send me to prison for twenty years. He tells me, that if I will quietly walk out the back door, that he will tear up all the paperwork, nothing will be said, and I can go free. Would he be a just judge? No way. But God is a just God, and can be no less.
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Questions Lesson 5
The Nature of God

1)  (John 3:16) God so loved the world that
      
He will not punish anyone.
      
He gave His Son to die for us.
      
He will allow everyone to go to Heaven.
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2) God does not love mankind.
      

      

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3)  (Hebrews 10:30) Vengeance belongs to
      
God.
      
Man.
      
Those who are wronged.
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4) God will punish those who die in their sins.
      

      

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5)  (Hebrews 10:31) To fall into the hands of the living God is
      
A comforting thing.
      
A good thing.
      
A terrible thing.
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6)  God is too loving to punish anyone.
      

      

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7)  (John 5:30) The judgment of Christ
      
Will be just.
      
Can be appealed.
      
Is not always right.
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8)  Justice demands that the guilty be punished.
      

      

Copyright © 2000 internetbiblestudy

Man has a sin problem. Our sins separate us from God. Isaiah 59:2, "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that he will not hear". It is our sins that have caused the separation. In Romans 3:23, we are told, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". There is not an accountable person living or who has ever lived (except our Lord), who can say that he has never sinned. We are all in need of salvation.  I John 1:8 says, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us". The easiest person to deceive is ourselves. When we rationalize away what God says, this is what we are doing. God says that man has a sin problem, but man says that he does not. Who is right and what are we doing to God when we say that we have no sin? Continuing our reading in I John 1:10, "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." God is always right when he tells us that we have all sinned.


In Romans 6:23 we read, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord". Death is a separation. When we die physically, our body is placed into the grave, but our spirit is separated from our dead body and goes back to God, who gave it. We are told in Ecclesiastes 12:7, "Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it". In physical death, there is a separation between our body and our soul.

In Romans 6:23, we saw that, "For the wages of sin is death". This is a spiritual death, which is a separation from God in eternity for those who are lost. Since God is in heaven, and those who experience this spiritual death are separated from God, they cannot go to heaven. This leaves only one place for them to go, hell. We see hell spoken of as the second death in Revelation 21:8, "the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death".
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Questions Lesson 4
Our Sin Problem

1)  (Isaiah 59:2) What separates us from God?
      
A great space.
      
Our goodness.
      
Our sins and iniquities.
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2) If sin separates us from God, he will still hear us.
      

      

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3)  (1 John 1:8) If we say we have no sin
      
We are deceiving ourselves.
      
We are correct.
      
We don't really know for sure.
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4) If we say we have never sinned we are telling the truth.
      

      

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5)  (Romans 3:23) How many accountable people have sinned?
      
Few.
      
Many.
      
All.
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6) God knows when we sin.
      

      

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7)  (Ecclesiastes 12:7) In physical death
      
Our soul is separated from the body.
      
Both our soul and body go into the grave.
      
Both our soul and body cease to exist.
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8) In death our soul ceases to exist.
      

      

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9)  (Romans 6:23) If we die with our sins
      
We will have a second chance in purgatory.
      
We will be eternally separated from God (spiritual death).
     
We will cease to exist.
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10) If we are separated from God, we are lost.
      

      

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11)  (Revelation 21:8) The second death
      
Is when we die physically.
      
Will never happen.
      
Is Hell which is the lake of fire and brimstone.
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12) If we do not go to Heaven we will go to Hell.
      

      

Copyright © 2000 internetbiblestudy

Christ, who is all knowing, tells us that many people are going to be lost, but only few are going to be saved. In Matthew 7:13-14 He says, "Enter by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it". Now this gets my attention. According to the Bible the majority of people will be lost.  We must take this warning from God at face value.

There are only two roads to eternity and we are on one or the other. According to what the Lord says, only few will make it to heaven, but the vast majority will be lost in eternal punishment. This is both frightening and sad. I don't consider myself selfish, but I certainly want to be among the few who are saved, don't you? We make the choice ourselves as to where we will spend eternity. We are free moral agents. This is how we differ from the animals. We have been made in the image of God. Genesis 1:26, "Then God said let Us make man in Our image". Also in Genesis 2:7 we read, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul". Yes, we posses a soul that will live forever.

God does not want anyone to be lost, but the choice is ours. In II Peter 3:9 we read, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance". God does not want us to go into eternal punishment. He is not going to force us to serve him, otherwise we would be mere robots. I Timothy 2:4 says, "Who desires all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth". It is God's will that all be saved, but we know that is not going to happen. We have already seen that only few are going to be saved and the majority are going to be lost.

Also, as the verse says, before we can be saved, we must "come to the knowledge of the truth." Jesus says in John 8:32, "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." What is the truth that will make us free? In John 17:17 Jesus says, "Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth." So the word of God is the truth that will make us free so that we can go to heaven.

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Questions Lesson 2
God's Warning
(click on the button of the answer of your choice)

1)  (Matthew 7:13-14) How many people will go to heaven?
      
  Many
      
  Few
      
  Everyone
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2) The majority of people will go into eternal punishment.
      
      

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3)  (2 Peter 3:9) The Lord is not willing that
      
  Any should perish.
      
  Any should be saved.
      
  Any should repent.
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4)  God does not want anyone to be lost.
      
      

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5)  (1 Timothy 2:4) God desires that
      
  All men have a good time.
      
  All men be saved.
      
  No one be saved.
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6)  God will force us to be saved.
      
      

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7)  (John 8:32) What will make us free?
      
  Ourselves
      
  Money
      
  Truth
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8)  Before we can be saved we must know the truth.
      
      

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9)  (John 17:17) What is truth?
      
  What we think.
      
  God's word.
      
  What our preacher says.
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10) The word of God is the only truth that will make us free
      
      

Copyright © 2000 internetbiblestudy


"And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life". Notice that the duration of the lost in Hell is exactly the same as the duration of the saved in Heaven, "forever and ever".   It is hard for us as mortals to grasp how long eternity will be, but after we have been there a billion years, eternity will have just begun.

Hell
We do not like to think about eternal punishment. For a few moments let us consider what the Lord says about eternal punishment and then we will turn our attention to a more pleasant thought, heaven. Our Lord in describing how horrible that hell will be for the many who will end up going there, says in Matthew 13:42, "And will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth". This definitely will be a horrible and terrible place beyond description. Jesus says in Mark 9:45-46 concerning those who are lost, that they will be "cast into hell, into the fire that shall never shall be quenched: where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched". There will be no reprieve or appeal to a higher court, because we are being judged by the highest. The Lord is trying to get our attention and to give us fair warning. He is pleading with us not to go there, but we make the choice. The choice is ours. We will bear the responsibility and the consequences.

In Luke 16:24 Jesus is describing a man who went to hell and is pleading, "Then he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame". How much relief, and how long would a drop of water last on the tongue of those who are being tormented forever? It would not last even one second. We must wake up and heed our Lord's warning!


The many who end up in eternal punishment will not be there alone. They will have company. Revelation 20:10, "The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever". Not very good company to be in. Notice that the torment goes on "day and night forever and ever".


There are many people who scoff at the idea of eternal punishment, but they are scoffing at what God says.  The fire will burn forever and those who are lost will be there in it for eternity whether they want to believe it or not.  In eternity their scoffing will quickly change to weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. We must take what our Lord says in the Bible seriously. Hell is real!  There is no way for the horrors of hell to be adequately described in human language.  This is very serious!


We read in Revelation 14:11, "And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night."  But reading further we see in Revelation 20:15, "And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire".   It is imperative that our name be found in the Book of Life. Is your name in that book? Do we know for sure, or are we making an assumption? It will be too late on the Day of Judgment to find out that it is not there.


Heaven
Now let us turn our attention to something more pleasant, heaven. Our Lord says in John 14:2-3, "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also". Heaven will be a very wonderful place. For the few who go there it will be beyond their wildest dreams and they will be totally surprised and amazed. There is no way that the glories of Heaven can be adequately described to us mortal beings. The only way will be to see it.

Heaven will be the very opposite of eternal punishment. Revelation 21:4 says, "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away". There will be no weeping, and no wailing, and no gnashing of teeth as will be happening in eternal torment. But there will be nothing but joy, and peace, and happiness, beyond description. What a wonderful place Heaven will be. But again, the choice is ours. We cannot escape the consequences if we make the wrong choice. We will not accidentally end up in Heaven. Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people. Our Lord says in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness." Going to Heaven has got to be our number one goal in this life.

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Questions Lesson 3
Eternity

1)  (Matthew 25:46) Those who are lost will go into
      
Purgatory.
      
Annihilation.
      
Everlasting punishment.
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2) All people will be placed into one of two places in eternity.
      

      

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3)  (Matthew 13:42) Eternal punishment is described as
      
A furnace of fire.
      
Not very hot.
      
There will be no eternal punishment.
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4) Eternal punishment will be horrible and beyond description.
      

      

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5)  (Mark 9:45-46) The fire of hell
      
Will never be lit.
      
Will soon go out.
      
Will never be quenched.
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6) If we end up in eternal punishment we will be able to appeal our sentence.
      

      

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7)  (Revelation 20:10) Eternal punishment will last
      
1000 years.
      
A short period of time.
      
Forever and ever.
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8) Satan will also be punished in the lake of fire and brimstone.
      

      

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9)  (Revelation 20:15) If we are not found in the Book of Life
      
We will cease to exist.
      
We will be cast into the lake of fire.
      
We will have another chance.
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10) Even after death we can have our name added to the Book of Life.
      

      

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11)  (John 14:2-3) Heaven is described as
      
Many mansions.
      
The earth made over.
      
A bad place.
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12) Christ will be in Heaven with the few who are saved.
      

      

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13)  (Revelation 21:4) In Heaven there will be
      
Sorrow and crying.
      
No sorrow or crying.
      
Pain and suffering.
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14) People will die after they get to Heaven.
      

      

Copyright © 2000 internetbiblestudy


Eternal Salvation: lesson #

Are you really sure of your eternal salvation?

This is a very important question, and one that will have lasting eternal consequences. If you were to die today, do you know for certain that you would go to heaven? This is a question about which we cannot afford to be wrong, because eternity is very permanent. One day each of us will face the true answer to this question, "For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ", Romans 14:10. Every one of us have two appointments that have already been made for us and that we will definitely keep, whether we want to or not. They are, "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment", Hebrews 9:27. These two appointments, death and the judgment, cannot be cancelled.

We must not make an error concerning our salvation in following what "seems right" to us, or that we "feel in our heart that we are saved". The Bible says in Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death". Our feelings are not a safe guide, but only the Bible is.

What prior assumptions have we already made about our salvation? Many of these assumptions, that people make, contradict what God says in his word to us. All we have to do is to look around at all of the many differing doctrines that are being taught, and then compare them to what God says in the Bible, and we can see a great difference. Our Lord says in Mark 7:7, "And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men". Our worship is vain if it comes from the doctrines of men and not from God. Can we say that all these many differing doctrines have come from God? I think not. I Corinthians 14:33 says that, "God is not the author of confusion." Or are they from men? Where else could they have come from, if they did not come from God? This becomes a very serious question. Our worship becomes vain and useless, if our doctrines come from men when they meet in conventions and conferences to decide what we are to believe and do.

As the apostle Peter told the Jewish council in Acts 5:29, "We ought to obey God rather than men". Do not believe anything that I tell you, because we are not going to be judged by what I say. Do not believe anything any other person tells you, because we are not going to be judged by what some other person says. In fact, we are not going to be judged by what we personally believe. On the Day of Judgment we are going to be judged only by what the Lord says in the Bible. That is going to be the only standard for judgment, for our Lord says in John 12:48, "The word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day". So, if I or any other person cannot point to it in the Word of God, then please do not believe it, because there is too much at stake - your soul!

Our soul is worth more than the whole world and everything in it. Jesus says in Matthew 16:26, "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" Our soul is the part of us that is going to continue to live on forever throughout all eternity. We cannot afford to lose it into eternal punishment.

 

1. (Romans 14:10) Who will appear      before the judgment seat of Christ?

             Only the lost.      

              Only the saved.

             All people.


2)         We cannot afford to be wrong about our salvation.

Proverbs 14:12) The way that seems right unto man leads to

             Eternal life.      

             Spiritual death.      

             Success.


       Our feelings are a safe guide when it comes to our eternal salvation.


(Mark 7:7) If we follow the doctrines of men           

      It is vain.      

       It doesn't matter.      

       God is still well pleased.


       It is      pleasing to God if we follow the doctrines of men in our worship.

 

(John 12:48) What will be the standard of judgment on judgment day?

 

             What we think.      

             The words of Christ.      

             What my preacher says.

 

       Just because we feel in our heart we are saved does not mean we are saved.

 

 

(Hebrews 9:27) What appointments have already been made for us?

 

             Doctor.      

             Dental.      

             Death and Judgment

 

             We can cancel our appointments with death and judgment.

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