I am troubled and need advice. I am 78 years old. I want to go to heaven when I die but due to my past, I am not sure this will happen. I have always believed that God and Jesus were real but during my life I was a terrible sinner. I committed adultery many times, stole, cursed, and lied all the time. I have asked Jesus to forgive me and let me be born again so that I might be allowed to enter heaven when I die. I pray every day confessing my sins, I ask that my family be protected. What else must I do to become a child of God? I know that God and Jesus exist but I also know what I have done. I don’t know if I will be forgiven of my sins and enter heaven when the time comes to be judged. Please give me your thoughts and advice. I need help.
Admission into heaven is granted solely on the basis of our belief that Jesus died for our sins and rose again (1 Cor. 15:1-4). It’s important to remember that even one sin is enough to keep us out of heaven. Therefore, it doesn’t matter how many sins you committed during your life or how bad a person you think you’ve been. What matters is that you believe when Jesus went to the cross He died for all your sins (Colossians 2:13-14).
The uncertainty you feel is caused by your guilt. You think you’ve been a bad person and don’t deserve God’s forgiveness, but that’s true of every Christian. None of us deserves to be saved. This is why God sent His Son to die for our sins, and made our salvation a matter of our belief instead of our behavior.
In Matt. 7:7-8 Jesus said everyone who asks for salvation receives it. In John 3:16 He said that whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have eternal life. In John 6:28-29 He said belief in Him is the only work God requires of us. In John 6:40 He said that everyone who looks to Him and believes in Him will have eternal life. In John 10:25-28 he called those who believe in Him His sheep and said He gives us eternal life and we can never perish. In John 11:25 He said whoever believes in him will live even though he dies.
These are some of the clearest verses in the Bible and come straight from the Lord Himself. They are the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth where your salvation is concerned. Learn them and then repeat them until you believe them so whenever doubts about your worthiness creep into your mind you will know the truth about your salvation.