Why Many Will Miss Heaven by 12 Inches

Many Will Miss Heaven by 12 Inches

The Difference Between Knowing Christ and Being Saved

Many people will miss heaven by 12 inches. That is the distance from the head to the heart.

Many people know facts about Jesus Christ.

• They know He lived.
• They know He died on the cross.
• They know He rose from the grave.
• They may know Bible stories, attend church, and even agree with sound doctrine.
• But there is a tragic difference between knowing about Christ and belonging to Christ.

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A person can have the truth in his head and still be lost in his heart.

That is one of the most dangerous spiritual conditions a person can be in. It is possible to be familiar with the Gospel without ever being transformed by it.

• It is possible to speak Christian language, admire Jesus, and respect the Bible, yet never truly repent and entrust yourself to Him as Lord and Savior.
• Scripture teaches that salvation involves not only confession with the mouth but also genuine belief in the heart that God raised Jesus from the dead.

The Bible says,

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, leading to salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

That is not mere intellectual agreement. That is wholehearted trust. It is surrender. It is a public identification with Christ and a personal reliance upon Him alone to save.

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There is a difference between professing Christ and confessing Christ.

A person may profess Christ outwardly for social reasons, family tradition, or religious habit. But true confession flows from a heart that has been awakened by God to see sin, judgment, mercy, and the sufficiency of Christ. A person who has truly come to Christ does not merely acknowledge Him as important. He is obedient to the teachings of scripture and hates his sin.

This is why being religious is not enough: a person can be baptized, attend church for years, give money, serve on committees, quote Scripture, and still not be saved. Even demons have correct theology about God’s existence. Mere belief in facts, by itself, is not saving faith.

Jesus warned about destruction and life in Matthew 7:13-14:

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

• That means the crowd is not a safe guide.
• Popular opinion is not a safe guide.
• Religious culture is not a safe guide.
• Christ alone is the safe guide.
• Jesus’ teaching that more people are headed to destruction than to life is a reasonable inference from Jesus’ contrast between “many” and “few.” That should cause every person to stop and examine himself.

The issue is not, “Do I know Christian words?” The issue is not, “Did I grow up around church?” The issue is not, “Do other people think I am a Christian?”

The issue is this: Have I truly repented of my sins and trusted Jesus Christ from the heart? Scripture tells people to examine themselves to see whether they are in the faith:

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5)

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The stakes could not be higher.

Jesus also warned that whoever denies Him before others, He will deny before His Father in heaven. That is a sobering warning against shallow association without genuine allegiance. Christ is not offering Himself as an accessory to life. He is the key to life. He is Lord. He must be received as He is.

And there is urgency here because death closes the door on further opportunity. Scripture says people die once and after that comes judgment. That is why the call to repent and believe must never be postponed:

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, (Hebrews 9:27).

• No preacher can save you.
• No church can save you.
• No baptism can save you.
• No amount of good works can save you.
• No magic list of words can save you.

Only God can save you, and He saves through His Son, Jesus Christ. Salvation is not earned by ritual or morality. It is received by grace through faith in the crucified and risen Christ. The Apostle Paul, who wrote down the Holy Spirit-inspired word of God in his letter to the Romans as found in Romans 10:9-10,

“that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, leading to salvation.”

This verse ties salvation to confessing Jesus as Lord and believing in the heart that God raised Him from the dead.

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So here is the question:

• Do you merely know about Jesus in your head, or have you come to Him in your heart?
• Do you admire Him from a distance, or have you entrusted yourself to Him?
• Do you merely wear the appearance label as “Christian,” or do you truly belong to Christ?

If the Spirit of God is convicting you, do not harden your heart. Do not brush it away. Do not assume there will be a later opportunity. The very concern you feel may be God’s mercy pressing on your conscience, calling you to repent, believe, and to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior.

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Do not miss heaven by 12 inches, the distance from the head to the heart.

• Come to Christ.
• Confess Him as Lord.
• Believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead.
• Repent of your sins.
• Be obedient to His word.

And be saved.

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