blogI'm Interested In Apathy

How the Bible tells us we can be 100% sure we'll go to heaven when we die 

This post is pinned  •  Click here to go to the other blog posts. Click here for a page with just this post and nothing else.

Most people incorrectly assume that in order to find salvation from hell, we need to earn it by being good people and by doing works such as being nice to people, being charitable and other things like keeping up our church attendance or praying constantly. However, the notion that you can somehow earn your way to heaven is not found anywhere within the Bible. But on the contrary, Christianity as presented in the Bible is the only religion in the world in which salvation is free. Let's start from the top and examine why we need salvation in the first place.

The Bible says in the book of Romans 3:10: As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one. Meaning that nobody is perfect, in fact, it goes on to say in Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. We're all sinners, all of us have sinned and just one sin is a transgression of God's law. Furthermore, Romans 6:23 says: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. This means that all sins declare us worthy of hell. You may not have killed someone or comitted adultery, but we've all lied we've or bared false witness or we might have pinched something that didn't seem important. When Romans 6:23 says 'death' it ultimately means hell as described in Revelation 20:14: And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Furthermore, another verse demonstrates that all of us are deserving of hell and gives a quick list of sins in Revelation 21:8: But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

So the bad news is that we're sinners and we're on our way to hell, but the good news is God doesn't want us to go to hell. The Bible says in Romans 5:8: But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. The Bible teaches in a verse that when we use the word 'trinity', it's what's described in 1 John 5:7: For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. God came down to earth as a mortal man and lived a perfect sinless life which no human being is ever able to do. Jesus Christ, the son of God, is God. He performed miracles, he walked on water, he fed thousands, but God didn't come to earth as a man specifically to do those things. He really came for what eventually happened at the end of his life where he was tortured, crucified and ultimately died on the cross. This wasn't some unfortunate accident like 'Oh the son of God couldn't evade capture' but really it was all intentional and while he was on that cross he was paying for all of our sins which as sinners we couldn't possibly pay off.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:21: For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Jesus was sinless, he was a perfect unblemished lamb so while Jesus was on the cross, he's becoming sin for all of us. He's paying for the world's sins, not just our past and present sins but our future sins as well. The Bible then says that he also tasted death for every man as well. It says in Matthew 12:40: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. He actually descended into hell and the Bible says in Acts 2:31: He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. Because on the third day afterwards he did something no man could ever do but God and rose again. It wasn't just spritiual resurrection like a ghost but a full bodily resurrection. Jesus defeated death.

But does that mean all of humanity no matter what will ultimately go to heaven? The Bible's very clear about one thing you still have to do. In the book of Acts chapter 16 a Philippian man asks the apostle Paul outright, how do I be saved from hell?  Acts 16:29-31: Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. The Bible says that all you need to do to go to heaven is believe on Jesus Christ. It's phrased this way famously in the book of John where Jesus said something to Nicodemus. John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The Bible says simply that all you need to do to go to heaven and not hell is believe in/on the Lord Jesus Christ and what that means is to put your faith or your trust in him. To have full faith that Jesus Christ's life, death burial and resurrection is what paid for your sins and that you put your faith/believe in the fact it can take you to heaven when you die.

The problem is many people say things like 'Oh yeah I believe in Jesus, I go to church, I do all this and that but I've got to be a good person, I've got to go to church every week or this and that to go to heaven'. They're not actually believing on Jesus, they're believing in themselves to go to heaven and their good works. And the Bible teaches that there's only once place people who believe in themselves can go once they die as soon as they add themselves into it. John 3:36 says: He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. There's no in or out or hot or cold but by believing on Jesus we can know for sure we're saved. God gave us salvation as a gift and if you have to work for a gift then it isn't really a gift. If someone gives you something as a gift but then asks you to pay for it, it isn't a gift. Ephesians 2:8 & 9 say: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. Meaning that no one is going to heaven because of how good they are. If you add your own works into your salvation it stops being about Jesus and you make it about yourself. Jesus died a sinless man so we could go to heaven and if we add our sinful selves into our salvation then there's no point in Jesus dying for us. The Bible confirms this in Romans 11:6: And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. The Bible is saying that it's either one or the other, you put your trust only in Jesus and as soon as you add a little bit of yourself into the Gospel its no longer Jesus.

Very simple. I say simple but the Bible teaches most people are on their way to hell. Matthew 7:13 says: Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. This is because most people are trusting in things like avoidign certain sins, their church attendance etc. All of which is ultimately meaningless before God. Isaiah 64:6 says: But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

But some people have a hard time believing this because 'what about all the thou shalt not and thou shalt not sin'. Well there are a couple of truths to that, the first one is that the Bible says that the law is a schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ. So it does say that we need a saviour and that we've all come short. But the law is also a good way of pleasing our father because once we are saved we become the children of God. Galatians 3:26 says: For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Meaning that the moment we get saved we become a child of God and God deals with us as a loving father should. So he'll punish you when you're bad and reward you when you're good. But being a child of God is based upon faith because as sinful humans there's no way we could possibly earn it which is why Jesus came and died as a sunless man, the son of God. Hebrews 12:5 & 6 say: And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. So the Bible is very clear that as God's children he's going to punish us if we're bad and God's punishment can be scary if you fall into sin but it has nothing to do with the afterlife. The only way we could ever be saved from hell is by Jesus' blood however in this life it's good to please God because getting saved by the blood of Jesus' isn't a ticket to do whatever you want. So if I went and killed someone I would still go to heaven but I would be punished severely here on earth.

Once we're saved the Bible is very clear that it isn't something you can lose. We're saved forever. In John 10:28 it says: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. And in Ephesians 1:13 it says: In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise. The second you're saved you become a child of God and you will never perish because God holds onto you. In fact in John 5:24 it says: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. As the verse says, God gives us eternal life through Jesus, if it's something you could lose, then it isn't eternal life, it's temporal life. So that means if you believed you could lose eternal life then you never got it in the first place. People like to add on things and say that you've got to repent of your sins as well, but you don't, that's another work. The only thing you need to repent of is what you formerly believed was taking you to heaven or whatever else. Mark 1:15 says: And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

So if you want to be saved all you've got to do is believe, it's very simple and Romans 10:9 says: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. You believe in your heart that the gospel, the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus fully paid for your sins. Romans 10:13 says: For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. So if you're a sinner and you'd like to get saved, you believe you're a sinner deserving of hell, you believe that Jesus is the son of God that he died, was bured and rose again to pay for all your sins all you've got to is put your faith and trust in him and once you do there's no way you can lose your salvation. You're saved forever and its eternal life that you've got.

Perhaps you'd like to do that now and you can tell it to the Lord in prayer with something a bit like this:

Dear Lord, I understand I'm a sinner deserving of hell but I believe that you're the son of God, that you died, was buried and rose again to pay for all my sins so I can go to heaven when I die. I place my trust in you and only you. I accept you as my saviour Lord. Amen.

If you've prayed something similar to that, a declaration to God in prayer that you believe in the gospel of Jesus so you can go to heaven when you die and that you accept Jesus as your saviour, you believe it in your heart, then congratulations, you're saved. Once you are saved, it's a good idea to also tell other people about the gospel.

All the verses used in this post are written below:

Romans 3:10: As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.

Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Revelation 20:14: And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Revelation 21:8: But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Romans 5:8: But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 5:7: For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

2 Corinthians 5:21: For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Matthew 12:40: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Acts 2:31: He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.

Acts 16:29-31: Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:36: He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Ephesians 2:8 & 9: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.

Romans 11:6: And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

Matthew 7:13: Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.

Isaiah 64:6: But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Galatians 3:26: For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 12:5 & 6: And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

John 10:28: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Ephesians 1:13: In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.

John 5:24: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Mark 1:15: And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Romans 10:9: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Romans 10:13: For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Introduction: Why the gospel is different to what you might know

1st paragraph: We're all sinners and deserve hell

2nd paragraph: God doesn't want us to go to hell and Jesus is God

3rd paragraph: Jesus died and rose again

4th paragraph: How do we get salvation

5th paragraph: It's not of works

6th paragraph: Furthermore, it isn't of works

7th paragraph: God's law, it's not a ticket to do whatever

8th paragraph: It's eternal, you can't lose it

9th paragraph: Finally, how to get it

8 August 2025

Losing The Bus

This is a short story written like a spoken word story song by Alasdair MacLean. The place names aren't real.  •  Copy this link to share the post.

I remember the bus depot on Newgate Street in Finsbury next to Basingstoke in the early 2010s with the new busses on loan from Australia. It was blindingly sunny as you might hope for on a beach day with the air just cool enough so that your body didn't melt like an ice cream. By then, the new bus stops had already replaced the old ones including the old train tracks nearby. I was coming home from a venue I had never been to before with my school and didn't really know how to get home, despite my house being within walking distance in Basingstoke. I found myself at the stop across the road instead of the one just outside the venue and after waiting for a short period of time I stepped onto the bus. Feeling anxious because I could never truly be sure if I had got onto the correct bus, I carefully watched where we were going and where we were stopping in case I had made a mistake or to make sure I hadn't overshot my stop. As it turned out, I was lucky enough to have boarded onto one of the 5 Australian busses which despite originally being on loan to us, we had kept from the late 2000s. It wasn't until we rolled past the bus depot on Newgate Street that I realised I wasn't there anymore. The pale cream interior bus livery somewhat similar to a 90s computer case except lighter, carefully filled in the beach sand below my feet. Which thanks to the small sparkly bits in the material reflected the sun brightly just like the sea drenched sand did in the early 2010s. The two people stood next to me leant against the bum rack just as my mum and dad did at the beach. It was then when I heard some children shouting not too far from me that I recalled myself chanting, 'We want treasure! We want treasure!' as I did in the early 2010s to immerse myself on the beach. The air conditioning kicked on which quickly and suddenly reminded me of the reality of being on a bus, until I was quickly sent back to the beach as the refrigerated breeze of air emulated the same cool breeze that I felt on the beach, which although cold didn't cause you to shiver thanks to the radiating sunlight. I looked down at my feet. One of the doors on the bus opened which made me aware of a small black rod which rotated against the pale cream interior. Bringing on an audible brushing sound as the hairs on the bottom of the doors brushed against the bus floor. These two happenings vividly placed in my hand a piece of beach wood which I was clutching in my hand and waving as I chanted my desire for treasure. However it was at that moment my anxiety regarding getting off at the right stop ended my day out on the beach as I heard the announcer voice say that my stop on Lombard Street was up next. As I began walking, my blood suddenly sank in and brought me back to reality. That was, until, I pressed the stop button. Which had a beep that rang out loudly resembling the horn of a cargo ship which was arriving in the port next to our beach. And yes, there was a truck gliding past us up against the easy-going sunny beach sky, carrying various metal monoliths resembling the top of the ship. Strongest of all was the feeling of childhood summer in the early 2010s: unstable, fresh, hot, motherly, sunscreeny and as if I was walking on egg shells. This had re-surfaced once I thought about it beyond the nostalgic, summertime and ice-creamy veneer. I got off the bus and found my way home which finally broke the fever.

28 July 2025

The Brain Is Stupid

Copy this link to share the post.

I'd like to tell you about some things I've taken note of lately about the brain and the mind.

Firstly, I'm going to list some things that have happened to me recently...

1. I woke up one morning a little bit before my alarm was set to go off. Therefore, I went back to sleep while I still could. As a result, my brain decided to treat me to a dream where I woke up in the morning.

2. I was watching an old Spanish film called 'The Spirit of the Beehive/El espíritu de la colmena' from 1973 where I was about to fall asleep. (Nothing to do with the film, probably. Although the shots do play out a bit sometimes.) In order to not miss any of the film, I paused it so I could nod off without having to find where I was when I was ready to finish watching it. A few moments later I realised that I didn't actually pause the film but I dreamt about pausing it once I shut my eyes. I hadn't been asleep for very long, only about a minute or so.

3. This morning, (the morning that prompted me to write all of this) I once again woke up before my alarm, but only just. Either way, I felt like I was well-rested enough to get out of bed quickly without wanting to stay in bed and go back to sleep. This was how I felt, until my alarm did actually go off and I immediately felt sleepy and the warmness of the covers began to hug me and pull me back into bed.

Clearly, my brain hates me. Regarding those 3 experiences, (I don't claim to be a psychologist or 'dream expert') starting with no. 1 & 2. I've heard that the brain sometimes uses dreams to finish processing things from while you're awake that don't fully sink in, especially things you're concerned about. That could explain why I dreamt about waking up and pausing my film. Didn't wanna get up late for work and didn't wanna miss my film and have to figure out where I was in the film when I was ready to continue watching, nor worry about if VLC media player would start playing music once the film was actually finished. But to dream about things which were immediately topical and straight after they happened almost makes it feel as if my mind's trolling me. As for how I suddenly felt sleepy as soon as I heard my alarm, I have two ideas. Perhaps I wasn't 'awake enough' yet to feel sleepy. But that sounds a bit daft so my other idea is that the alarm clock anxiety triggered it. If you've ever woken up to an old fashioned beeping alarm clock you might notice that if you hear similar high pitched beeping where the time between each beeps is quite short... Or if you've just heard a beeping alarm clock outside of a morning bedroom setting like in a TV show or film. You suddenly feel an anxiety only associated with waking up in the morning, except you're not in bed and you're all dressed up. The same goes for youngsters familiar with hearing the Apple 'Radar' tone. You recognise the distinct feeling of anxiety you feel associated with having to snooze or stop your alarm.

This next concept is more personal and not as relatable. Thanks to the way my mum and my aunt had a part in raising me, I have a layer of stress over my mind whenever I go out. When I was in primary school, going to the servo after school to get something to eat felt like sneaking out in the middle of the night to do a drug deal, crossing the road, even if there were lights, was a life or death situation that required deep concentration. A stranger wasn't someone you just didnt know, but a very bad person. Obviously we've all heard the 'stranger danger' and 'don't talk to strangers', but in my mind, a stranger was always someone who wanted to hurt you. Using public transport had to be intensely planned out as if it were a military campaign, some kind of salsa dance where each step is mapped out for you or like stepping through a room with laser alarms everywhere. All so that I didn't get on the wrong tram or whatever. (Read the above post 'Losing The Bus'.) Obviously I don't think this way anymore, but the remnants are still there. Whenever I go out, even when I go to church every single Sunday morning I have a constant layer of stress that comes from the fact I'm just going out, crossing roads, using public transport or being near strangers. It prevents me from feeling. A bit like being depressed where although you might not feel sad you just don't feel much of anything. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, it won't be there and I'm free to feel emotion like any normal person. And it's great, I wish I could feel emotion everytime I went outside instead of just unnecessary stress. The only time that really happens is if I do something like go to church late because something pops up which prevents me from going at the normal time which suddenly removes all of the usual stresses since I'm not going at my usual scheduled time. The same thing has happened in the past when I've gone to school late. If my brain were a CPU, it's like the usage goes down from 70% to 10%. My mind feels light and I'm free to take in whatever my senses are sensing. I'm alive again. Sometimes I can get the layer of stress to wash away if I tell myself that there's nothing to be worried about because nothing bad is going to happen and I do this every week or everyday. There's a nice relief of stress sometimes but I'm still not able to feel much.

29 July 2025