Some may be bold enough to say they know they are going to heaven, but I do not consider myself to have reached the plateau of God where I have the knowledge or the devine nature of God to judge myself at the present time, and surely not for the rest of my life, that I haven't lived yet. I do have faith and hope through Jesus Christ, that God will have an accurate record of my life, and He will know the contents of my mind, my thoughts, my intentions, my sins and the efforts I made to correct them. I know that He knows this better than I do, and I will be judged accordingly when I come before the judgement seat of Christ.
To say, we know that we are going to heaven, is taking the position of God and judging ourselves before we stand in front of the judgement seat of Christ. We live in hope, which means expectation. A woman may be expecting a baby to be born, but that doesn't mean she will definitely carry the baby to the end of her pregnancy and give birth to a live baby. Expecting is not definite.
Christians all over the world are becoming victims of cheap grace. The sins of the world are being justified, making the sinner become more comfortable. True grace requires discipleship. True grace is costly grace and it is bestowed on those who seek it. It is the gift which must be asked for. It is costly grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. Preaching forgiveness of sin without requiring repentance is spreading the popular notion of cheap grace, which is grace without discipleship. Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. The only people who can say they are saved by faith alone are those that have left all to follow Christ.
I have listed some scriptures below that tell us we don't receive the crown of eternal life until we have endured all the temptations and pitfalls that may come before us in our lifetime, being obedient to Jesus even unto death, and we stand before the judgement seat of Christ, to be judged for everything we have done, both good and bad. "For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:10.)
"For we are saved by hope; but hope that is seen is not hope; for what a man seeth, why then doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." (Romans 8:24-25.) But why doest thou judge thy brother? or why doest thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ. For it is written, AS I LIVE, SAITH THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGE SHALL CONFESS TO GOD. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." (Romans 14:10-12.)
"But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. (Hebrews 3:6.) "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) (Hebrews 10:23.)
"If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:11-14.)
"But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." (Matthew 12:36-37.)
"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." (James 1:12.)
"Behold I come quickly; hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." (Revelation 2:11.)
"But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection; lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." (1 Corinthians 9:27.)
"For after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therin, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning." (2 Peter 2:20.)
"And you, that were sometime alienated and enimies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whererof I Paul am made a minister;" (Colossians 1:21-23.)
If we trust and obey Jesus as his disciples, we have the promise of eternal life in God's heaven. There is an if that we must satisfy. The if requires that a condition must be met. If is the biggest little word in the Bible. It is found many, many times throughout the Bible. Hope is another word that is found many times. We must meet the condition put in place by the if. Without meeting the obligation made necessary by the word if, we can have no real hope. Hope is nullified by our not meeting the requirement put in place by the word if. We do not know for certain that we will have eternal life in heaven, but we live with the hope of eternal life. Whether it is true hope or false hope depends on our obedience to the word if. When we all stand before the judgement seat of Christ, our entrance to heaven will hinge on the little word if.
When Jesus searches our inmost feelings and thoughts, when our hearts are layed bare and the real person is brought out to be judged, how can we be sure that we qualify for the prize of everlasting life in heaven? If, with all sincerity, we sorrowfully repent and ask forgiveness of our sins, we are forgiven, and we are assured of a home in heaven. But, our sincerity will be tested, and we will be judged accordingly. We must not have any unforgiven willful sins. We must be ready when the judgement day comes. It will be too late to ask forgiveness then.
"And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son purifies us from all sin." (1 John 1:6-7.) (Bold Italics added here to show emphasis.)
The greatest temptation facing all Christians is the love of the world. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." (1 John 2:15-16.) How do we know for sure that we are drawing the line at the right place--separating ourselves from the world as we are commanded? This huge temptation and the lack of being able to judge for certain whether we are letting the world have dominion over our lives, is reason enough, that we can't say-- we know we are going to heaven. Only Jesus Christ can make that judgement call, and it will be made when we all come before the judgement seat of Christ. "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." (1 Corinthians 10:12.)