Do You Know For Sure?
How do you answer the following 2 questions?
· Do you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if you died today, you would go to heaven?
· If you stood before God and He were to ask you, “Why should I let you into my heaven?” What would you say?
If you are not sure whether or not you will go to heaven when you die or your answer is I hope God will accept me or I am trying to do my best, then please read what the Bible says about how you can go to heaven.
5 Truths You Must Know
About How to Go to Heaven.
1. Man is a sinner.
Romans 3:23 tells us, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...” (NIV).
Sin is transgressing God’s law and includes such things as lying, lust, cheating, deceit, anger, evil thoughts, immoral behavior, and more.
I like this simple definition of what sin is: “Sin is anything I think, say, or do, that God does not want me to think, say, or do.”
You were born a sinner (Psalm 51:5). You do what you do because you have a sinful nature. People are enslaved to their sin (Titus 3:3).
You see because of our sin man cannot save himself.
If you wanted to save yourself by good deeds, do you know how good you would have to be?
Jesus said in Matthew 5:48, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (NIV).
We would have to be absolutely perfect. You would have never had an angry thought at the person who cut you off on the highway, never ever sinned in your whole life. Even if you could stop sinning right now you would have enough sin to prevent you from going to heaven.
James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”
Even one sin will keep us out of heaven and no matter how much good we try to do to make up for it will help.
However, most people do not comprehend their sinfulness.
Consider whether or not you think of yourself as a “good” person? Most people think they are. Because they think they are a “good” person they also think that they will go to Heaven.
Take the “Good” person test. Ask yourself the following questions to see how you measure up to God’s standard of the Ten Commandments.
· Have you ever told a lie? This is the ninth commandment. What does that make you? It makes you a liar.
· Have you ever stolen anything, even something small? This is the eight commandment. What does that make you? It makes you a thief.
· Have you ever committed adultery? This is the seventh commandment. You may think you haven’t but Jesus said in Matthew 5:28, “I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (NIV). So, honestly have you ever looked at another person with lust?
· Have you ever taken God’s name in vain? Have you ever used God’s name to express anger? Instead of using a four letter filth word to express disgust, you have taken the name of the One who gave you life and everything that is precious to you, and used it to express disgust. That is called “blasphemy,” and God promises that He will not hold anyone blameless who takes His name in vain (Exodus 20:7).
· To go through the rest of the Commandments read Exodus 20:1-17.
How did you do? Are you really a good person? Do you really think God can overlook what you have done to Him?
Just think about it. That is only four out of the Ten Commandments!
If you answered yes to all four, by your own admission, you are a lying thief, a blasphemer, and an adulterer at heart and you have to face God on judgment day.
If God judges you by the Ten Commandments, will you be innocent or guilty? Will you go to heaven or hell?
However, in spite of our sin…
Secondly:
2. God is both Merciful and Just.
You see on one hand, God is merciful but on the other hand God is just.
What does that mean? Well first, God is merciful and does not want to punish us.
Why? Because the Bible tells us that God is love… (1 John 4:8)
Jeremiah 31:3 says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (NIV).
But the same Bible that tells us that God loves us also tells us that God is just and therefore He must punish sin.
God says in Exodus 34:7, “I will by no means clear the guilty” (KJV).
He says in Ezekiel 18:4, “The soul who sins is the one who will die” (NIV).
Why does God say this? Not because He is a wicked, evil God who wants to get us when we step out of line but because He is holy he must punish sin.
Think about it this way: If you were caught robbing a bank and you told the judge you were sorry for stealing the million dollars. You told him you would pay it back if he would just let you go. You know that the judge cannot allow you to go unpunished. The judge would be unjust.
The same is true with God. He must punish sinners if He is to be holy and just. He cannot overlook sin but must punish it. This punishment lasts for all eternity (Matthew 25:46).
You see the problem:
God loves us and doesn’t want to punish us but He is just and must punish sin.
Do you know what God did for you so that you wouldn’t have to go to hell? He provided a way for you to be forgiven.
And that brings us to our third point and that is God solved this problem for us in the person of….
3. Jesus Christ solves the problem.
Who is He?
The Bible tells us clearly that He is the infinite God-Man.
Jesus is God the Son in human flesh. Jesus is both God and man in one person. John 1:1-2 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning” (NIV). John 1:14 then says, “The Word (Jesus) became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (NIV).
God loved us so much that He sent his Son, the second person of the God-head to live a sinless life.
The first part of John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…” While on earth Jesus never sinned and fulfilled the perfect standard of obedience God requires.
As God, Jesus is Lord!
The New Testament reveals it was Jesus Himself who created everything (John 1:13; Colossians 1:16). Therefore He also owns and rules everything (Psalm 103:19). That means He has authority over our lives and we owe Him absolute allegiance, obedience, and worship.
But while on earth what did Jesus do to solve the problem we all face?
What did He do?
He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and rose from the grave to purchase a place for us in heaven.
Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (NIV).
1 Peter 3:18 says this about Jesus, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God…” (NIV).
2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (NIV).
Jesus Christ died in our place for all of our sins, past, present, and future. We deserved to be crucified on that cross but Jesus did it out of love for you and me.
It is simple. You broke the Law and Jesus paid your fine!
Jesus Christ bore our sin in his body on the cross and now offers you eternal life (Heaven).
That leads us to another great truth and that is:
4. Heaven is a Free Gift.
Eternal life is a free gift.
Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (NIV).
And because heaven is a free gift that means like any other free gift it is not earned or deserved.
No amount of personal effort, good works, or religious deeds can earn a place in heaven for you.
All good works or deeds such as, going to church, reading your Bible, being baptized, or joining a church, although are good things to do, cannot save you.
Isaiah 64:6 says, “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags...” (NIV).
You see going to heaven is solely by the grace of God found in Jesus Christ alone. He died in your place to purchase a place in heaven for you.
Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast” (NIV).
How do we get this gift? Lastly,
5. The gift is received by faith.
Faith is the key that opens the door to heaven. Many people mistake 2 things for saving faith:
1. Saving faith is not mere intellectual assent.
It is not like believing certain historical facts. The Bible says that the devil believes there is one God, so believing that there is one God is not saving faith (James 2:19).
2. Saving faith is not mere temporal faith.
Temporary faith is trusting God for temporary crises such as financial, family, or physical needs. Now these are good, and you should trust Christ for these, but they are not saving faith.
3. Saving faith is:
Saving faith is trusting in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life. It means resting upon Jesus Christ alone and what he has done for you on the cross rather than in what you or I have done to get us to heaven.
If you will repent – turn away from sin – and place your trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior, God will forgive you and grant you everlasting life. He will change you from the inside out and make you a new person in Christ.
Acts 16:31 says, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (NIV).
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (NIV).
Romans 10:13 says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (NIV).
You and I must receive the gift of eternal life by trusting in Jesus to save us from our sins.
Romans 10:9-10 tells us, “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (NIV).
Confessing Jesus as Lord means humbly submitting to His authority (Philippians 2:10-11).
We must turn away from our sin that does not please God and from the things we were trusting in to save us and turn to God in faith and receive His Son as the Lord and Savior of our lives.
We must ask Jesus wholeheartedly to save us with our intellect, our emotions, and our will and He will do it. We can know that we are going to heaven when we die and not be anxious about when our lives come to an end.
Are you willing to:
· Transfer your trust from yourself to Jesus Christ alone for eternal life?
· Believe that Jesus took your place and paid for all your sins on the cross?
· Repent of your sins and follow Him?
· Receive God’s gift of eternal life?
· Ask Jesus to be the Lord and Savior of your life?
If you have never personally asked Jesus Christ to save you I would like to say that it is as simple as A,B,C.
Admit you are a sinner to God.
Believe that Jesus Christ died for you, was buried, and rose from the dead to pay for your sins.
Call on God and ask Him to save you.
You could pray a prayer like this, “Lord Jesus Christ, I know that I am a sinner and do not deserve eternal life. But, I believe you died and rose from the grave to purchase a place in heaven for me. Lord Jesus, as best as I know how, I transfer my trust from myself and the things which I have been trusting, and I place my trust entirely in you. Forgive me for all my sins. I repent and turn away from my sins and will follow you. I now receive Your gift of eternal life. Jesus be the Lord and Savior of my life, in Your name I pray, Amen.”
IF YOU HAVE ACCEPTED CHRIST AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR, WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. IT IS VITAL THAT YOU BEGIN TO READ THE BIBLE EVERYDAY AND ASSOCIATE WITH A CHURCH THAT TRULY TEACHES THE BIBLE. WE WOULD LOVE TO HELP YOU GROW AS A CHRISTIAN.
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