If you died tomorrow, are you sure, without a doubt,
that you would go to heaven?
You've probably figured out by now that not everyone is going to heaven.
What you may not know is that no one is going to heaven; that is, without God's help.
The Bible makes it clear that sin cannot enter into God's presence (1John 1:5).
And, we have all sinned, everyone of us (Romans 3:23).
You know you have... like that time you told a lie, or you took something that wasn't yours, or you hurt someone else.
We have all sinned.
The bad news is that we can't do anything about our sin.
A murderer convicted of the crime cannot go to the judge and say,
"I shouldn't be punished because I helped twelve old ladies cross the street. The good I did should outweigh the bad."
And we cannot bargain with God, point at our good deeds, and try to earn our way into heaven. Our crimes have earned us punishment.
There's more bad news. If we have sinned we are destined for hell; (Romans 6:23)
at least we are until God does something about our sin problem.
We are not born sinful. We are not punished for the sins of our fathers.
Each person is responsible for his or her own actions and choices (Ezekiel 18:20).
We are sinful because we have sinned (Romans 5:12). So, God is just in punishing us for our sins.
And because we have sinned, we cannot join God in heaven,
we cannot be in His presence. Your sin has separated you from God (Isaiah 59:2).
There is good news. God loved us enough to send us His Son (John 3:16).
God wants to spend eternity with us, so He provided a way for us to overcome the sin problem:
someone who was perfect, sinless, and has, therefore, defeated sin, death, and hell.
Jesus Christ.
This man, who is the Son of God, who was, in fact, God in the flesh, came to earth, revealed God's truths to us, died on the cross, was raised from the dead, and ascended to heaven to reign in power at God's right hand.
His power includes the ability to take away our sin, to remove it completely from us so that we can enter God's presence, for eternity. And all because of God's wonderful GRACE. God's Riches At Christ's Expense. Grace is pardon from our death sentence. Grace is overlooking our sinfulness to call us sinless. Grace is allowing us to enter heaven, though we are not worthy. Grace is a gift.
The funny thing about gifts is that they are both free to the receiver, and require something of the receiver, all at the same time. God can give us His gift of grace, the gift of Jesus, who, although He was sinless, took our punishment for sin by suffering and dying on the cross.
But it is, like any gift, something we have to accept, something we have to receive, something we have to reach out and take from God's extended hand.
God has made many promises in the history of mankind. But the one thing that is true of every one of those promises is that the recipients were required to keep certain terms to receive the promises. God promised the people of Israel that He would take care of them and bless them...
if they were faithful. (Deuteronomy 28-30)
God promised to rescue Noah and his family...if he was faithful. (Genesis 6:18)
God promised to make Abraham into a great nation...if he was faithful. (Genesis 12:1-3)
FAITH has always been God's requirement, the terms that he asks the recipients of His promises to fulfill in order to receive what God had promised (Hebrews 11).
The same is true today (Ephesians 2:8).
Faith is not some feeling we have. Faith is not even just an intellectual choice, a belief in God.
Faith is in the heart because faith is active. (James 2:26)
Our true thoughts, feelings, intentions, and motives are shown in our actions. You can say you love your wife or your husband all day long, but true love is shown in your actions.
A heart dedicated to God will do what He asks. A heart dedicated to God will keep going, even when dedication gets hard. A heart dedicated to God will submit to His will for a lifetime.
And God requires dedication.
God has promised you eternal life, a home in heaven. He is calling you to join Him. All He asks in return is that you dedicate your life to following Him. He has revealed all you need to know to follow Him. Following Him means following His word because
faith comes from God's word. (Romans 10:17)
This is because God's will is revealed in His word. What He wants from us is revealed in His word. Our faith depends on knowing what He wants from us, and our knowing depends on His word.
To inherit eternal life God has asked you to do just a few things.
These actions show your faith to God, and say to Him that you are ready to be His child.
They are very small compared to what He wants to give you.
BELIEVE that Jesus Christ is God's Son, that He can save you, and that He is the only way you can be saved. (John 3:16)
REPENT from your old way of life, from doing things your way, and commit to doing things God's way. (Acts 3:19)
CONFESS to God and to the world that Jesus is your Lord, that you are a sinner incapable of helping yourself, and now you want to submit to Christ and let Him help you. (Matthew 10:32; Romans 10:9-10)
BE BAPTIZED to show God your faith and your commitment, as your pledge to Him. (1Peter 3:21; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:1-7)
COMMIT to live faithfully, to follow God's will in your life for the rest of your life, to study His word to find out what He wants you to do and be.
If you will do these things in faith, from the heart, God will give you eternal life, He will wash away your sins, He will give you a home in heaven. He's not asking you to earn your reward, just to receive His gift.
God is calling you home. Will you go?
