Good News!
How to get to Heaven
Has anyone ever shown you, from the Bible, how you can know that you're going to heaven? If not, read on!
The Bible contains both bad news and good news. The bad news is something about you. The good news is something about God. Let's discuss the bad news first.
Bad News #1: You are a sinner. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." God has set a standard He expects every one of us to meet. His standard is perfection, i.e. perfect righteousness. It doesn't matter how religiously we live, how good we are, or how hard we work, we cannot be perfect, as God is perfect.
Bad News #2: The penalty for sin is death. The Bible says in Romans 6:23 "for the wages of sin is death." If you were to work for me for one day, I would pay you your wages--what you've earned. The Bible is saying that because you and I have sinned, we have earned death . We are going to die and be eternally separated from God.
Good News #1: Christ died for you. The Bible says in Romans 5:8: "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." If I could take your cancer cells on myself, I would die and you would live. I would be your substitute. Jesus Christ took your sin upon Himself and died in your place. The third day He arose, as proof that sin, death, and the devil had been conquered.
Good News #2: You can be saved through faith. The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Only if you endorse a check made out to you is that check any good. Only as you trust the promises of God concerning your need, does God give you heaven as a free gift.
Another way to say this is that Heaven is perfect. There is no sin there. That fact presents a huge problem since we are born sinners. But, God has a solution. The solution begins with seeing oneself as a condemned sinner and having a desire to be righteous, i.e., meeting God's standard of perfection. Without recognizing your sinfulness and need for perfection, salvation from sin and going to Heaven is impossible. Once you see your need for salvation, it is then important to trust in the ONLY SAVIOR who can truly save. We can't save ourselves, so God provided Himself as Savior. God became a man in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus took on Himself the sins of all mankind, including all your sins (past, present and future). He died on the cross and rose from the dead so that anyone can come to Him to experience forgiveness of sins, receiving His righteous life in exchange for one's sinful life.
2 Corinthians 5:21 puts it this way: "For He (God the Father) made Him (Jesus Christ) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." When we all come into this world, we are separated from God by this huge barrier called sin. But Jesus, who was without sin, took our sin upon Himself and died in our place. He died so that anyone who is IN CHRIST (identified with Christ through faith in Him) would become righteous (the righteousness of God).
Would you like to pray right now and tell God you are trusting His Son as your Savior? Saying a prayer has never saved anyone. Prayer is only the means by which you talk to God and tell Him that you are trusting His Son for the righteousness you need to get to Heaven.
You might pray something like this: "Dear God, I come to you now. I know that I am a sinner and there is nothing good in me to merit Heaven. But, I believe Christ died in payment for my sins and rose from the grave that I might have eternal life. Lord, I repent of my sins and now trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and receive the free gift of righteousness that you promise to those who come in faith to Jesus Christ. Thank you for the forgiveness of my sins and everlasting life I now have through my faith in Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name, Amen."
If you have just prayed that prayer, we would like to know. Send us an email to fbckeyport@aol.com and let us know. We would love to hear from you. Then come visit us for our Sunday Worship. If you do not live in the area, then we will try to find a good Bible-Believing Church which you can attend, and which will help you grow as a Christian.
HOLDING FORTH THE WORD OF LIFE
First Baptist Church of Keyport