Eternal life and going to heaven

This section is designed to help you to understand what the

bible says about heaven, hell and eternal life.   

The Word of God tells us that eternal life is a free gift given

by God, and that it is only found in Jesus.  There's nothing

you can do to earn it, and no amount of good work you can

do to deserve it.  It is purely a gift that only He can give. 

Jesus made an exclusive claim, "I am the way, and the truth,

and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me." 

There are not a hundred roads to God, not even one other

road; Jesus is the only way to heaven, the only path to eternal

life. 

To understand why Jesus is the only way to heaven we first

need to grasp what would keep us from getting there when

we die. 

God's Word teaches that our sin separates us from God,

and that not only do we sin, but by our very nature  we are

sinful.  This contradicts the modern belief that we are all

basically good.  Many people believe that since God is all

loving and good He would never deny people who are trying

to be good from getting into heaven. 

It's right to think of God as loving, because there is no greater

love than the love of God.  However, it's wrong to think that

God is only loving and has no other qualities about Him.  One

of the big things that sets God apart from us is that God is holy.

There's no sin in Him at all; not even one. 

So we know what the bible says about God.  But what does

God's Word say about us?

 "There is no one righteous, not  even one."  Romans 3.10

The bible tells us God never sins.  But when it comes to us,

there is not a single person who doesn't sin!   We're

completely opposite of God when it comes to being holy. 

Since the bible tells us that "nothing impure will enter it",

(that is the city of God. see Revelation 21.27),  we have a big

problem.  We are sinful and God is not.  Sin has created a

separation from God and blocked our way from spending

eternity with Him.

The bible tells us that we need a Savior.  The reason Jesus

is called "Savior" is because He came to save us from the

mess we're in which God calls, "sin".   He came to take care

of the thing that keeps us separated from God, and blocks

our way to heaven.

He came to save us because we're powerless to

save ourselves.

Many people tell themselves if they just try to be good, maybe

go to church, or help others, that it will outweigh any bad and

God will let them into heaven.  What they are missing is that

none of these things takes away sin, and sin is what separates

us from God.  If just trying to be good was enough, Jesus would

not have needed to come to save us from sin!  He came for a

reason.

The bible says Jesus came "to do away with sin by

the sacrifice of Himself".  Hebrews 9.27  

Don't believe the lie that sin doesn't matter to God.  It matters

enough to God that Jesus was sacrificed to take away sin.  He

was put to death on a cross to do away with it. 

The only way out of our sin mess is Jesus, He is the

only one who God sent to save us from sin.  He is

the only Savior.  see Acts 4.12

Instead of lying to you, and telling you that you're basically ok,

the bible tells the truth.  The bible comes right out and calls us

"sinners".  But it also shows us the way out of the mess we're in.

"God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while

we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5.8

The Word of God is very clear on this; you are a sinner.  But

it also makes it very clear that God loves you and is giving

you a way out.  Notice, He doesn't tell you to get yourself out

of the mess you're in because of sin.   It doesn't tell us He

waited for us to get our act together first, then  He died for us.

It says "while we were still sinners" He died for us.  He knows

we can't get ourselves out of the mess of sin, so He went and

did what needed to be done Himself.  He didn't have to do

it, but He did!  That's how He showed us His love.  Before

you ever asked for help, or even knew you needed help, He

did what needed to be done to take away your sin.

So this is the first thing to understand.  Sin separates

you from God, but Jesus came to take away your sin.

There's no longer any reason for you to have to be

separated from God.

"Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in

his heart.  Anyone who does not believe God has made Him

out to be a liar, because He has not believed the testimony

God has given about His Son.  And this is the testimony:  God

has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  He who

has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God

does not have life."  1 John 5.10-12

Eternal life is a GIFT.  The only way you can get it is if He

GIVES it to you.  The only one who can give it is God's Son,

Jesus.

The awesome thing is, He wants you to have it!   He "wants

all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." 

1 Timothy 2.4

The bible also refers to Jesus as Lord.  It tells us the day is

coming when every knee will bow, and every tongue will

confess that He is Lord.  There are many who refuse to see

or acknowledge this fact about Jesus, but the bible tells us

that the day will come when all will admit it openly, even if

they refuse to accept it now.  To say "Jesus is Lord" is to

understand that He is above all things, rules over all things,

has the right to say how things are going to be and not

going to be.  He has the ultimate say so.  He is Lord, not

us.

The bible tells us that Jesus will be the final judge.  To say

you believe Jesus is Lord is to admit His right to rule over

you.  He has all authority in heaven and earth over all things.

This Jesus is the one who calls you to come to Him for

eternal life.  The Lord and judge of all creation is offering

to be your Savior. 

So you can see that Jesus is central to God's plan in how

He will deal with men at the day of judgment.  God has made

him both Judge and Savior.  There have been many religious

leaders to walk the earth, and many religions claim to show

the way to heaven, but Jesus alone has been given authority

to be the final judge and Savior.

The following bible passage is well worth reading because

it gives us a glimpse in to eternity and how God will deal with

us.

"Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated

on it. Earth and sky fled from His presence, and there was

no place for them.  And I saw the dead, great and small,

standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another

book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were

judged according to what they had done as recorded in the

books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death

and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each

person was judged according to what he had done. Then

death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake

of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found

written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." 

Revelation 20.11-15

There are two things mentioned here that are extremely

important.  The "lake of fire" and the "book of life".  It tells

us that if our name is not found written in the book of life, we

will be thrown into the lake of fire.  Is that possible?  Would

a loving God do that?  The bible tells us this is exactly what

God is going to do.

As religiously incorrect as it may seem, the bible tells us we

need to be saved from God's wrath, His anger!  Once again

the problem is sin.  God is holy and our sin separates us

from Him.  Not only that but God hates sin so much the bible

tells us "let no man deceive you with empty words, for because

of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient."

Ephesians 4.6  

God's wrath is His anger being poured out.  It's not popular

to think of God as being angry about sin, but the bible says

He hates it and His anger is upon those who practice it. 

When a Christian says, "You need to be saved!"  this is what

they're talking about.  We need to be saved from His wrath. 

 "They will be punished with everlasting destruction

and shut out from the presence of the Lord and the

majesty of His power..."  2 Thessalonians 1.9  

This is why I point out over and over again on my website

that heaven and hell are real places.  The bible is clear

about the wrath of God, the reality of hell, and our need to

be saved from it!

Let's look once more how God has made a way of escape

for you, and I want to stress again, it is the only  way of

escape that the bible gives us.  Instead of you having to

face judgment for your sins, He took your place and faced

judgment for you.  Instead of you paying the penalty for

your sins, (the bible says the penalty for sin is death), He

paid the penalty for you.  He  was put to death for your sins.

That was what His death on the cross was all about.  It was

Him getting punished for sins we committed, taking the

penalty of death so we wouldn't have to.  

But Jesus did more than die.  Jesus rose from the dead,

He went up into heaven where He sits at the right hand of

God. He is the one God appointed as judge of the living

and the dead, He is also the only Savior.  see Hebrews 10.12,

Acts 10.42, 1 Timothy 2.4-5

The only way to escape the "lake of fire" is to have your

name written in the "book of life".  Eternal life is only found

in Jesus.

So you can see that Jesus alone is the final judge,

and Jesus alone is Savior.  He offers eternal life

to anyone who believes in Him and receives Him.

 "Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His

name, He gave the right to become children of God- children

born not of natural descent, nor of human decision, or a

husband's will, but born of God."  John 1:12-13 

Jesus taught that this was absolutely necessary. 

He taught that unless we are born from above, we

cannot see or enter the kingdom of God.  John 3:3,5 

This is just common sense; think about it for a minute...

"Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit."

John 3:6 

Our earthly parents were made of flesh, and they gave birth

to flesh, (which is why you have a body). Since God is spirit, 

when He gives birth, He gives birth to spirit.  If you are going

to be born of God, you must have a spiritual birth. 

The word of God teaches that you must receive

Jesus, and believe in Jesus to be born of God.

This is what God's Word 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."  John 3:16 

Again it reads, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,

but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath

remains on Him."  John 3:36 

Do you believe that Jesus died for you to take away

your sins?  Do you believe He rose from the dead?  

"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." Romans 10:9 

And again, ..."the same Lord is Lord of all, and richly blesses

all who call on Him, for, everyone who calls on the name of

the Lord will be saved."  Romans 10:12 

What does all this mean?  It means calling out to God.  "Jesus

save me!  I believe!"  It's realizing maybe for the first time in

your life that you have sinned, and your sin has separated

you from God.  So you call out to Him, you pray. 

It means asking Him to take charge of your life...to be your

Lord.  You have lived your life your way, without Him, and now

you are asking Him to change all that.  You are surrendering

your life to Jesus.  You ask Him to forgive you, (and you can

thank Him that He already has, that He loved you so much

that He even died for you).  The important thing is that you

open up your heart to Him, you call out to Him because you

believe that He did all this for you!  You see your need. You

believe He's Lord.  You get that, so you call out to Him and

ask Him to be your Savior.

It should also be said that Jesus is not something you add

on to your life, an accessory to make it better.  Jesus is

someone you bow down to and obey.  The attitude is you

have come to realize that He is God and you are not.  He is

the Lord, not you. 

This is why the bible talks about "repenting of our sins".

To repent means to turn around and go the opposite direction. 

The Word of God tells us to turn to God, and to turn away

from our sins.  Jesus hates sin!   When we call upon Jesus

to save us we are saying that we want to turn away from sin

and start living for Him.

This basic attitude is important.  You are turning from a life

lived for yourself, to a life lived for God.  At this point you might

be thinking, "That sounds too hard!  I could never be good

enough."  Remember though, God isn't asking you to be

"good enough", He already knows that you aren't.   He's

asking you to call out to Him!  If you see you need a Savior

and you believe in Him, then call out to Him.  "Jesus, have

mercy on me, a sinner!"

The bible says, "I tell you, now  is the time of God's favor,

now  is the day of salvation.  1 Cor. 6.2

In other words don't put it off.  Call on Him today while you still

have today.  Call on Him now if you believe!  Why would you

wait and put off something so important?  Today is the day,

now is the time. You may not have a tomorrow.

You can literally be born again; not another human

birth, but a spiritual birth from God. 

The word of God teaches, "...everyone who trusts in Him will

never be disappointed".  Romans 10:11  

So by praying and calling out to Him,  you take whatever faith

you have... however big or small, and you ask Jesus to be

the ruler of your life.  God promises if you do that,  you will

never be disappointed.  

Finally, don't worry so much about the words.  God is looking

at your heart.  You can come to Him with the faith of a child. 

This is something that God very much appreciates.  Keep it

simple and honest.  Pour out your thoughts and fears; whatever

is in your heart. 

Finally, the word of God teaches, "Here I am!  I stand at the

door and knock.  If  anyone hears my voice and opens the

door,  I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."

Revelation 3:20  

Heaven and hell are real places.  You will spend eternity in

heaven or in hell.  He is offering you eternal life!  Why wait?

I would encourage you to call out to Him; to pray to Him now.