The Gospel

Have you come to the place in your life where you know for certain that if you were to die today you would go to heaven? Or is this something you would say you aren’t sure of and you are still working on? Or maybe you haven’t really thought about it, because you have other things in life to worry about and you will deal with the whole heaven thing when the time comes?
No matter where you’re at I want you to try something. I want you to close your eyes and pretend that you were to die right now and you’re standing in front of Jesus and He said to you “Why should I let you into My Heaven so you can have eternal life?” What would you say?
Now let’s compare your answer to what the bible says. Because the bible says we can know for sure if we are going to heaven.
(“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:13)

Well first I want to talk to you about Heaven. Heaven is a free gift from God, and it cannot be earned or deserved. A common misconception is that just because you are popular or do good things in your life means you are going to heaven. A lot of people believe that the more good things you do and the better of a person you are the more of a “chance” you have at going to heaven. But doing all sorts of good works isn’t what gets you into Heaven…. why you ask? Because you are a sinner, I’m a sinner, EVERYONE is a sinner!!!

(“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23)

(“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not you own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9)

Man is a sinner, every person on this earth sins. But what is Sin? Sin is anything displeasing to God, even things you may think are small like telling a lie, cheating, cussing, sexual immorality, ect. The wages of sin is death and I am not just talking about dieing in a physical sense but the death I am talking about is the separation from God, which is eternity in hell, and man cannot save himself from going to hell. Hell isn’t some place where all the cool people go and party when they die, hell is dark and gloomy place full of evil and torment. So now you may be thinking God is messed up, why would He let me go to hell? I will tell u…

(“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23)

(“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment” 2 Peter 2:4)

God is loving and does not want to punish us but God is also just and must punish us for our sins. Here’s an illustration to maybe help you understand better: Lets say you get like 3 traffic tickets a day, so that’s around 1, 095 a year, and it all adds up over 90 years. But then the day comes for you to go to court and pay the penalty for all those tickets. And the judge is your father, so now you’re thinking that since it’s your dad he will let you off the hook but he tells you “I love you, and you are my child but 98, 550 traffic tickets… I can’t just let this go; I have to be fair and just so I must punish you. God is the same way with our sins, you sin all your life and it all adds up, and He doesn’t want to punish you but he has to be fair.

(“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:8)

(“… forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty…” Exodus 34:7)

So right now you could be thinking that all I am telling you is that you’re going to hell. But let me tell you about someone named Jesus Christ. Jesus is both 100% God and 100% man and he lived here on Earth free of sin. He went through all the same stuff we go through but never sinned and because He knew what it was like Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead 3 days later to pay the penalty for our sins and purchase a place in heaven for us… So now you’re thinking, so I’m going to Heaven, right? Not quite yet….

(“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1)

(“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14)

(“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” 1 John 4:9)

(“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6)

The only way into Heaven is through Jesus, but it is Faith in Jesus that gets you into Heaven not just knowing about Him. There are different types of faith, Head Knowledge, Temporal Knowledge and True Saving Faith. Now me and you both know that a table exist and so does everyone else, this is called Head Knowledge, just like you know God is there, but just because you know He is there doesn’t make Him apart of your life. Next, there is Temporal Knowledge this means maybe you trust that table enough to put your keys or your wallet on it, just like you might pray to God that you have a safe trip, or your financial problems get worked out but then once you get what you are asking for, you just put God to the back of your mind and continue living life for you. But neither Head Knowledge nor Temporal Knowledge is Faith and they cannot save you. True saving Faith is getting up on that table and trusting that table with your life. So that’s putting all your good works aside and trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation with all you heart.

(“You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe and shudder!” James 2:19)

(“And they said, believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Acts 16:31)

(“Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9)

So to sum it up, the only way into Heaven is by putting your faith alone in Jesus Christ and trusting Him with all your heart for salvation. Doing good works and everything is a way to show that you’re saved not a way to get saved.

If this is a decision you would like to make, and you truly trust with all your heart that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead 3 days later to pay the penalty for our sins and purchase a place in heaven for us and that faith alone in Him is the only way to Heaven then pray a prayer something like this:

“God, I know that I am a sinner. I know that I deserve the consequences of my sin. However, I am trusting in Jesus Christ as my Savior. I believe that His death and resurrection provided for my forgiveness. I trust in Jesus and Jesus alone as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you Lord, for saving me and forgiving me! In Jesus name. Amen!”

Saying the sinner’s prayer is simply a way of declaring to God that you are relying on Jesus Christ as your Savior. There are no “magical” words that result in salvation. Remember it is only faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection that can save us.

Please let me know if you made the decision for Christ, and I will help you with the next step.

Even if you didn’t, I would like to hear what you think about what you just read.