What About You?
Have you come to the place in your life where you know for certain that if you were to die tonight that you would go to Heaven? That is one of the things that God wants you to be sure of, one of the reasons the Bible was given to us. Scripture tells us “these things I have written unto you that you might know you have eternal life.” Think of it, God wants us to know we can go to heaven.
What Would You Say?
Think about this question and how you would answer, “If you were to die tonight and stand before God and He should ask you, “Why should I let you into heaven, what would you say.”” What would you say, what could you say? Maybe what many other people might say, “I have tried my best; I have tried to live by the Golden Rule and treat others like I want to be treated” Very commendable but there is much better news that follows.
Heaven Is A Free Gift
Scripture tells us, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life….”(Romans 6:23) That is amazing isn’t it that the most important thing you can ever attain is offered to you as a gift.
Heaven Is Not Earned or Deserved
Many people thought the same thing you did, that is, thinking that if they were going to get to heaven, they would have to do something to deserve or earn it; become good enough. Then they heard something absolutely tremendous, heaven is a free gift that God wanted to give them. Scripture tells us, “By grace ye are saved through faith and that not of yourselves but a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Man Is A Sinner
Scripture tells us, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The Bible teaches us that all of us have sinned. We have sinned in our thoughts, our words, our deeds and our actions. We have failed to keep the commandments and we have sinned by not doing what we were supposed to and by doing what we are not supposed to.
Man Cannot Save Himself
Man can no more save himself than a drowning man, in water over his head, reach over with one hand and pull himself out of the water. Scripture tells us, “ Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48). What a dilemma, God demands perfection to enter heaven. If we are all sinners, what can we do?
God Is Merciful
This is what we like to hear, Scripture tells us, “God is love” (1 John 4:8), Yes, God is merciful and He loves us nor does He desire to punish us. However…
God Is Also Just
God loves us and surely He does not want to punish us but because He is holy, He must punish sin. Another dilemma, Scripture tells us, “He will by no means clear the guilty” ( Exodus 34:7).
The Dilemma
Heaven is a free gift. No matter how good you try to be in your own strength, you can never be good enough because you cannot be perfect, you cannot keep the commandments, you cannot keep from sinning. No matter how many good deeds you do, no matter how much you try to treat people nicely, you cannot earn your way to heaven. You are a sinner so you don’t deserve to go to heaven. Yet God loves you, He is merciful, and He is just.
In His mercy and justice He sent His Son Jesus Christ.
Who Jesus Is
He is the infinite God-man. Scripture tells us, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us…”(John 1:1, 14) According to Scripture, Jesus Christ is God, the 2nd Person of the Trinity and the Creator of the universe.
What He did
Very simply yet profoundly deep, He came to pay the penalty for our sins. He died on the cross and rose again from the dead to pay the penalty of our sins to purchase us a place in heaven. His coming fulfilled the mission that was His.
What was that mission? It is described simply in one verse where Scripture says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord laid on HIM the iniquity of all of us.” (Isaiah 53:6)
The Gift of Eternal Life Is Received By Faith
We receive eternal life, the gift of God through faith. The key to open heaven is faith. You can have a key ring with many keys on it and they all look similar but only one key will open the lock on your front door, one specific key, so it is with faith.
What Saving Faith Is Not
Faith is not mere intellectual assent. It is not enough just to know that Jesus is God and that He died to pay the price for your sins, even the demons said they believed Jesus was the Son of God when they said in Scripture, “What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" (Matthew 8:29). Neither is it temporal faith, trusting the Lord to keep you healthy or to provide you with material things you need to live on earth, because things of this earth are temporary, they will all pass away.
What Saving Faith Is
Saving faith is simply trusting in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation, for your eternal life. Simply putting your trust in Him and what He did for you on the cross to pay the price for your sins and to purchase for you a place in heaven, which He offers you as a free gift. The Scripture says, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household." (Acts 16:31)
Does This Make Sense To You?
You have read the greatest story ever told about the greatest offer ever made by Jesus Christ the greatest person who ever lived. One question remains.
Do You Want to Receive The Gift of Eternal Life
If you do, lets talk about what you must do. This is what this involves:
-- Transfer Your Trust from the things you have been trusting in to get you into heaven such as your good works, your church attendance and transfer that trust to what Jesus Christ did for you when He was on the cross.
-- You receive eternal life by receiving the resurrected Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is alive today and wants to have a personal relationship with you. In Scripture He said, “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.”
-- We must be willing to repent, to turn from what we are doing in our lives that is displeasing to Him and to follow Him as we learn His will from reading His word.
Are You Ready To Receive The Greatest Gift In All Your Life
If you have read through this presentation of the Good News and you are ready to repent of your sins and to turn to the Lord and then to stop trusting in your good works or your own self-righteousness to earn your way to heaven, please pray the following prayer:
Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus and I ask you to forgive me of my sins. Father, I confess that I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself. I ask you Lord to help me, to give me grace to repent of my sins and turn to you. I ask you to help me Lord stop trusting in my own good works to get me into heaven. I ask you to give me the grace Lord to transfer all of my trust for my salvation to the finished work of the cross where Jesus died for my sins. Lord, I ask you to grant me the gift of eternal life, I want to be saved. Jesus, I thank you for what you did for me on the cross and I repent of trying to earn my way to heaven and now I ask you to help me live a life that is pleasing to you, as I learn your will through reading your Word.
Thank You and We Rejoice With You Over Your New Found Life In Christ
You have just prayed the most important prayer you will ever pray in your life. Please read aloud what Jesus said about what you just did. In Scripture He said, “I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.” (John 6:47)
Jesus will tell you the truth.
Welcome To God's Family
Now that you have given your life to Jesus Christ and have repented of your sins, you need to make Him Lord of your life as well as savior. That involves growing in your Christian walk through spiritual disciplines such as:
· Prayer – Pray frequently, daily, start with a short period of time maybe 5 minutes a day.
· Worship – If you do not have a church home, find one in your area.
· Fellowship – Be around other believers.
· Witness – Tell someone today or tonight what you just did, tell them you have given your life to Jesus.
(Content Courtesy of Evangelism Explosion International)
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