HOW TO GO TO HEAVEN

When I was growing up, I thought there were good people and bad people. I thought good people went to heaven and bad people went to hell.

Romans 3:10 – But God says, There is none righteous, no, not one. There is not one human being in a right relationship with a holy God as a natural man, woman, boy or girl.

Verse 11 – There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. That is all inclusive. None, zero. Not 50, 300, 3000. There is none that understands God as a natural man, woman, boy or girl. But we say of our self, “I may have done wrong a time or two.” We compare ourselves to other people and say, “I’m not like him.”

Verse 12 – They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. God isn’t saying we don’t do some good things, but He is saying we’re unprofitable for what He created us for. He is saying that all the goodness we might come up with is not good enough.

Verses 13–17 Their mouth is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit, the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace they have not known. This is talking about the whole human race. It is talking about you, me, your Mother and Father, Preachers, Presidents, the whole human race.

Verse 18 – There is no fear of God before their eyes. That is why we do the things we do. That is why we say the things we say. That is why we act like we act. There is no fear of God before our eyes, which means there is no reverance and respect for the Almighty Creator, Holy God.

Verse 19 – Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Now, again, that’s the whole human race, which includes you, my friend.

Verse 20 – Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. We see that we are sinners by the law of God, the ten commandments. The 10 Commandments tell us: to love the Lord God and to have no other god’s before Him. Keep the Sabbath holy and the Christian Sabbath is Sunday which is the Lord ’s Day. Honor your Mother and Father. Have you ever disobeyed your parents? Thou shalt not steal. Have you ever taken something that didn’t belong to you? Thou shalt not bear false witness. Have you ever told a lie? Thou shall not kill. Jesus said, just hate somebody in your heart and you’ve murdered them. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Jesus said if you look at a woman with lust in your heart, you’ve committed adultery.

The law shows us we’re guilty.

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Verses 21-23 - But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; You, like me, have broken God’s law? Have you ever seen you’re guilty? Sin is my claim to my right to myself.

Have you ever broken the Sabbath? Or do you do self pleasure on that day? Is God first in your life? Do you love Him with all your heart, strength and mind? Do you have any idols? These laws were given to us to show us that we have broken them and that we are guilty before the judgement bar of Holy God. Baseball was once my god. I was consumed with baseball. I gave my body to it, my time, my talent , my loyalty. I worshiped baseball. There is nothing wrong with Sports unless they take God’s place in your life. He must have first place, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the Lord Jesus Christ must have the pre-eminence which means nothing takes His place as number one.

Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. There’s a pay for our sin. And the wages of sin is death. That’s what we’ve earned – death and hell, and separation from God. The Lord Jesus says that this is a place where the worm never dies and the fire is not quenched. The Lord Jesus teaches us about hell in Luke chapter 16, verses 19 through 31. Jesus Christ preached more on hell than he did on heaven, because He did not want any body to go there. Hell was not created for human beings, it was created for satan and demons. (Matt. 25:41) Human beings are out of place in hell, and the only reason anyone goes there is because he refused the free pardon for his sins through the cross and the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.

I can lie, steal, disobey my parents, be selfish, covetous, jealous. But it costs me. The pay for my sin is death. The pay for your sin is death.

But the gift of God is eternal life. But notice, it’s a gift. There’s nothing you can do to earn it. There’s nothing you can do to buy eternal life. It’s a gift. It’s true that is doesn’t cost you one thing, but a gift always costs some one. Somebody has to pay for the gift.

If you are a parent, when you buy your children a Christmas present, it doesn’t cost them anything. And by the way, if you say they have to do this, this, and this to get it, then it’s not a gift. If you have to do anything to earn it, it’s not a gift.

But it cost you something. Look what it cost God. The Lord Jesus Christ shed His blood and died for your sins and my sins so we can be forgiven and have eternal life. ( For he hath made him ( the Lord Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. !! Cor. 5:21)

Romans 5:6 – For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. I once visited a woman who was paralyzed from her neck down. She had to be bathed, clothed, and fed. Everything had to be done for her.. That’s how I was when I was a sinner. Lost. There wasn’t anything I could do to get to God. I was totally without strength. I was paralyzed by sin, and so are you, my friend.

Romans 5:7-9 – For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ

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died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. There are a lot of good men who have given their lives for this country. And why did they do that? Because they believe it’s a good country, because their family lives here. They go to protect their Moms, their Dads, their wives, their children…

But look how the Lord Jesus Died.

Read Verse 8 – But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That would be like us going over to Russia or China and giving our life for them. None of us would give our life for a country that we didn’t believe in, but the Lord Jesus Christ died for sinners, rebels against God, and yet God loves us.

God didn’t say clean up your life and I’ll die for you. He didn’t say, get better, straighten up your life and live right and I’ll die for you. But the Lord Jesus said, “You’re a sinner and I’ll die for you.” He said, “You’re lost, and I’ll die for you”.

The wages of sin is death. He said, “I love you and I’ll die for you.” He died on the cross for ALL our sins. Not some of them, but all of them. The Lord Jesus Christ paid my sin debt and your sin debt and the sin debt of every single human being that lives, has lived, or shall live.

He died for the sins of the whole world. And the truth is, everybody’s sins are paid for today. Your sins, my sins, all our sins. This makes it possible for Holy God to forgive us and accepts us into His family forever when we repent and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as out Saviour.

Do you believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for your sins and that He was raised from the dead?

You know you’ve sinned against God. You know you are guilty. Do you know Jesus Christ came to save you?

He came to seek and to save that which was lost. He wants to save you. He’s looking for you. He wants to give you eternal life. Now the Bible is the Word of God which means it is God’s promise to us. God has a Word, and he is not a man that he can lie. Listen to His Word.

Romans 10:9 – That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. To be saved means Jesus Christ is going to come and live inside of your body. Your body is going to belong to God, bought and paid for with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. You’re going to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. All your sins are going to be forgiven, and you will be born into God’s Family .

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Now let’s review. You know that you have sinned against God by breaking His law and :

You know you’re guilty.

You know you’re going to face God someday. Lost. Without God.

Is that right?

You know the Lord Jesus died for your sin and was raised from the

dead.

Is that right?

God teaches us in Acts 20 verse 21, “ Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

You are going in the wrong direction; you are going away from God and you must turn around and turn to God. You do not quit your sins in order to get saved; that would be a works salvation, but at the same time you can’t hold on to them either. Is there anything right now that you would rather have than the Lord Jesus Christ. ( I was talking to a lady who said that she had rather gossip than be saved. She was serious.) Turn from your idols and your self righteousness and put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. Is there anything that you are holding on to worth going to an eternal hell over. This woman didn’t have to quit gossiping to get saved, but at the same time she knew that she would have to turn from sin and self and turn to God and that would leave gossiping behind. Will you turn to God today, and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as you Savior?

You can call on the Lord Jesus Christ to save you right now. Take God at His Word as He says to you in Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Your faith is not in your calling, it is in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you want the Lord Jesus Christ who died for your sins and paid your sin debt to be your Saviour, call on Him now and tell Him, “ Lord God, I am a sinner. I have broken your law, and I am guilty. I have disobeyed my parents, I have told lies, I have lived a selfish, self-centered life, and I now turn to you. You died for me, Lord Jesus, you took all of my sins on your own body, and you paid my sin debt to God. Lord Jesus, you said if I would call on you that you would save me. I call on you now. Come into my heart and take over my life. I give my life to you. Thank you for dying for me and thank you for saving me. Teach me how to love you and how to trust you and how to obey you. Help me to bring my family and friends and even my enemies to you so that you can save them. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Now the question is, by the Word of God are you saved? Are your sins forgiven? Only you and God know, but according to the Bible the one thing you will know the instant you are saved is that your sins are forgiven. 1 John 2:12 says, “ I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake. “ Is Jesus Christ now your Savior? Are you putting all of your trust and faith in Jesus Christ and Him alone, the one who shed His blood for you on the cross? According to the Word of God, are your sins forgiven?

When a person repents, and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter their physical age is, he is a little baby in God’s family. If this has happened to you, you need some milk immediately and you get that from the Bible, the Word of God. Use the authorized version which is the King James. This Book is alive and will be your spiritual food. Read it and feed on it daily, just as you eat physical food daily. If you do not feed on the Word of God, the Bible, you will get weak spiritually and end up being a sick Christian.

Ask God to show you a Bible believing Christ honoring Church that is going out to bring people to our Lord Jesus Christ. If you see a Church parking lot full of buses and a sign out front that says Reformers Unanimous addiction program meets here, you can know that this is a soul winning Church trying to keep people out of hell by bringing them to The Lord Jesus Christ.

Be baptized showing that you are dead in Christ, buried in Him and raised from the dead to walk a new life as this is the first step of obedience for a new born Christian.

Talk to God about everything which is what the Bible calls prayer.

Read and feed on your Bible, the Word of God daily. A good motto is no Bible, no breakfast. In other words, eat the Word of God before you eat your breakfast. Your spiritual food is now more important than your physical food.

Tell others about the Lord Jesus Christ and that you are now following Him.

Ask God to lead you to a Christian who is really following the Lord Jesus Christ on a daily basis who will help you start growing in Grace and knowledge of your Lord Jesus Christ.

If you are saved you actually know in your heart that your sins are forgiven. (1 John 2:12 If you do not know this, you need further instruction in the Word of God.) God will now speak to you through the Bible, His Holy Word. ( this doesn’t mean that you will understand everything in the Bible, but you will now hear God speak to you when you read it and when you hear it preached by a Bible preacher.

Though a new born baby, you will be obedient when God tells you something in His Word, such as be baptized and do not forsake the assembling of your selves together. Attend Church with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Remember, the Church is not a building or place or denomination, it is literally the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Two thousand years ago, the Lord Jesus was here in His human body. He did all of the preaching, teaching, healing, casting out devils, and every thing else. Today, His body is the local New Testament Church through which He lives and expresses Himself to this lost human race. You need to be an active member of a local Church, and so ask God to lead you to the one He wants you to be in.

God will now begin to treat you as one of His children and correct you when you disobey him. This is wonderful, because the child He loves, He chastens, or corrects. When you were lost, God never spoke to you about these things, but now He is your Heavenly Father and you belong to Him.

If you have any questions or I can help you in your new life that is hid with Christ in God, e-mail me at joecmurray@sbcglobal.net. You may also read the articles on this site that will help you as you start to follow Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Really get to know God better and better. When you were born of your parents, you didn’t know them even though you were there child. As you began to take in milk and started to grow, you began to have a relationship with them and began to know them better and better.

If you are born again, grow up in your relationship with Holy God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by feeding on His Word and then trusting the Lord Jesus to help you obey it. Begin to pray for and bring other family members, friends, and other loved ones to the Lord Jesus Christ. You will want all of your family and friends to be saved for the Glory of God and for their good.