How to go to Heaven

I once saw a pamphlet with this question covering the entire front page,

WHAT MUST I DO TO GO TO HELL?

The answer was found on the inside.  But when I opened the pamphlet I found totally blank pages.  I wondered if there was some mistake in printing, but then it dawned on me that this is the way to go to Hell—just do nothing, and you will be there after you die. Throughout the Bible God reveals how sinful we really are:

“We are all as an unclean thing and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” Isaiah 64:6.

“All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23.

“The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.”  Jeremiah 17:9.

“There is none that doeth good, no, not one.”  Romans 3:12.

 

Someday, the formal and final sentence by the Judge of the Universe will be issued.  Every last person who has not accepted Christ as Savior in his lifetime will stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment.  God will examine the Book of Life to see if his or her name is written there.  If not, God will cast every person whose name is not written in the Book of Life into the Lake of Fire. (Revelation 20:15) This Lake is described elsewhere in the Bible as

-a place of outer darkness-Matthew 25:30

-a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth-Matthew 25:30

-a place of everlasting fire-Matthew 25:41

-a place of torments-Luke 16:23

Anyone would have to be out of his mind to want to go there.  Yet, in order to avoid Hell and gain Heaven many people have been deceived by the Devil himself.  God Himself has stated the desire of the devil is to “blind the minds of them which believe not lest the light of glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” II Corinthians 4:4. To deceive the world, the devil has put forth a way to Heaven that even sounds right–do good things.  Go to church, join a church, do good works, be baptized, give money, be religious and a host of other religious things.  The devil would have you to believe that you can earn your way to Heaven.  Yet, we have already seen that we are extremely wicked in God’s eyes and therefore would have nothing of merit to offer God. Salvation cannot be based on merit but only on God’s grace.

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to His mercy He has saved us.”  Titus 3:5.

“Knowing that a man is not justified [saved] by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ.”  Galatians 2:16.

“Not of works lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:9.

Grace means unmerited favor.  It is a gift. Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves.  It is the gift of God.”  In fact, the Bible restates this truth in many places. Salvation is not obtained by what we do (merit), but what Christ has done.  Salvation is offered to us freely by His grace.  Romans 3:24 says, “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

Before Paul who wrote most of the New Testament was saved, he tried to obtain Heaven by fulfilling the Law (the Ten Commandments).  He even thought that he was more qualified than any other man.  (Philippians 3:4).  Yet, in order to come to Christ, he had to turn his back on this so-called road to salvation.  In order to win Christ, he had to consider all the former things that he trusted in to give him salvation as “dung” (manure).  Philippians 3:8.

Our only hope for salvation cannot be found in what we do, but in what Christ has done for us on the Cross of Calvary.  Christ was our substitute to pay the terrible penalty of sin. I Peter 2:24 says that Christ bare our sins in His body on the tree. II Corinthians 5:21 says that God “made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”  God the Father placed our sin on Christ.  Literally, He became sin for us.  The punishment was an infinite punishment because we have sinned against an infinite and holy God.  In His pain, Christ cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

Praise the Lord! Christ’s sacrifice satisfied God’s wrath, and Christ was able to say that the penalty of sin was entirely paid. He said, “It is finished.”  The work of salvation is done.

Salvation is only found in Christ, not ourselves or any other person.  Acts 4:12 says that “Neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.”  And Jesus clarified to His disciples that He was the way, the truth and the life and that no man comes to the Father but by Him.  John 14:6.

However, even though Jesus has paid the punishment for each person, we must personally come to know Christ as our personal Savior. God will not force anyone to go to Heaven.  Each person makes his own choice.  Would you like to go to Heaven?

We have already seen what it takes to go to Hell.  Do nothing or trust in doing good things as your Savior.  What does it take to get to Heaven?

Repent of your sin while trusting in Christ alone as your Savior. By repentance we mean that you must have a change of mind:

-About the sinful way that you have been going all of your life

-About the religious things you thought would get you to Heaven

Repentance is not reformation.  Self-reformation may clean up one area of your life, only to have your last state worse than the first.  Matthew 12:43-46.  Luke 13:5 says that “except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Biblical repentance would lead you to turn and believe (trust) and receive Christ as your only Savior.  John 1:12 says that as “many as received Him to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.”  Romans 10:9 says, “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.” Romans 10:13 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

My friend, come to Christ today. Satan is very good at causing people to delay this important decision. II Corinthians 6:2 says that “now is the day of salvation.”  Your prayer of salvation might sound like this, “Lord, I realize that I am a sinner condemned to spend an eternity in Hell.  I now place my full trust in you as my only Savior. Lord, please save me.  Based on your Word, I thank you for salvation.”  Amen.

Pastor Rogers can be reached at 320-231-2033 (home) or 320-262-6609 (cell).

He would love to speak to you about this important decision.