Where Are You Going?
Aug 15, 2011 11:53:23 GMT -5
Post by wateredseeds on Aug 15, 2011 11:53:23 GMT -5
There is more uncertainty in the world about the most important question you could ever ask, than there is about some of the most complicated topics invented by man. Let me ask you some questions.
Do you have any ideas to fix the economy?
Could you solve the environmental crisis?
Do you believe in abortion?
These questions are complicated, but you could probably answer with certainty on anyone of them. But none of these are as important as the next question.
Are you going to heaven when you die?
Most people answer this question with varying degrees of certainty. Some say they are working on it. Others say yes, still others say no. Many people will say they simply don’t know or aren’t sure.
Would it surprise you to know that many of these same people claim to believe in Jesus Christ? How can someone not be sure that they are going to heaven if they believe in Jesus?
If you were to ask the average person who CLAIMS to believe in Jesus, what they must do to get to heaven, these are the most common answers: live a good life, go to church, obey the ten commandments, be baptized, or follow the teachings of Jesus.
All of these things represent something that people do. It’s the idea that going to heaven is something that has to be earned. But the bible tells us that eternal life is not a reward that has to be earned. It is a free gift.
“The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”-Romans 6:23b
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”-Ephesians 2:8-9
As long as we think we must earn our way to heaven, we can never be certain that we’ve satisfied God’s requirement in order to enter into eternal life.
So what’s the answer? If I were to tell you that the standard of God’s law is the 10 commandments, and keeping ALL OF THEM was a requirement to gain entrance into heaven…could you honestly say that you’ve followed them all? Can you even name them?
1.Thou shalt have no other gods before me(exodus 20:3)
2.Thou shalt not have any idols(20:4-5)
3.Thou shalt not take the Lord’s name in vain(20:7)
4.Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy(20:8)
5.Honor thy father and mother(20:12)
6.Thou shalt not murder(20:13)
7.Thou shalt not commit adultery(20:14)
8.Thou shalt not steal(20:15)
9.Thou shalt not bare false witness(20:16)
10. Thou shalt not covet(20:17)
Have you followed them all? Just in case you still think that you have, check out these rather convicting verses:
“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”-Matthew 5:27-28
“Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.”-1 John 3:15
Do you see that? If you even look at someone in lust, you’re an adulterer. If you think a hateful thought towards someone, you’re a murderer. Surely no one can live up to this law. Maybe you still think that some of the good deeds you do can erase the bad stuff that you’ve done?
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”-Isaiah 64:6
No works of righteousness can save you from the bad things you’ve done. And to make matters worse, even if you did all the things the law says to do, YOU STILL COULDN’T BE SAVED BY THEM!
“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. 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.”-Romans 3:20-23
So what would happen to you if you die without having received His free gift? Remember that verse I shared at the beginning which talks about the gift of God being eternal life through Jesus? Well, the first part of that verse says, “For the wages of sin is death.”(Romans 6:23a) Not physical death, but eternal death. Maybe that isn’t so bad, until you understand what that means.
“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”-Matthew 10:28
If you aren’t right with God, you’ll go to hell. Hell is a torturous place, full of suffering and everlasting punishment.
“And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night.”-Revelation 14:11a
So what can you do to be free from everlasting damnation?
“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”-Matthew 1:21
God gave us the wonderful news of His Son Jesus Christ. The Son of God, came into this world and lived a perfect life, and then He gave Himself up to death for you.
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”-Luke 19:10
After living a perfect life, He suffered and died. He didn’t ask to be spared from the suffering that He would face.
“He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”-Matthew 26:42
“After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”-John 19:28-30
And in His death, he bore our sins.
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”-Isaiah 53:4-6
“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”-Psalm 32:1
But why did Jesus have to die?
“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”-Hebrews 9:22
Jesus’ blood had to be shed for us, because He is the ONLY ONE that could live a perfect, sinless life. And without the shedding of His blood, we cannot have forgiveness.
“Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.”-Romans 3:25
God loves us so much, that he made His own Son to die for us.
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”-Romans 5:8
You must accept Jesus Christ as your Savior to avoid eternal hellfire. What does it mean to accept Him?
“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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”-Romans 10:9-10
If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He died for your sins…then you must confess it now in this very moment. Is it really that easy? Absolutely. Remember that salvation is a free gift. What is the condition of getting any gift? You must first RECEIVE IT. That means you must accept this as truth.
“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”-John 6:37
You can experience the embrace of our Father and God in heaven right now. There is no other way by which you can be saved and enter into heaven than through Jesus Christ.
“I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”-John 10:9
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”-John 14:6
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”-John 3:16
If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He died for your sins, then you can pray the following prayer or something similar to accept Him as your Savior: “Dear Heavenly Father, I confess to you that I am a sinner. I pray Lord that you would forgive me of my sins, and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I lay claim to the shed blood of your Son Jesus Christ, and I accept Him as my personal Savior. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
If you prayed that prayer, then you are now a member of the family of God. Rejoice that your sins are forgiven!
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”-John 1:12
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”-Romans 8:38-39
May God bless you, and the Lord Jesus Christ fill you with the Holy Spirit to know the power of His suffering and His resurrection!
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”-Revelation 3:20
.
Do you have any ideas to fix the economy?
Could you solve the environmental crisis?
Do you believe in abortion?
These questions are complicated, but you could probably answer with certainty on anyone of them. But none of these are as important as the next question.
Are you going to heaven when you die?
Most people answer this question with varying degrees of certainty. Some say they are working on it. Others say yes, still others say no. Many people will say they simply don’t know or aren’t sure.
Would it surprise you to know that many of these same people claim to believe in Jesus Christ? How can someone not be sure that they are going to heaven if they believe in Jesus?
If you were to ask the average person who CLAIMS to believe in Jesus, what they must do to get to heaven, these are the most common answers: live a good life, go to church, obey the ten commandments, be baptized, or follow the teachings of Jesus.
All of these things represent something that people do. It’s the idea that going to heaven is something that has to be earned. But the bible tells us that eternal life is not a reward that has to be earned. It is a free gift.
“The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”-Romans 6:23b
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”-Ephesians 2:8-9
As long as we think we must earn our way to heaven, we can never be certain that we’ve satisfied God’s requirement in order to enter into eternal life.
So what’s the answer? If I were to tell you that the standard of God’s law is the 10 commandments, and keeping ALL OF THEM was a requirement to gain entrance into heaven…could you honestly say that you’ve followed them all? Can you even name them?
1.Thou shalt have no other gods before me(exodus 20:3)
2.Thou shalt not have any idols(20:4-5)
3.Thou shalt not take the Lord’s name in vain(20:7)
4.Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy(20:8)
5.Honor thy father and mother(20:12)
6.Thou shalt not murder(20:13)
7.Thou shalt not commit adultery(20:14)
8.Thou shalt not steal(20:15)
9.Thou shalt not bare false witness(20:16)
10. Thou shalt not covet(20:17)
Have you followed them all? Just in case you still think that you have, check out these rather convicting verses:
“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”-Matthew 5:27-28
“Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.”-1 John 3:15
Do you see that? If you even look at someone in lust, you’re an adulterer. If you think a hateful thought towards someone, you’re a murderer. Surely no one can live up to this law. Maybe you still think that some of the good deeds you do can erase the bad stuff that you’ve done?
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”-Isaiah 64:6
No works of righteousness can save you from the bad things you’ve done. And to make matters worse, even if you did all the things the law says to do, YOU STILL COULDN’T BE SAVED BY THEM!
“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. 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.”-Romans 3:20-23
So what would happen to you if you die without having received His free gift? Remember that verse I shared at the beginning which talks about the gift of God being eternal life through Jesus? Well, the first part of that verse says, “For the wages of sin is death.”(Romans 6:23a) Not physical death, but eternal death. Maybe that isn’t so bad, until you understand what that means.
“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”-Matthew 10:28
If you aren’t right with God, you’ll go to hell. Hell is a torturous place, full of suffering and everlasting punishment.
“And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night.”-Revelation 14:11a
So what can you do to be free from everlasting damnation?
“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”-Matthew 1:21
God gave us the wonderful news of His Son Jesus Christ. The Son of God, came into this world and lived a perfect life, and then He gave Himself up to death for you.
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”-Luke 19:10
After living a perfect life, He suffered and died. He didn’t ask to be spared from the suffering that He would face.
“He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”-Matthew 26:42
“After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”-John 19:28-30
And in His death, he bore our sins.
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”-Isaiah 53:4-6
“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”-Psalm 32:1
But why did Jesus have to die?
“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”-Hebrews 9:22
Jesus’ blood had to be shed for us, because He is the ONLY ONE that could live a perfect, sinless life. And without the shedding of His blood, we cannot have forgiveness.
“Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.”-Romans 3:25
God loves us so much, that he made His own Son to die for us.
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”-Romans 5:8
You must accept Jesus Christ as your Savior to avoid eternal hellfire. What does it mean to accept Him?
“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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”-Romans 10:9-10
If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He died for your sins…then you must confess it now in this very moment. Is it really that easy? Absolutely. Remember that salvation is a free gift. What is the condition of getting any gift? You must first RECEIVE IT. That means you must accept this as truth.
“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”-John 6:37
You can experience the embrace of our Father and God in heaven right now. There is no other way by which you can be saved and enter into heaven than through Jesus Christ.
“I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”-John 10:9
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”-John 14:6
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”-John 3:16
If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He died for your sins, then you can pray the following prayer or something similar to accept Him as your Savior: “Dear Heavenly Father, I confess to you that I am a sinner. I pray Lord that you would forgive me of my sins, and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I lay claim to the shed blood of your Son Jesus Christ, and I accept Him as my personal Savior. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
If you prayed that prayer, then you are now a member of the family of God. Rejoice that your sins are forgiven!
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”-John 1:12
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”-Romans 8:38-39
May God bless you, and the Lord Jesus Christ fill you with the Holy Spirit to know the power of His suffering and His resurrection!
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”-Revelation 3:20
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