Monday, November 20, 2017

Do you know for sure You will go to Heaven when you die / Would you like to ?

Anyone who has even the vaguest concept of God has a desire to go to heaven. Heaven is the place where we experience perfect eternal peace. Where there is no more pain, sickness, or heartache. It's the place where we long to see are relatives who have gone on. Who wouldn't want that. The problem is that we have watered down the gospel to the point that very few will go there. Hear the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 7.  "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." This even applies to those who claim to be believers. Jesus said in verse 21 that not all who cry out Lord, Lord will enter into the kingdom of heaven. James 2:19 tell us that that even the demons believe and they tremble. We see it everyday in the lives of people whose actions betray what they claim to believe. We cannot judge the heart of another but we are certainly allowed to and required to examine their behavior. We all sin but we live in a culture that glorifies sin to the degree that no one can tell Christians from the rest of the world. I saw one man on facebook declaring his undying love and loyalty to Christ. The same day he was posting His party pictures in the bar. I will give Him credit for either bravery or stupidity, because it takes courage to mock God in such a way. A Christian can find himself in a situation like this,or some sin even worse, But God will not allow His children to experience happiness or joy in our sin. God's children certainly cannot be proud of sin. Sadly it is because a large part of these folks simply have never had a legitimate relationship with Christ. So what does it mean to be saved by God's grace and know that your eternal home is in heaven. 


Salvation is a new birth into a new family.  John 3 
Jesus told Nicodemus that unless you are born again you cannot see the kingdom of God. He made a distinction between the physical birth (being born of water) and that of the new birth which is to be born of the Spirit. When we were born we became part of an earthly family. The same thing happens spiritually when we are saved. We become children of God. John had said in chapter 1 verse 12 that as many as did receive him to them he gave the power to become the Son's of God. The apostle Paul said in Romans 8:15 that He has not given us a spirit of bondage to fear the the spirit of adoption where by we cry "abba" father. When we accept Jesus Christ God becomes our father.  No child who has any kind of heart at all does not enjoy doing things to embarrass our parents. We do from time to time, but it hurts our hearts. One of the easiest and best ways to determine if our salvation experience is genuine is to look at our own reaction to our sin. I am a sinful human, and let God down every day and that hurts me. Some things I just cannot bring myself to do because of the shear heartache and shame of letting God down. If your sin does not bring a sense of shame the chances are God is not your father. When we are children of God we will never put our sin out in the public and act like it's ok.  Who you seek to please says a lot about whose family you are in. You are either a child of God or you are a child of the devil. Jesus said in John 8:44 "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." When you accept Christ you are rescued from Satan and He is no longer your father, God adopts you into His family.

What you must do to be saved 
In Acts 16:30 the Jailer asked Paul and Silas, "Sirs what must i do to be saved." In John 3 Nicodemus desired to know how this new birth works.  Jesus began in verse 14 and explained. Like Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so must the Son of man be lifted up, referring to the cross. In verse 15,16, and 18 He says to believe and and we shall not perish, we shall not be condemned. Remember though that the demons believe but they are not saved. He says to believe but it is not an  intellectual, easy belief. There is more to it. He begins in verse 19 turning the conversation to light and darkness and good deeds and evil. He says that the condemnation is that light is here and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. Have you ever considered why bars, nightclubs, strip clubs, and other places of the so called adult entertainment places are dark. It's because when the light is shined on man's deeds he feels convicted and ashamed. So then there is something to the belief Jesus talked about which is more than just believing. It translates into new behavior. So are we suggesting that we must work to earn our salvation? That is not the case at all. When we mean business with God something amazing begins to happen. When we belong to a new family, and move to the new place, the new family has an all new set of rules. We begin striving for a whole new set of standards.   Romans 10:9-10 says if we confess with our mouth and believe in our hearts we shall be saved. He goes on to say that this results in righteousness. To confess is to admit the truth. If an officer brings a charge against you and you confess you are admitting that it is true. Confession is admitting to God that He is right. We see ourselves the way God sees us, and are willing to confess it. We see God for who He is and willingly admit it. Also he begins working in our lives. and causes a desire to turn away from sin. Jesus said that unless you repent you will perish. Repentance simply means to change your mind. It means to completely turn around from the direction you were going. Now lets take this and get it to a level that we can grasp. What kind of belief is it that requires confession and repentance. It is simply taking God seriously enough that we are serious in what we say. Remember when your daddy would say, " if you don't stop that i'm gonna whip you." You straightened up didn't you. You took daddy seriously. You believed He would do what He said He would do. When we take God seriously our outlook on things begin to change. When we are serious in what we believe, and we take Him seriously about what He promised then we can accept Him as Romans 10:9-10 tell us to and He comes into our lives and as time progresses each day that we live it results in righteousness. This doesn't mean we won't sin. It means we will not want to sin, and when we do we will not have peace until we get right with Him. Just like a wayward child comes back to mom and dad, apologizing and trying daily to not do that again. 

If you have never had this type of genuine relationship with Christ, would you invite Him into your heart. Simply where you and the way you are simply pray and ask Him to save you. There is no true sinners prayer or magic words. Simply admit that you are lost, confess that your a sinner, repent (change your mind about Him) confess, be serious with Him, and take what He has said seriously..  something like this. God i know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself I cannot live right and please you by myself, I do believe that you died for me, come into my life and save me, and direct my life. 

If you have accepted Christ I would love to know about it. I also want you to seek out your new family in a Bible Believing church. Submit yourself to believers baptism and begin following our Lord with your brothers and sisters in Christ.