How do I get to Heaven?
Think carefully on this soul-searching
question: If you should die right now, do you know for sure that you would go
to Heaven?
If your answer is anything other than, "Yes I'm absolutely certain that my sins
are forgiven and that Heaven will be my home," then this important message is
just for you.
The Bible teaches that you need to know and believe four things to settle this matter of your eternal destination:
1. You must accept that you are
a sinner.
"For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God" (Romans 3:23). No one is exempt
from this indictment. Everyone has sinned. Romans 5:12 says, "Wherefore, as by
one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon
all men, for that all have sinned." No one is perfect and no one can live up to
God's perfect standard. We are sinners by nature.
2. You must accept that as a sinner you owe a penalty.
"For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23a).
Because of our sin we owe a debt. This debt is a spiritual death or separation
from God in the lake of fire known as Hell. Hell is not a figment of someone's
imagination or only a figurative term. Hell is very real. It is a literal
burning place. It's not a place where you go because your friends will be there
and you want to have a good time. It is a dark, lonely, seething, burning place,
and it never ends. It continues to burn for all time. The worst part is, there
is nothing you or I can do on our own to avoid it. Outside of Jesus, it is our
final destination. If you are depending on your church membership to get you to
Heaven, beware; it's not enough. If you pray a lot hoping to get to Heaven,
don't depend on that; it's not enough either. Even if you give a lot of money to
a church, it's not enough to gain Heaven. Many people think if they are good
enough, they will be able to slip in through the gate when no one is looking or
find a hole in the gate somewhere. Please, my friend, don't depend on something
so shaky. It can't happen that way. There is only one way to get to Heaven. How?
3. You must accept that Jesus Christ has already paid our sin debt."But
God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us" (Romans 5:8). Christ was not a sinner, and the
Bible teaches that God took all of our sin and placed it on Christ. While Christ
was bearing all our sins in His own body, God punished Him in our place to pay
the debt we owe.