Are You Going to Heaven?

What do you feel is the best basis for reaching Heaven?

1. Keeping the Ten Commandments
2. Gifts to charity
3. Doing my best
4. Leading a good life
5. Good works
6. Trying to obey the Golden Rule
7. Tithing or giving to the church
8. Church membership
9. Regular church attendance
10. Prayers
11. Fasting
12. Baptism
13. Holy Communion
14. Born of Christian parents
15. Confirmation
16. Penance
17. Extreme Unction

Read further to find out if, according to God's Word, the Bible, you're on the way to Heaven.

1 -- The Ten Commandments are God's absolute rules for living.  No man has ever perfectly kept God's laws -- except for God's only Son, Jesus.  A person will never reach Heaven through his or her own efforts.  The Bible says:  Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His [God's] sight:  for by the law is the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20).

2, 3, 4 -- Gifts to charity, doing your best, leading a good life are commendable acts, but according to the Bible, they will not save anyone: Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us (Titus 3:5).

5, 6, 7 -- Neither good works, trying to obey the Golden Rule, or giving to the church will get you to Heaven.  God's Word says:  For by grace ye are 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),

8, 9, 10, 11 -- Church membership, regular church attendance, prayers, and fasting are good in themselves, but they can never justify sinners before a holy God:  We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).  

12, 13 -- Without trusting in Jesus Christ, baptism and communion cannot help.  The Bible shows clearly that these are of spiritual value only when one believes in Jesus Christ.  See Acts 8:12; 1 Corinthians 11:2, 23-32.

14 -- Children born into Christian homes need to be saved just like anyone else.  As many as received Him [Christ], to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name:  which were born, not of blood [not of one's parentage], nor of the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God (John 1:12-13).

15, 16, 17 -- Confirmation, penance, and extreme unction are not the means for going to Heaven.  God has provided only one way of salvation.

So what is God's only way of salvation?  The one and only means of spending eternity with God in Heaven is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone.  Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.(John 14:6).

Because we cannot save ourselves by good works, good character, personal effort, or merit of any kind, God sent His Son to die as a substitute for sinners like you and me.  When the Lord Jesus died on the cross and rose again on the third day, He completed everything necessary for your salvation.  Now all God requires of you is to receive Christ as your Lord and Saviour:  "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31).

So when you trust in Jesus you are saved and are destined to spend eternity in Heaven.  Jesus said, "He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24).

Will you accept God's way of salvation?  The choice is yours.  You may continue to trust in those things listed above.  If so, you will go to the grave without Christ and wake up facing God's eternal punishment.  Or you can believe in Jesus Christ and be saved.

Be Wise!  Choose Christ!  Pray to God in words like these:  Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and cannot go to Heaven based on my own efforts.  My only hope for Heaven is based completely upon the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.  I know accept Him as my Lord and Saviour.

-- William MacDonald

Do Good People Go to Heaven?

Yes, they certainly would go to Heaven . . . if there were any people good enough!  

People often say, "If I do the best I can and treat everyone fairly, I'll go to Heaven."  But have any of us done the best we can or treated everyone fairly?

A religious leader in the Bible once asked Jesus Christ: " Master, which is the great commandment in the law?"

Without hesitation Jesus answered, "Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self."

Has anyone fully kept this supreme law of God?  The Bible answers that no mortal can keep God's law, nor can one reach Heaven by trying:  "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no one be justified in His [God's] sight:  for by the law is the knowledge of sin."  When we compare our lives to God's holy standards, all our good works -- our morality, religion, charity, pleasing personality -- fall far short of His absolute righteousness.  The truth is:  "There is non righteous, no, not one . . . "  We stand condemned by a holy God who must judge our sin.  We are sinners in need of a Saviour.  

It is impossible then for anyone to be good enough for Heaven.  That is why the Son of God came to earth.  The Lord Jesus said, "I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

On the Cross of Calvary Jesus opened the way for sinners to stand before a righteous God.  There He suffered for our sins as the prophet Isaiah wrote:  "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

The Lord Jesus took the punishment for our sins so that we could be declared righteous before God.  He "who knew no sin" bore our sins on the cross being made "sin for us . . . that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."  Do "good" people go to Heaven?  No!  But through the righteousness of Jesus Christ, sinners like you and me can be sure of Heaven as our final destination.

Come to Jesus Christ today.  Don't try to prepare yourself for Heaven.  Let Him prepare you and give you His gift of everlasting life.

If you believe that Jesus Christ died in your place and rose again from the dead, you can come to Him now by praying something like this:
Lord, thank you for taking the punishment for my sins.  I know that I could never be fit for Heaven without You.  So I invite You into my life to be my Lord and Saviour.

Heaven:- Who's Good Enough to Get In?

Have you ever heard people say, "I could never be good enough to get into heaven; I've messed up too many times"?

Well, they're exactly right!  On our own, we can do nothing to get into heaven.  Even if someone is "righteous" in many people's eyes, the Bible tells us that our righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isaiah 65:6).

So how can we get into heaven since we are sinful and God is sinless?  Sinful people aren't allowed into heaven are they?  No, but forgiven people are!  God, in the most sacrificial act in the history of the world, sent His sinless, perfect, only Son to die on our behalf -- even though we are sinners -- so we can spend eternity with Him.

Life in heaven is a free gift!

The Bible calls what God did an act of grace.  The word "grace" means gift.  Salvation from our sins is freely provided by a God who loves us despite our sinfulness.  "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

You cannot earn, learn, or deserve salvation.  It is not a goal to achieve, but a gift to receive.  Salvation is rooted in the mercy of God, not the merit of mankind.  "For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

But there is a problem . . . 

We are all sinners.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).  Every person has broken God's commandments.  Though you may be a "good" person in the eyes of others, you know in your heart there is something wrong.  We often fail to do the things we should, and we do the very things we shouldn't.  We "fall short" of God's high standard, which is perfection.  Jesus said, "You therefore must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).

But no one is perfect!  We have all sinned and therefore cannot save ourselves by simply living a good life.  The very best we can do is not enough.

Because God is holy, He must punish sin.

God cares about you to the extent that He is expressing His love to you right now.  But He is holy, totally unique, and without sin.  It's our sin that separates us from God's love.  His righteousness demands that something be done about our sin problem, for God says that He "will by no means clear the guilty" (Exodus 34:7).

God cannot simply dismiss sin or admit sinners into heaven because that would violate His own holiness and break His own law.  So, God had a dilemma.  How could He love us and at the same time judge our sin?

The answer is the greatest news every shared.

God solved the dilemma in the person of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is God's unique Son who came from heaven to earth to reveal the love of God for you.  He is more than just a man, though He was fully human.  Jesus was not merely a man of God, but was the God-man -- 100% God and 100% man.

The Bible declares that "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:1, 14).

The ultimate demonstration of Jesus' deity is the cross and resurrection.  In that great act of love by dying on the cross, Jesus paid the price for our sins and purchased a place in heaven for us that He now offers as a free gift.  He took our place of judgment, and the wrath of God that burns against sin fell on Him:  "For our sake [God] made [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God" (II Corinthians 5:21),

What does all this mean?  

Man can receive God's forgiveness and the gift of eternal life.

The Bible boldly declares, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31).  Only by belief -- faith -- can we know God's love and forgiveness.

Saving faith involves a choice to turn from whatever you may have hoped would save you and instead place your complete dependence only upon Christ Jesus to save you from the consequences of your sin.  Faith means that you trust in Christ -- nothing more, nothing less, nothing else -- for your salvation.

If you've never considered yourself good enough for heaven, all you have to do is accept God's gift of grace that He gives though the sacrificial death of His Son.  Then let Jesus' righteousness pay for all your sins in full!  

Are you trusting in Christ alone for your salvation?  If you desire to have this certainty of salvation, you can receive Jesus Christ right now by expressing your faith through a prayer like this;  

Jesus, I am a sinner and I need to be saved by Your grace.  I turn from trusting in myself, and I look to You who alone can forgive and save me.  I know that You died on the cross for my sin, that You were buried, and that You rose again so I can have everlasting life.  Come into my life, Christ Jesus, and make me the person You want me to be.  Thank You for saving me.  Amen.

Did you really mean what you just said?  If so, let's see what Jesus says about what you have just done:  "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has everlasting life" (John 6:47),

The Promise of Heaven

What Will Heaven Be Like?

Heaven is a place more wonderful than we can ever begin to imagine.  It is a place of joy and beauty, of peace and happiness that will never end.  

Why?  Because heaven is also a place where there will be no sin or suffering, no sorrow or pain.  It's a place where there will be no quarrels or disagreements, no disappointments or weeping -- because there will be nothing there to make us sad.  And in heaven we will never do anything to displease God.

We will then know perfect joy.  Psalms 16:11 says, "In Thy presence is fullness of joy; in Thy right hand there are pleasures forever."  Everything that now makes us groan will finally be done away with, and we will find ourselves in the very presence of God, where the purest and truest kind of joy is possible.

In heaven we will also have perfect knowledge.  The Bible says "then shall I know even as also I am known" (1 Cor. 13:12).  We will have no more unanswered questions, no confusion, no ignorance, and no more need to walk by faith rather than by sight.

We will live in perfect comfort.  We will love God perfectly and will be loved perfectly by Him.  His love will engulf us forever.  

Stated simply, heaven is a place of perfect joy forever.

Think of it!  We will be perfectly free from evil forever.  We will be set free from captivity to sin, and finally able to do that which is absolutely righteous, holy, and perfect before God.  With sin and its effects erased forever, the promise of heaven is an everlasting life of unimaginable blessing!  

How Good Do I Have To Be To Go To Heaven?

Most people understand that doing evil can keep us out of heaven.  But few realize that the Bible also teaches that doing good cannot get us in.  

None of us could ever gain enough merit to deserve heaven.  We are sinful and God's standard is utter perfection.  Jesus said, "Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matt.. 5:20).  He added, "You are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (v. 48).

Who Then Can Go to Heaven?  Who Can Be Saved?

Jesus' disciples asked Him this same question (Matthew 19:25).  His answer?  "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (v. 26).  In other words, being saved so that we can go to heaven is not something we can accomplish.  It is something God must do for us.  

What if I Stopped Sinning Now and Never Sinned Again?

No matter how hard we try, we could never stop sinning because we are hopelessly in bondage to sin.  The Bible tells us even our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked ( Jeremiah 17:9).  In other words, we are sinful to the core. Furthermore, even a single sin would be enough to destroy us forever; "Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all" (James 2:10).  But even if we never sinned from now on, we would still be guilty of our past sins.  And as the Bible says, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).

But the good news is that God has provided a way to free us from the guilt of sin!

What Has God Done For Me To Take Away My Sin So I Can Go To Heaven?

When God forgives, He cannot merely overlook sin.  Full payment (atonement) must be made for our sin.  Christ's death made full atonement for those who trust Him.  If we believe in Him, His dying counts in our stead, paying for our sins in full.  The Bible says, "The blood of Jesus . . . cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).  It is only through the blood of Christ that we can ever be cleansed from the terrible guilt of sin.  

But that only erases the guilt of our sin; we still need perfect righteousness in order to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20).

Where Do We Get That Perfect Righteousness?

If you truly believe in Him, the full merit of Jesus' own righteousness is credited (imputed) to you -- to all those who trust Him alone for salvation.

The Bible teaches that God "justifies the ungodly" by reckoning (or crediting) Christ's righteousness to them (Romans 4:5).  Believers are clothed in His righteousness, and God accepts them solely and exclusively on that basis.  That's why the apostle Paul was willing to discard all his own efforts to earn God's favour, preferring to stand before God robed in a righteousness that was not his own (Philippians 3:8-9).

If you are not a Christian, you need to lay hold of this truth by faith:  The sin that will keep you out of heaven has no cure but the blood of Christ.  If you are weary of your sin and exhausted from the load of your guilt, He tenderly holds forth the offer of life and forgiveness and eternal rest to you: "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).  

How Can I Be Sure Christ Will Save Me?

The Bible promises that no one who believes in Christ will be turned away: "Him that cometh to Me I will in nowise cast out" (John 6:37).  In the closing words of the Bible, Christ invites all to come to Him and receive the promise of heaven: ". . . Let him that heareth . . . come.  And let him that is athirst come.  And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely" (Rev. 22:17b).

-- John F. MacArthur

If you would like to know Jesus Christ as your Saviour and have the promise of heaven, we would encourage you to receive Him right now wherever you are.  Simply pray:

Dear Jesus,   I know that I am a sinner, and I know that You died for me to pay for my sins.  Please forgive me and make me one of Your own, that I may live in heaven with You for all eternity.

Your Greatest Mistake!

 

The Fire of Hell

The term fire is often used in connection with the punishment of the lost.  In Revelation 20, the expression "lake of fire" occurs three times to denote the final destiny of God's enemies. 

Fire is also associated with hell because of the Greek word "gehenna," the term most often employed to denote the place where the lost will go after death and judgment.  It occurs 11 times in the Gospels and once in the rest of the New Testament (James 3:6).  The word itself referred to " the valley of Hinnom,"  just south of Jerusalem.  It was there that the Israelites under Ahaz and Manasseh (II Chr. 28:3, 33:6) placed children on a fiery altar dedicated to the god Molech.  The specific place where this was done was called Tophet (literally "fire place").  There is a strong tradition that the valley became a city dump where refuse and the bodies of criminals were burned.  The terrible reputation of this valley plus its association with fire and judgment made it an apt symbol for the place of final punishment for the wicked. 

The Bible presents a literal hell as the place of eternal punishment for all who die in unbelief and rebellion.  This truth can be used by God to strengthen Christians and to awaken sinners to their need of Christ.

We don't like the idea of eternal punishment.  We may even find ourselves repulsed by the concept.  But we need to be careful.  God sees and understands infinitely more than we do. 

He has proven His love in so many ways, especially providing salvation through Jesus Christ (Jn 3:16; Rom. 5:8).  He wants you to place your trust in His Son.  Listen to Him and accept His salvation.  Accept His warning to escape "the fire that shall never be quenched -- where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched'" (Mark 9:44, 46, 48).

Hell is a Place of Lost Hope

We have seen that people choose hell by rejecting the light they have received from God.  We have seen that everyone is a sinner whose selfishness and pride call for divine punishment -- even the nice non-Christian who has so many fine qualities.  We have seen that Jesus Christ is going to judge every person individually and will sentence him/her to receive exactly what he/she deserves.  Now we are ready to develop the solemn fact that hell is a place of lost hope.

We who believe on Jesus Christ and therefore are confident that we will go to heaven would like to see everyone get there eventually.  We would very much like to find evidence in the Bible that the lost will get another chance to be saved after death.  And there always have been teachers who have held the viewpoint of another opportunity after death.  As much as we would like to think that ultimately all will be saved, we cannot honestly use the Scriptures to build a case for it.  The Bible does not promise or even imply that the lost will have another chance for salvation after death.

In summary, the future of those who die as unbelievers or rebels is not pleasant to contemplate.  When Jesus talked about hell, He spoke of  "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Mt. 8:12), of "the fire that shall never be quenched" (Mk. 9:43, 45), and of a place "where their worm does not die" (Mk. 9:44, 46, 48).  Even if many verses are inconclusive regarding the eternal conscious suffering of the lost, Revelation 14:11 and 20:10 indicate that at the very least, some of the lost will suffer conscious torment for all eternity.

The biblical doctrine of hell is designed to warn sinners.  It is designed to motivate believers to do all they can to reach people with the Gospel.  It is designed to show us how terrible sin is in the sight of an awesomely holy God.  Therefore, although we cannot visualize the timelessness of eternity or the exact nature of hell's suffering, we can be moved to godly fear and proper action.  And we can ultimately trust God to do what is right by friends and relatives who for one reason or another refuse the Gospel.  With Abraham of old we ask the rhetorical question, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen. 18:25), and leave the matter to Him.

The Fate of Those Who Never Heard

Many people have gone through this life without even once hearing about Jesus Christ.  Even among those who live in cultures where Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter are observed, there are multitudes who never really hear the gospel.  And some who have had contact with professing Christians never give Jesus Christ serious consideration because of what they see in the lives of people who claim to be His followers.

What about such people who will die without ever having heard a clear presentation of the gospel?  Can we assume that God will find some way to open the doors of heaven to them?  We would like to believe that.  But the Scriptures make it clear that those who haven't heard the gospel are lost just as surely as those who refuse to believe on Christ.  Jesus declared that He Himself is the only way to God (Jn. 14:6).  Peter boldly told the Jewish rulers who had arrested him "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).  Paul referred to all who don't know Jesus as "those who are perishing" (2 Cor. 4:3) and described the Gentile world before the time of Christ as "having no hope and without God in the world" (Eph. 2:12).  The heartbreaking fact is that people who have never heard the gospel are on their way to a Christless eternity.

God will hold those who never heard the gospel responsible for what they did with the light that they had in this world.  Paul said of the pagans that God had revealed Himself to them in nature (Rom. 1:18-21) and in conscience (Rom. 2:12-16).  They must give an account of what they did with this light and will be punished accordingly.