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How to get right with God
"... there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:10
Most people want to make it into heaven, but most do not know what the Bible says about how to get right with God and end up in heaven. Do you know where you will spend eternity? Are you going to make it into heaven or is there a chance you might end up in hell?
God smiles on us when we want to learn about Him and His ways. God loves us, has compassion for our struggles and wants heaven filled with people! But ignoring Him is not a good idea. Many people have their own beliefs about God and how to get right with Him. God doesn't change His ways to conform to our beliefs any more than adults conform to a child's beliefs. Assumptions and wishful thinking are among the worst ways to conclude anything about anyone, especially God. We need to learn what God says about Himself, and us, because the most important future event for every soul is accountability to God.
It would be good to now pray this short prayer: Father in Heaven, please give me understanding to learn the truth about You and Your ways. In Jesus' name, thank You.
All religions tell us if we do good things then there is a fair chance we could make it into heaven. But none of the religions can tell us how much good is good enough. We just have to wait until it is all over to find out if we succeeded or not. But once we leave our bodies, it's too late to come back and change anything we have done or not done. God knows our eternity is such an important matter for us that He made a simple way for anyone to be confident they are going to end up in heaven.
Ephesians 2:8-9
No amount of good deeds can remove the bad deeds (sin) from our record. We all are guilty of sin. And God knows all our sins: Matthew 10:26 "... for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known."
What does sin produce? Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death [hell]; but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
It is unwise to not fear that we will be held accountable for our sins or that they are small in comparison to those we look down on. In this age of political correctness and moral relativism, God has not changed. People are not God's standard for righteousness ... Jesus is.
Our Universal Dilemma We don't need to go too far down the list of the Ten Commandments to learn we are guilty of sin. For example: You shall not steal. You shall not lie. You shall not commit adultery/fornication or whatever our deepest/darkest sin is.
Our sin separates us from our Holy Creator. Lying to ourselves about our innocence is self defeating. The time to get right with God is now. He is watching to see if you accept Him or ignore Him.
Some people feel cancer, heart disease and aging are
the greatest threats to our well-being. But humanity
has a greater and more universal problem than those
problems. And that is sin. Sin is what keeps us eternal beings out of God's
sinless heaven and condemns us to hell. And
Jesus warned us that more people are ending up in hell
than heaven: Matthew 7: 13-14 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction [hell], and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life [heaven], and there are few who find it."
If you do not need all the details for each of the topics below then skim down to the topics most important to you, but keep in mind there's a lot of valuable information in between the headings. And this web page is shorter than a chapter in your average book ... and more valuable.
To be found guilty of a crime in court we need to break only one law once ... right? And it's the same with God's laws. Just because we don't regularly commit the worst sins, we are not innocent.
If you stand before a judge who knows you, you get a pass [assuming he/she doesn't disqualify himself]. He/she will not judge you and convict you. It is the same with Jesus. He is our Judge and He passes on condemning His own.
John
5:22-24
[Jesus speaking]
Some people believe that upon physical death, their soul simply ceases to exist. This is a minority opinion and only an opinion. It's not a proven fact. It contradicts what the souls of most people tell them. Moreover it contradicts the words of the only One (Jesus) who came back from the dead and told us about it. If souls cease to exist upon death of the body, then life is meaningless and our emotions are a pathetic waste of energy. But life is not meaningless! God has a divine purpose for each of us. With logic, reason and a little faith, eternal life is a more plausible conclusion.
Personal Dilemma Thirty+ years ago I realized that I didn't know where I was going to spend eternity. Life is too short and eternity is too long to flunk at life by ending up in hell. Therefore God must have established a way for us to know before we die where we will spend eternity. It's not wise to let our eternal destiny be left to chance. I began to try to figure it out on my own, but couldn't. So I prayed to God that He would show me what I need to do to become confident that I will end up in heaven.
I began to read the Bible and became extremely nervous when I got to John 3:3. There Jesus declares, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." I immediately knew I was in serious trouble. I was not born again because nobody told me I needed to be born again. I didn't know what that meant, but knew I needed to find out.I learned everyone is born physically alive, but spiritually dead. From birth we are selfish and focus on the physical. God commands us to have a spiritual birth (the second birth) and to begin focusing on spiritual and eternal matters. Galatians 6:7-8
Many people think nobody can know before they die whether they will be sent to heaven or hell. I thought the same until I realized that is far too important of a matter to be left to chance. One hundred years from now our bodies will be dead. But our souls will be alive for millions of years ... somewhere! What could possibly be more important, than to know where you will spend all of eternity? God is too loving to keep that a secret until it's too late.
The Keys for Eternal Life!
Unlike cancer, the cure for sin is accessible to all
and is free! Most people already know these three very
important facts:
1. Jesus died on the cross for our sins
2. Jesus shed much blood when He was crucified
3. Jesus suffered this very painful death voluntarily
for us. He did not have to do this for Himself. He is
sinless.
Jesus paid the ultimate price for our
sins because we are unable to pay the penalty.
If we could
make it into heaven on our own by doing good things or
by some religious exercises, then Jesus would have
been a fool …
He would have suffered voluntarily for nothing.
But Jesus is no fool! He paid the greatest price anyone paid for
anything and that is for our souls so we could make it
into heaven!
1.) I confess that I am a sinner and my sin separates me from You. 2.) I truly repent of my sins and ask for Your mercy to forgive me of my sins. And I commit to changing from my sinful ways with your help Lord. 3.) I confess Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord. By faith I receive Jesus' shed blood and resurrection as His payment for my sins. 4.) I ask for your Holy Spirit to come into my heart to help guide my thoughts and actions so that I can begin to walk the straight and narrow path that leads to life with joy in my heart.
Soon after I prayed that prayer, I read: Matthew 10:28 " Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Once I knew I was in right standing with God, this verse brought me more peace than anything I ever experienced.The significance of the blood of Jesus
The Bible tells us the blood of
Jesus washes our sins away. This is kind of like a delete key erasing the
record in computer file. This means when we (true Christ
followers) are called up to give account at the
Great White Throne Judgment, our record will have no sin on it
because the blood of Jesus washed it off!
Hebrews 13:12 And so Jesus also suffered ... to
make the people holy through his own blood.
Revelation 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, … Him that
loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own
blood, Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Also 1 John 1:7
John 3:18 [Jesus speaking] "He who believes in Him
is not judged; he
who does not believe has been judged already, because
he has not believed in the name of the only begotten
Son of God. Sincerity of Faith? Most people are quite complacent with the belief system they were born into. Many people think God doesn't care what you believe, as long as you are devout to your beliefs. Besides the obvious question about how "devout" is "devout enough," we need to ask if God really doesn't care what people believe or practice.
Proverbs 16:25 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
Time Tested Over the years I had hundreds of conversations with people about "religion." Atheists and people in cults tried to convert me to their religion. At some Christian events we discuss issues tougher than most atheists raise. Nothing has shaken my faith. As a matter of fact, my faith continues to strengthen as I learn more about science, history and learn that many of the claims of atheists are false/deceptive.
I am a skeptic and do not make hasty or irrational decisions. It has been over 30 years since I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. That was, by far, the most important and best decision I ever made. Most born-again Christians feel the same way. Click here to watch an unrehearsed video of strangers giving testimonies about their before and after experiences: Before :I had something missing in my life ... I didn't want to live anymore. It wasn't working out for me ... After :Hope and freedom Regrets, anxieties, worries have all gone away. Forever changed. [My life now is] unrecognizable.
Why so much suffering and evil Many people wrestle with the age-old question: If God is good, why is there so much suffering and evil in this world? But when people are asked, "Would you want God to have created you as a robot or as someone with free will?" They consistently respond, "Free will." As you know, with free will comes responsibility and consequences. The sin of humanity (not God) is the cause of evil and suffering.
God loves us and hates evil so much, that He Himself paid the ultimate price to reconcile us to Himself and to take us away from all this evil and suffering. It is important for us to realize that God is all loving and all powerful and that He will bring about His original plan for us (eternity in paradise with Him, forever and ever!). The rewards are everlasting!
We don't need to worry about evil going unpunished. He will take care of unrepentant sinners and prevent them from causing us anymore harm. God promised to right wrongs and reward us for our unjust suffering.
Christmas and
Easter ...
God has emotions too. If you stand before a judge who loves you and you return that love, that judge will forgive you or pay your penalty and let you go free. But if this Judge learns His love for you is scorned, you will regret it!
Jesus willingly dying on the cross in payment for our sins, was the absolute highest price anyone ever paid for anything! And ... that was for the salvation of the souls who accept Him! What can you offer to God in payment for your sins? Can you think of anything more precious than an only born child? Jesus is sinless, thus only He is eligible to be our Savior. To ignore/reject this ultimate sacrifice, brings His wrath.
But God loves you so much that He didn't hold back His precious Son, but allowed Him to be our sacrificial Lamb, so that we could get back on track with His original plan for our lives (paradise with Him for eternity).
I hope your eternal life is worth enough for you to pray the following prayer with deep sincerity. If you do, you too can have the confidence that you are in right standing with your Creator and will make it into heaven.
1 John 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in
the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have
eternal life.
Prayer to get right with God Dear Father in heaven, I confess that I am a sinner and my sins have separated us. I want to be in a right relationship with You. I ask You to help me remember my sins so that I may repent of them and come clean. I sincerely repent of my sins and ask for Your mercy to forgive me of my sins. I accept Jesus' crucifixion, His shed blood and rising from the dead as His payment for my sins. I ask for Your Holy Spirit to come into my heart to guide my thoughts and actions and to help me stay away from my sinful ways. Thank You in the name of my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, Amen.
What now? Learn more from the Next Steps page. Feel free to call or e_mail me with whatever questions or doubts you may have. I also eagerly accept prayer requests.
With the love of Jesus Christ,
Ro.n
Jasniow_ski
Next Steps | Find Good Church | About Author | Con.tact 4-21
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