How On Earth Can I Get Into Heaven?
If you were to ask people
"How do you get into heaven, if there is one?" most would probably reply "By
living a good life." Yet that is NOT the right answer! Basically there are two
and only two ways of getting into heaven according to the Bible - by living
not just a good life but a perfect life - or by living an imperfect
but forgiven life in God's grace.
The first is that you live a totally perfect life in every respect. Never steal a biro, never do anything immoral, never get drunk, never hate anyone, never greedy, always totally loving. Only one person has ever done that and that was Jesus Christ. The rest of us need to use the servants entrance - the way for prodigal sons to return home and find out they are still loved. We need to admit that we have done wrong and that our life is way out of line and that we need God's forgiveness in a big way.
It works like this, in
the beginning we were made to be friends of God and to walk in harmony with
him. However all of us, at one time or another have decided that being God's
friend is a tad inconvenient and we would rather have our own way thank you
very much. The consequence of this is that our spiritual connection to God is
broken and we "die on the inside". It is much like a rose cut off from the bush
- for a while things look great but eventually we wither and die. Cut off from
God's life we eventually die spiritually.
On top of this there is a real killer,
guilt. We are not just "disconnected" we are actually in danger of punishment.
We have done things wrong against God who is the judge of all things. Our guilt
is so deep and so much a part of us that we can never make up for it. And as
soon as we think we have made up for one sin we commit another. The apostle
Paul felt deeply the condemnation of being guilty before God and being unable
to do anything about it and he cried out in Romans 7:24 "What a wretched
man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" Paul answers his
own question in the next chapter.
"Romans 8:1-2 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, {2} because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."
It is Jesus who sets us free from the terrible condemnation we are under because of what we have done and it is Jesus who provides our pathway to heaven.
John 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Acts 4:12 "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
What makes Jesus so special? How can believing in Jesus get us into heaven? Like many great things, the answer is not easy, but it is wonderful. Jesus lived a perfect life that was totally without sin. He was God in human form. He conquered evil by never giving in to it, not even for a moment. Then he seemed to surrender to the powers of evil and allowed himself to be crucified on a cross. What was actually happening is that Jesus was taking the death penalty we all deserved into Himself. He was paying the high price of our condemnation and all the guilt of the world was being laid on Him. He took condemnation out of the way and dealt with it and proved it had been dealt with by rising from the dead. Life triumphed over death. He shattered the power of evil and has made a pathway so that anyone who wants to be God's friend again can get a free pardon and start anew.
Romans 5:6-8 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. {7} Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. {8} But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
How can we get into heaven? The Bible is quite clear on the terms and conditions. Lets get it straight, you don't have to go to church, play the organ or even give up the grog. You do have to give up sin. You have to come back to God and tell Him that you are sorry about the way you have lived and ask forgiveness. You do have to accept Jesus as boss of your life and belief the basics of the Christian faith. Here it is an a nutshell:
Romans 10:9-13 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. {10} For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. {11} As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." {12} For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, {13} for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
This article may be freely reproduced for non-profit ministry purposes but may not be sold in any way. For permission to use articles in your ministry, e-mail the editor, John Edmiston at johned@aibi.ph.