Heaven! The Key
How Can I Get In?
Please answer the following two questions for YOURSELF, as honestly as you can between yourself and God:
- At this point in my life, do I know for sure that I will go to Heaven when I die?
- If I were to die right now and God asked me, “Why should YOU be allowed entrance into My Heaven?”, what would I say?
Or, you could say to yourself, “If I have any chance of getting into Heaven, it will be because…” (and fill in the rest yourself).
The ONLY place to look for answers to these questions is the Bible. Why look in the Bible? Because it is God’s Word to mankind and states clearly that one major purpose it was written was “that you may know that you have eternal life” (I John 5:13).
The Bible is a very large book. Nevertheless, what it says about receiving eternal life and being assured of going to Heaven when we die can be summarized as follows:
Heaven is a Gift
“The gift of God is eternal life” (Romans 6:23).
Gifts, by definition, are free. Gifts cannot be earned or deserved. Thus, Heaven cannot be earned or deserved. “For by grace are ye 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). God saves us by His grace, through faith. No one could ever work their way or pay their way, or earn their way to Heaven.
Man is a Sinner
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
When God created the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, they were not sinners, and they were not righteous (holy). God gave them a choice to obey or disobey. God made it clear that to disobey meant spiritual death. When Adam sinned, he died spiritually and became a sinner.
The Bible teaches us that because of Adam’s sin, all folks born from an earthly father are sinners too. “Wherefore, as by one man (i.e. Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). Thus, we are naturally born as sinners and we are born spiritually dead. Furthermore, no man can eradicate his own sin nature (nor anyone else’s sin nature). Neither can any man make himself spiritually alive through his own power.
In addition, the Bible makes it clear that we choose to sin. “They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable” (Romans 3:12 – first part). In fact, no man has any good within himself. “There is none that doeth good, no not one” (Romans 3:12 – last part).
We are sinners who choose to sin and are spiritually dead. We can do nothing that would make ourselves acceptable to God, neither individually, nor collectively. The worst news about all this is the Bible makes it clear that our sin keeps us out of Heaven. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), meaning that as long as we are sinners before God, then our eternal destination is not Heaven, but the awful place the Bible describes as “the lake of fire”.
God Loves Us
“For God so loved the world” (John 3:16).
God is merciful. He wants us to go to Heaven. “God is not willing that any should perish” (II Peter 3:9), That is, God doesn’t want folks to go to Hell, He wants them to go to Heaven.
God is just. Therefore, He absolutely MUST punish sin. He stated that He “will by no means clear the guilty” (Exodus 34:7). God says all souls belong to Him and He will punish the guilty. “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4). “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). If God did not punish sinners, then God would not be just. Instead, He would be a very poor judge. But, we know that God is just and He is the perfect Judge of all the earth who will do right. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25). The truly just judges among men do not let criminals go unpunished. And we can certainly expect that God, the Just and Holy Judge of ALL men, will not let sin go unpunished.
We have a problem. We are sinners and cannot save ourselves. Neither can we offer God anything to make ourselves acceptable to God. But, thank God, He solved our problem for us!
Jesus Christ is the Answer to Our Sin Problem
“The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
Jesus was born of a virgin without any man involved. He did NOT have an earthly father. He had a Heavenly Father who miraculously conceived Jesus in the womb of his mother apart from any man. So Jesus did NOT receive a sinful nature when He was born. He has God’s HOLY nature. Jesus was born not as a sinful man, but as the God-man. 100% God and 100% man and absolutely perfect and without sin.
Jesus came to be the ONE and ONLY acceptable sacrifice for our sins. “Jesus answered and said, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6).
Jesus lived a sinless life and then died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. He literally took the punishment from God for our sins upon Himself. “Christ also suffered for us… Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness” (I Peter 2:22-24).
Thus, He paid in full the “wages of sin” for us, so that we could be justly forgiven and be declared right with God. And it is all based on what Jesus did for us. He took 100% of our sins on Himself so that He could receive God’s judgment for our sin upon Himself and we could then be forgiven because He was already judged for our sins. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).
The wonderful news is that Jesus not only paid for our sin, but He was buried and resurrected from the dead to prove He was really the Savior and to defeat sin, death, Hell, Satan, and the grave. He now offers the payment He made as a gift to us. The only thing left to do is receive the gift of eternal life. So, how do we receive the gift of eternal life?
The Gift of Eternal Life is Received by Faith
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). So, what does it mean to believe on Jesus?
Faith is not merely believing that God exists and is real. “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well; the devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19). Satan and all the demons believe in God, but they aren’t going to Heaven, else they would not be trembling.
Faith is not just trusting God for earthly needs. You may pray about the need of a job, or car, or better health for yourself and others. God may provide these things, but this does NOT change the fact that you are a sinner in need of a Savior. The real need is NOT for earthly help, but for spiritual help that comes only through Jesus.
Faith is relying only on Jesus and the payment He made for your sin. It is realizing God is right and you are wrong, then trusting Jesus alone to save you and forgive you of your sins.
If God is speaking to your heart right now about your sin and your need of Jesus to save you from your sin, would you be willing to receive the gift of eternal life right now? If so, then you may pray a simple prayer to tell God you want to receive this gift:
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself. I believe You are the only begotten Son of God who lived a sinless life, died on the cross for my own sins, was buried and rose again the third day. Right now, I trust You and You alone to save me and forgive me of my sins. Thank You, Lord, for saving me and for the gift of eternal life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.