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What If
You Died Tonight?
Heaven forbid, but suppose you died today and St. Peter met you at Heaven’s
gates and asked a question. The gates of Heaven would only swing open
and welcome you if you had the right answer. The question is this:
Why should you be allowed into God’s Heaven?
Would you say:
- Because I am a good person, or
- Because my good deeds outweigh my bad deeds, or
- Because I helped people, or
- I wasn’t that bad, or
- I don’t know?
None of these answers will swing open Heaven’s gates to paradise.
The bible teaches that there is only one right answer that will gain entry
into Heaven. The right answer is this: Because I have placed my faith
in Christ (to say it another way, because I have believed in Christ).
See Mark 16:16, Acts 16:31, Romans 10:10 and Ephesians 2:8 &
9.
What does it mean to believe in Jesus, to have faith in Jesus Christ?
There are four aspects to saving faith, the kind of faith that will swing
open the gates of heaven. Your faith must have all four:
- Believe the facts of the gospel. This is the starting point. You must
accept that Jesus was God in the flesh, that he died on the cross for
your sins, and that his body was resurrected from the grave by the power
of God. In a nutshell, these are the facts you must accept as true.
But, you can believe every fact of the gospel and not be saved.
x
In the bible, James writes: "Do you still think it is enough
just to believe that there is one God? Well, even the demons believe
this and they tremble in terror. Fool! When will you ever learn that
faith that does not result in good deeds is useless." (James
2: 19,20 NLT) While cognitive belief in God is the starting point, you
can see that that alone is not enough to save anyone. Faith is more
involved than that. This basic rudimentary level of faith is even shared
by demons, but they will not be going to Heaven. Faith is much more
than intellectual acceptance of the facts. There are three more aspects
to faith.
x
- Trust in Christ. There are many religions, many claims to Heaven and
even many false gods. But there is only one real God and there is only
one way to Heaven, the way revealed by God. Christians believe that
Jesus is the only way to God. That sounds politically incorrect in our
pluralistic society, but it is the non-negotiable teaching of the bible.
x
Acts 4:12 reads: "And there is salvation in no one else;
for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men
by which we must be saved." (NASB). Real faith trusts
Jesus as the only way to open up the gates of heaven. It is also trust
that Jesus has the power and authority to get us there.
x
- Commitment to Christ. The third aspect of faith is commitment to
the person of Christ and to his teachings. Just as a man pledges to
be faithful to his wife on his wedding day, when a person has faith
he/she is making a commitment to be faithful to the person of Christ.
It is also a commitment to live by the teachings of Christ. Real biblical
faith involves living for Jesus. Consider these thoughts from the bible:
x
- In the gospels, Jesus not only called people to place their faith
in him, but he also called them to repent. Repentance is changing
your mind about sin. It is turning from a life dominated by self
and sin to a new life, living for God.
x
- Hebrews 5: 9 tells us that Jesus became to all
those who obey him the source of eternal salvation (NASB). The stress
here is that Christians must be obedient. It is not an option. Faith
produces obedience to Christ.
x
- James 2: 14 - 26 teaches that real faith, the
kind that gets us to Heaven will produce good works or good deeds.
In other words, you cannot have faith without living by Jesus' teaching.
x
The bible teaches much more about how faith is connected to obedience
and good works, but this will suffice to show that real faith must be
accompanied by a commitment to live for Jesus. This is why we must be
born-again. To be born-again means to be changed by God on the inside.
Then change is so radical that the bible likens it to a new birth. Christians
are born-again in order to be obedient to Christ.
x
- A decision. Real faith brings a person to a crisis moment, a moment
where one has to accept or reject Jesus. Faith helps us realize that
we do not have Jesus in our life and that we need him there. Since he
is the only way to heaven, we have to have him in our life. He is not
part of our life until we make the decision to invite him in. Have you
made that decision? Do you have real faith, a faith that includes all
four aspects? Are you not sure?
x
You can be sure. If your desire is to be a Christian and you are willing
to commit to him and live for him, would you say this prayer? The prayer
only works if you truly mean it. The prayer has no power in itself,
but the condition of your heart does. If in your heart, you sincerely
desire to give Jesus your life, then pray this prayer:
x
Dear God,
x
I have lived my life for myself;
I have sinned against you and I am sorry,
I am sorry for pushing you out of my life -
Please forgive me for this.
Please come into my life, and change me.
Please help me live for you every day.
This very moment, I commit my life to you.
Thank you for saving me. Amen.
 If you prayed this prayer and meant it and are now serious about serving
the Lord, would you please contact me, pastor Bill Higgins. I want to
help you find some resources for your journey. I want to encourage you
in your faith. Please e-mail me at pastorbill@joimail.com.
In His name,
Pastor Bill |
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