[an error occurred while processing this directive] TheBible.net: If I Really Want to Go to Heaven, I Must...
If I Really Want to Go to Heaven, I Must...
by Dan Winkler


GOD

 I MUST BELIEVE IN GOD!

"Without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto him; forhe that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarderof them that seek him" (Hebrews 11:6).

1) First, we must believe that God is, that he exists. --The universe is one of the best sources of evidence in proof of such. "Forthe invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearlyseen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlastingpower and divinity" (Romans 1:20).

Two broad solutions are offered for the origin of our universe: naturalism/materialism[usually identified as evolution] and creationism. In the previous verse,creationism is specified as the correct answer [see also: Genesis 1:l;Exodus 20:11; Psalms 19:1-3; 33:6-9; Isaiah 45:18; Jeremiah 27:5].

By a study of the universe and a logical search for its origin, youand I can know that God exists, that he is powerful and that he is divine.Without this intellectual acceptance, it is impossible to please him.

2) Second, we must believe that God is a rewarder of those whoseek after him. -- Where is he? Who is he? What is he like? Whatdoes he want? Without some kind of revelation, we have no answer (1 Corinthians2:10).

That's where the Bible comes in. For "all scripture is given by theinspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,for instruction in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:16 KJV). By turning to"the implanted word, which is able to save...souls" (James 1:21),we learn about God and the life he requires of us.

Now, let's assume that you and I both accept the existence of a divinebeing based on the existence, the size and the intricate design of ouruniverse.

Let' s also assume that we accept the Bible as his divinely inspiredrevelation.

That being true, let's turn to his revelation to see why we have toseek him and what we must do to have a relationship with him. Let's turnto the Bible to see what we must do if we really want to go to heaven andlive with him.


GUILT

I MUST ACCEPT MY PERSONAL GUILT

"Let no man say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted of God'; for Godcannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man.  Buteach man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.Then the lust when it hath conceived, beareth sin; and the sin, when itis fullgrown, bringeth forth death." (James 1:13-15).

1) First, the above passage teaches us that temptation and sinare personal. -- NOTE: "each man is tempted...by his own lust,and enticed." If we are not careful, our own desires seduce and lureus away from God! When that happens, we are guilty of giving birth to sinin our lives.

That makes sin something we must take personal responsibility for. Weare not made to sin, forced to sin, or "blind-sided" by sin. In the finalanalysis, sin is invited into our lives when we yield to some personaldesire that is out of harmony with God's revealed will. The guilt is somethingwe must shoulder as individuals.

2) Second, the above passage teaches us that sin reaps bitterconsequences. -- The word used was "death."

After his creating man, there was only one thing God told man not todo...only one negative command: "Of the tree of knowledge of good andevil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereofthou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:16,17). But man disobeyed (Genesis3:1-19) and, thus, "through one man sin entered into the world, anddeath through sin" (Romans 5:12). Did you see the word "death"?

Since that day, "all have sinned, and fall short of the glory ofGod" (Romans 3:23). "All." That includes you and me. AND NOTE:"all have sinned." We are not born with sin in some kind of depravedcondition. We do not inherit sin. We sin. We choose to transgress and crossthe lines God has drawn (1 John 3:4). When we do, we invite some awfullydark consequences into our lives. Consequences such as:

a) The plight of "separation" from God: "Your iniquities haveseparated between you and your God, and your sin has hid his face fromyou" (Isaiah 59:1,2).

b) The prospect of eternal "damnation": "For the wages ofsin is death" (Romans 6:23); that is "the lake of fire and brimstone;which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8).

Now, let's assume that you and I, based on our belief in God and theBible as his word, accept our status of guilt in sin.

Let's also assume that we want that status changed from guilt to spiritualinnocence; "godly sorrow worketh repentence unto salvation" (2 Corinthians7:10).

That being true, let's turn to the Bible to see what we must do to becleansed of our guilt. Let's turn to the Bible and continue to see whatwe must do if we really want to go to heaven.


GRACE

I MUST RELY ON THE GIFT AND GUIDANCE OF GOD'S GRACE

"God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he lovedus, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive togetherwith Christ (by grace have ye been saved)...that in the ages to come hemight show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in ChristJesus: for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves,it is the gift of God; not of works that no man should glory" (Ephesians2:4-9).

1) First, the above passage teaches us that we are saved by grace.-- Did you happen to see the three elements that make up Godísgrace? They are (a) mercy, (b) love, and (c) kindness. In our escape fromthe darkness of sin and its consequences, all three are involved.

a) Salvation is possible because God is merciful and has feelingsfor man. -- In fact, God "is longsuffering...not wishing that anyshould perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).Indeed, "your heavenly Father is merciful" (Luke 6:36).

b) Salvation is possible because God is loving. -- How many timeshave we heard it, read it, quoted it: "For God so loved the world thathe gave his only begotten Son" (John 3:16; cf. Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:9,10)?The entire ministry of Jesus is the product of God's love, his grace (cf.Hebrews 2:9).

c) Salvation is also possible because God is kind and concerned aboutdoing what man needed to have done. -- In fact, this kindness is oneof the things that can motivate us to make the necessary changes neededfor salvation (Romans 2:4).

Mercy...Love...Kindness! That's grace. That's what made salvation possible/available.No one served as God's counselor, advising him to save man (Romans 11:33,34).No one put God in debt, forcing him to save man (Romans 11:35). He providedman a way of escape from the darkness of sin and its consequences becausehe is a God of grace. What a thought!

2) Second, the above passage teaches us that we are saved by faith.-- From the example of Abraham, we learn that faith is accepting Godat his word and submitting to his guidance."Looking unto the promiseof God, he wavered not through unbelief, but waxed strong in faith, givingglory to God, and being fully assured that what he had promised, he wasable also to perform. Wherefore also it was reckoned unto him for righteousness"(Romans 5:20-22).

This "accepting God at his word" is the kind of faith we are also topossess in that we are to "walk in the steps of that faith of our fatherAbraham"(Romans 4:12). And what kind of faith did Abraham have? Whenhe accepted God at his word, his faith was obedient. He submitted to theguidance of God because he accepted God at his word (Hebrews 11:8).

Now, let's put it together. We are saved by grace in that God's mercy,love and kindness made it possible. At the same time, we are saved by faithin that we accept God at his word, yield to his guidance -- as did Abraham-- and do what he has commanded. So, to escape the guilt of sin and itsdark consequences, we must rely on the grace and guidance of God.

Now, let's assume that you and I believe in God, accept the Bible ashis word and humbly accept the guilt of our sinful status. We're in sin,separated from God, damned to perdition and we want to do something aboutthat.

Let's also assume that we have gratefully turned to the grace of Godfor help and are willing to accept him at his word, submissively yieldingto his commands with an obedient faith.

That being true, let's continue to turn through the Bible to see whatGod would have us to do to be cleansed of our guilt. Again, let's continueto turn through the Bible to see what we must do if we really want to goto heaven.


GIVE IN

I MUST GIVE IN TO THE SPECIFIC COMMANDS OF JESUS

Remember, Jesus is "unto all them that obey him the author of eternalsalvation" (Hebrews 5:9).

The Savior of whom? Those "that obey him." If we want to go toheaven, we must -- out of an obedient faith -- give in to his commands.And what commands does he attach to our being freed from the guilt of sin?

1) First, our obedient faith must believe in Jesus as the Messiah,the Son of God: "Except ye believe that I am he, ye shall diein your sins"(John 8:24). -- On one occasion a woman of Samaria saidto Jesus, "I know the Messiah cometh (he that is called Christ)."Jesus' response? "I that speak unto the am he" (John 4:25,26). So,if you and I want to go to heaven, we must believe that Jesus is "He,"the Christ, the Messiah [see also: John 3:16-18; Acts 16:30; 1 John 5:1-3,11-13].

2) Second, our obedient faith must repent of the past:"Except ye repent, ye shall all...perish" (Luke 13:3,5). -- To repent,as evidenced by the men of Nineveh, is to turn from evil (Matthew 12:41;see, Jonah 3:10). So, if you and I want to go to heaven, we must stop doingwhat is wrong and start doing what is right. We must turn from evil. [Seealso: Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30; 26:18-20; 2 Peter 3:9.]

3) Third, our obedient faith must confess Jesus: "Everyonetherefore who shall confess me before men, him will I confess before myFather who is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him willI also deny before my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32,33).-- The word translated "confess" means to say the same thing as another.If we want to go to heaven, we must say what Jesus said about himself,we must say what God said about Jesus, we must confess our faith in hisbeing the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God [see also: Romans 10:9,10;1 Timothy 6:12; cf. Acts 8:35-37 KJV].

4) Fourth, our obedient faith must submit to baptism for the remissionof sins: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned" (Mark 16:16). -- Furtherstudy will prove this baptism to be an immersion (Romans 6:3,4) in water(Acts 8:35-39) for the purpose of taking away one's sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16).If I want to go to heaven, I must be baptized; that is, immersed in waterfor the purpose of having my sins taken away [see also: Matthew 28:18-20;Luke 24:47; Acts 10:48; 1 Cor. 12:13; Galatians 3:26,27; Ephesians 5:25-27;1 Peter 3:21].

Now, again, let's put it all together. Out of his mercy, love and kindness,God sent Jesus to die for our sins (cf. Isaiah 53:4-6; Matthew 20:28; 26:28;1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:20). In response to such a graciousgift, you and I are commanded to possess a faith that accepts God at hiswords and yields to his commands. We, thus, yield to the command to:

a) Believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah of OT prophecy, the Sonof God.

b) Repent of our sins in a deliberate choice to turn from evil in ourlives.

c) Confess our faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, the Son ofGod.

d) Be baptized, immersed in water to have our sins taken away.


GODLINESS

I MUST LIVE A LIFE OF GODLINESS, A LIFE LIKE JESUS

"For hereunto were he called: because Christ also suffered for you,leaving you an example, that ye should follow in his steps" (1 Peter2:21).

We must never put a period where God has placed a comma. Becoming aNT Christian via the active grace of God coupled with our obedient faith[an obedience of faith, repentance, confession and baptism for the remissionof sins] is only the beginning of an abundant life.

After becoming a Christian, we are blessed with the challenge to thinklike Jesus (Philippians 2:5) and become as much like him as possible. "Whatwould Jesus do?"  "How would Jesus respond?"  "What would Jesusthink? What would he say? What would he decide?"

Using his NT as our standard for day to day living, knowing that hewill judge us in keeping with the same (John 12:48), we are to use himas our great example and echo the words of Paul: "I have been crucifiedwith Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me"(Galatians 2:20)!

[NOTE: This is not a substitute for the Bible but an outline to follow, based on the premise that the student already believes in God and the divine inspiration of Scripture.]



This item originally appeared in www.crievehall.org


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