So often we get caught up in the day to day items of our lives,
and we never really think about the purpose of our lives, and what happens when
we die. What will happen when you cross the divide from this life to eternity?
As a Christian, I believe there is an all-powerful God who created the world and everything therein about six thousand years ago, which includes you and I. While this may not be able to be proven, there is lots of evidence which supports this.I also believe the Bible is God's Word to us, and it tells us the answers to questions like how we got here, why we are here, and where we are going. There is overwhelming evidence to point to the fact that the Bible is a book unlike any other. Why should anyone believe the Bible is true? | Prophecies foretold in the Bible fulfilled | Prophecies in the Bible being fulfilled | Scientific Reasons to believe the Bible | How History backs the Bible | More foundational answers
There is an ultimate purpose for your life. You see, you are here on earth for a reason. The all-powerful God who created the world loves you, and desires for you to love Him, and to have a relationship with Him. He could have made us and placed us in Heaven to praise Him, but it was His will to give us a test, so that everyone in Heaven truely loved Him and gave Him glory of their own free will. That test is this life here on earth. This is God's Story:
The all-powerful God created from nothing this universe and people to live in it. As God already knew would happen, the people He created broke His command, and thus sin had entered the world. Every person since then has sinned. Since sin cannot enter Heaven where God is, none of us would be able to go to Heaven to be with God. It would be completely within God's power and right to send us all to eternal punishment in Hell, the Lake of Fire, for disobeying His commands. However, because God loved us so much, He promised and provided a way that we could be redeemded back to Himself.I'd just like to take a moment to ask you - where are you going when you die? It's probably not something we like to think about - but are you headed for Heaven? Do you meet God's standards for Heaven?
God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, to save people from their sins. Jesus lived a perfect life, and was without sin. He performed miracles, preached, and taught people about God's Plan. But most people rejected Him; they did not accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God. They killed Him: they crucified the Messiah. But they could not stop God's Plan. Jesus, being God, rose from the dead on the third day. Forty days after his resurection, in the presence of His disciples, He ascended back to Heaven. Some people believed in Jesus. However, many did not. Some of the men who believed in Jesus were inspired by God to write His words and story down for others. These writings in the Bible we now call the Gospels, because they present the Good News, the only method of Salvation from our sin.
If we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that He bore our sin, and that His blood shed on the cross was payment for our sin, our due punishment will be put on His account instead of ours, and we will live forever with the Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven for eternity. But no one is forced to accept Him. If you reject God's offer of salvation, you can spend eternity in Hell, the Lake of Fire. We are born with a sinful nature, and everyone has sinned, so there would be no one in Heaven for eternity (except the angels) to glorify Him. Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to escape eternal punishment. There are the only two ultimate choices, Heaven or Hell. If you have sinned (any thing you have ever thought, said, or done that goes against God's moral law, as we find in the Ten Commandments), and have not accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, your sin is taking you to Hell. Where do you want to spend eternity? Will it be Heaven or Hell? God's Word to us, the Bible, shows the way to Heaven. All other ways lead to Hell.- central theme of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation
"Heaven, how do I get there?" is one question we all have to ask ourselves. Our society has been filled with one person's teaching after another. We have to remember that eternal life depends upon the very Word of God. The way to KNOW how to get to Heaven is by going to the Word of God, not another man's teaching. To get to Heaven we must know and believe these things:
WE ARE ALL SINNERS AND THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO TO SAVE OURSELVES:
"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one." (Romans 3:10, KJV Bible)Every person who walks the face of the earth has done wrong. Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever taken something that was not yours? Have you ever had a bad thought? Everyone has done wrong - something against God's moral law. The law is like a mirror to us; it helps us see ourselves for who we really are in God's sight - sinners in need of a Saviour. Until you understand this, you cannot be saved and you cannot go to Heaven. (Additional references: Ephesians 2:1,5; Colossians 2:13; 1 Peter 2:24)
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23, KJV Bible)
THERE IS A PENALTY FOR OUR SIN:
"For the wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23a, KJV Bible)We all know that we must die physically someday. Just pick up any newspaper and read the obituaries and we see that people die every day and at every age. After physical death, there is also spiritual death. We decide now while we are living, the place where we will live after physical life - Heaven or Hell. The penalty for our sins is death in Hell. If we get what we deserved it will be death in Hell.
"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolators, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." (Revelation 21:8, KJV Bible)
GOD LOVES US:
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8, KJV Bible)JESUS CHRIST PAID THE PENALTY OF SIN FOR US:
"Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:39, KJV Bible)
"Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us..." (1 John 3:16, KJV Bible)
"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, KJV Bible)
"...but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23b, KJV Bible)The death of God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in our place is God's only provision for man's sin. The Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross to save you from your sin. His blood was shed on the cross to save you! But that is not the end; He rose from the dead, and is in heaven today! Jesus Christ is God's gift to man. A gift is FREE. All you have to do to receive it.
"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, KJV Bible)
"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him." (1 John 4:9, KJV Bible)
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6, KJV Bible)
"...It is finished..." [Jesus' last words on the cross] (John 19:30, KJV Bible)
"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." (1 Peter 2:24, KJV Bible)
BELIEVE; TRUST AND TAKE JESUS AS YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOUR; YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN:
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.The Bible clearly states the Gospel — the Good News of Salvation; in the last day you will have no excuse if you do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved for eternity. No works or sacraments you do will get you to heaven, Jesus did it all on the cross. His innocent blood was shed on the cross for all the sin of the world, and to be saved from the wrath to come you must receive Him as your Lord and Saviour.
"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:9, 10, 13, KJV Bible)
"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;" (Acts 3:19, KJV Bible)
"...God...now commandeth all men every where to repent:" (Acts 17:30, KJV Bible)
"And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." (Acts 16:31, KJV Bible)
"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3, KJV Bible)
"He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:18, KJV Bible)
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:" (John 1:12, KJV Bible)
"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." (John 6:37, KJV Bible)
"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, KJV Bible)
Do you know all these things, but never have put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Why not pray and ask Him to forgive you of your sins and save you for eternity? The exact words are not what matters - just come to Him as He asks in His Word. Jesus died for you, and He wants you to accept Him.
Here is a sample prayer - if you pray this believing - you will go to Heaven; not by what man teaches, but by God's Word.
Dear Lord Jesus,
I know that I am a sinner. I deserve Hell. I realize that You died on the cross to save me. Please forgive me. Please come into my life and save me now. I am trusting only in You for my eternal salvation. Help me now that I am saved to serve you faithfully. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began." (Titus 1:2, KJV Bible)
