Are you a good person…by God’s standards? And if so…are you good enough to go to heaven?
Here are a few questions to consider…
- Have you ever told a lie?
LINESPACE - Have you given money to charity?
LINESPACE - Have you gone to church regularly?
LINESPACE - Have you ever stolen anything (no matter how small)?
LINESPACE - Have you ever used “God,” “Jesus,” or “Christ,” as a curse word? (Example: “Oh my G-d!”)
LINESPACE - Have you made it a practice to read the Bible regularly?
LINESPACE - Have you ever looked at someone and had lustful thoughts?
Some of you may already know this, but God has given us a standard to determine whether or not we are good. His standard is called the Ten Commandments. Have you heard of them? You can find them in Exodus 20:1-17.
If You Died Tonight, are You 100-percent Sure You Would Go to Heaven?
If Yes, How Do You Know That to Be True?
LINESPACE
To Find Out, Keep Reading or If You Prefer,
Watch This 6-Minute Video
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCSUKIhjevo 400 225[/youtube]
Let’s Go Through a Few of the Ten Commandments Together and See How “Good” We Truly Are…
In the Good Test above, did you admit to telling a lie, breaking commandment #9?
I know I did. So, if you’re in the same boat as I am, what does that make us? Someone who tells a lie is called a liar, right? So that makes you and I liars.
Let’s check out another one.
Did you admit to stealing something in your lifetime, no matter how small it was, breaking commandment #8?
Yep….I confess…I have stolen something in my lifetime as well. If you are joining me on this one, that makes us thieves, right?
So far, not looking so good for us. A liar and a thief. Hmmmm….
Did you admit to having lusted in your heart for someone? Yep…I’m guilty on this one too!
Did you know that Jesus said, “You have heard…‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28) Therefore, that means we are adulterers at heart!
I don’t know about you, but so far I’m not doing so good and we’ve only covered three out of the ten commandments!
The Bad News…
If we are honest, we have all broken at least one commandment. None of us on our own strength can keep God’s standard, the Ten Commandments all the time. James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”
Bummer!
If we’ve broken even one of the Ten Commandments, it’s as if we’ve broken them all. That’s a pretty tough standard to live up to. That means that Adolph Hitler, Mother Teresa, Osama bin Laden, Billy Graham, you and I…would all be found guilty.
I was amazed to find out that all six billion of us on earth is guilty.
The Security Tag Dilemma
Mark Cahill explains it this way, “It’s as if you had a security tag on your jeans, and you walked out of a store. What would happen?
The alarm would go off, right?
Picture Heaven the same way. At the gates of Heaven, imagine that there are sensors when you try to go in. What is the only thing that will set off the alarm as you try to enter?
Your sin.
Once you leave earth, your sin will set off the alarm. But, if you have been cleansed of all your sin by the blood of Jesus Christ, can you walk through those gates?
Yes!”
It’s as if we are all walking around with a security tag on our jeans, representing our sin or the ways we’ve fallen short of God’s standards. None of us meets the standard God has set for us on our own. That means six billion of us are going to be separated from God in a place the Bible calls hell…unless we embrace God’s solution to this massive problem.
The Good News…
God does not want you to be separated from Him. You may not have a good image of God for various reasons, but you need to know that He has provided a way for you to be forgiven.
The Bible says that the God of the Universe became a man (Jesus Christ), and suffered and died on the cross for your sins and mine so that we could be set free. Then he rose again from the dead and defeated death! It’s as simple as this—we broke the Law, and Jesus paid our fine.
“God demonstrated His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us.” (Galatians 3:13)
Being “Good” Does Not Get Us into Heaven
You see, we do not get to heaven by doing good things like donating to charity, going to church or reading our Bible. We cannot earn it, and we do not deserve it, but God is offering it to us as proof of His love for us. We are saved through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross by grace alone. There is nothing we can do to earn it.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8)
The Power of Forgiveness
Do you see God’s great love for you? Do you see your need for His forgiveness? He is inviting you to come to Him, to be forgiven, and begin an intimate relationship with Him.
Do what He commands and “Repent…that your sins may be wiped out and times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” (Acts 3:19)
You must turn away from sin and turn to God. Surrender your life to and put your faith in the One who can save you. Jesus died to set you free, and then he rose from death to be your Lord. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
If you will confess and forsake your sins (repent) and trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, God will forgive you and you’ll pass from death to life.
If you are not sure how to pray, read Psalm 51 and make it your prayer.
The Sale of the Year
Here’s something else to think about. If your favorite store had a 50-percent-off sale on all clothing today, would you buy anything?
Most of you would.
Now imagine that they had a 99-percent-off sale on all clothing, would you buy anything?
Not only would you probably buy something, but you’d probably get some stuff for your family and friends, right?
So, if you would accept an offer of 99-percent off the price of a piece of clothing, why in the world wouldn’t you accept the offer of 100-percent off of all your sin – past, present, and future – washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ?
It is literally the best deal in the entire universe.
What does it mean to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ?
Let’s think of it this way. Let’s say you are in an airplane and have to jump 25,000 feet. You wouldn’t just “believe” in the parachute; you would put it on! The parachute will do nothing for you unless you decide to put it on, and put your complete trust in it. You know that if you don’t have that parachute, you’ll die. So, you put it on and trust in it to take you safely to the ground.
Starting a relationship with Jesus means to personally trust in Him the same way you’d trust in a parachute if you had to jump 25,000 feet out of an airplane. There are millions of people who “believe” Jesus exists . . . but they have not yet put their trust in Jesus to save them from their sins when they die — there’s a BIG difference. And the difference will be obvious when you “jump” through the door of death.
Are you ready to begin a relationship with Jesus today?
Today, I encourage you to turn away from sin, and surrender your life to Jesus Christ. Please don’t put it off until later. You probably don’t have all the answers to your questions yet, but better to put on the parachute first and then ask questions, than to pass through the door unprepared, grasping for the parachute when it’s too late.
LINESPACE
You can pray this prayer in the video below or one from your heart:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj4hV2lkAjg 400 225[/youtube]
LINESPACE
If you are making this step for the first time, contact me and let me know. You can e-mail us here. We want to pray for you and send you some resources to help you grow in your relationship with Jesus
God will transform you from the inside out.
You will think and feel differently as you learn to trust and obey Him. God will give you new strength to live right and love Him above all else. Start by connecting with God by reading His Word to you in the Bible daily and then begin to obey it.
Still not sure? Have questions?
I’m sure many of you have questions about eternity, heaven and hell. If so, I recommend the book, “One Heartbeat Away, Your Journey into Eternity” by Mark Cahill. You can purchase it at www.markcahill.org.
It is one of the best books I’ve read on this topic of eternity.
This book provides answers to questions like…
* Can you prove there is a God?
* Doesn’t evolution disprove the existence of God?
* Can you prove the Bible true?
* What is out there after I die?
If you would like a copy of “One Heartbeat Away,” but can’t afford it, please e-mail us here.
I want you to know that I’m praying for each of you that read this book. I pray that you will be able to find the answers to your spiritual questions and connect with God in a real and personal way. I know each of you is in a different place in your spiritual journey, so please feel free to e-mail us your questions.