The last post was a discussion about good works, the effort many think will earn them a place in heaven. It’s a very common belief, one I used to hold as well. I showed in the last post that Biblical salvation, that is, eternal life, is a free gift not earned or deserved.

Think about the last time you received a gift from someone. They offered it, you accepted. If it was truly a gift, then no payment was required. Gifts are wonderful. They demonstrate that someone is thinking about us – that they care. So it is with eternal life.

The Obstacle

If heaven is a free gift, does that mean we all automatically have eternal life? Everyone is going to heaven…right? No. The gift of eternal life is freely offered. A gift can either be accepted or rejected.

Not everyone will go to heaven because not everyone receives the gift. How do you receive a gift? When someone offers you a gift you still have to reach for it and take it. You don’t have to pay for it or work for it. But you must either accept it or reject it. Its your choice.

So if the gift of eternal life is offered, why won’t we all just take it? Why would anyone refuse it?

This free gift is available to everyone but there are obstacles to receiving it:

• Some people do not believe in God or in the Bible. They don’t believe the gift exists.
• Another obstacle is not knowing about or understanding the offer. Most people, even people who consider themselves Christian, don’t even know that eternal life actually is offered as a free gift.
• The primary obstacle to receiving eternal life is our sin.

Our sin gets in the way of receiving the gift! If a person chooses to continue a sinful life, it means rejecting the gift of eternal life because Romans 6:23 clearly says that the wages or payment of sin is death.

For the payoff of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23 (NET Second Edition)

So its either life or death – that’s the choice just like Romans 6:23 says. Despite what you may have been told, there are no other choices. Choosing not to believe does not change reality, only your place in it.

The Definition of Sin

The biblical definition for sin is simple: sin is breaking God’s Law. Remember the 10 commandments? They are not suggestions, they are legal requirements from the Creator. They will never change. So from a biblical perspective, sin is a legal issue.

If we break civil law, there is a penalty we must pay. Breaking God’s law also has a penalty: death. Remember Romans 6:23 – “the payoff of sin is death”. And we are all guilty of sin.

For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:22-23 (NET Second Edition)

“All” means all. We are all sinners. Usually, when someone tells me they don’t sin, its because they say they don’t believe there is any such thing – they don’t know God’s Law. The truth is, if we are honest, we all know instinctually what is right and wrong. For example, we all know theft and lying are wrong. But even if we claim to not know God’s Law, it’s no excuse. Let me give an example.

If I go to another country that has different laws and I break one of them, I am still guilty and subject to the penalty of the law regardless of my ignorance or intent. The law is the law – its wise to educate ourselves about the laws of other countries before we travel there. And so it is with God’s Law. It is very wise to educate ourselves about His Law but not knowing is no excuse. The Law is the Law.

What Does Death Mean?

If the Bible says the payment of sin is death, what does that mean? We will all die someday and that is part of the universal judgement for sin. We are all going to die. But physical death is not the issue. The real issue of profound concern is what the bible calls the “second death”.

But as for the cowards, unbelievers, detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells, idol worshipers, and all those who lie, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. That is the second death.

Revelation 21:8 (NET Second Edition)

You want nothing to do with the second death! Final judgement, the penalty for sin, the second death, is not metaphor or symbolic – it is real!

Anyone who continues to live a life pursuing sin, breaking God’s Law, is headed for the second death. The second death is the lake of fire. I was on my way to this horrible end because of my sin until someone explained to me the only way to avoid it.

The only way to avoid the second death is to accept the free gift of eternal life in heaven that is offered to us all. Its either the second death, or eternal life in heaven. There are no other options; no other kingdoms, no second chances. Reincarnation is false. We get one life to live and then we are judged. If we die before choosing the offer of eternal life, it’s too late. The offer is withdrawn.

In conclusion for this post, it is not our good works that gets us into heaven, it is our sin – our violations of God’s Law – that bars us from heaven.

But are we really that sinful? The next post is about the magnitude of our problem.