This page contains the Christian message from the bible about how to receive eternal life. Its known as the gospel – the good news. The gospel is a personal invitation to each of us to receive immortality – to live forever in heaven and ultimately, when the time comes, in the Kingdom of God. All of this has been provided for but it must be received on God’s terms, not our own.

This is a fairly detailed explanation of the gospel, which is the core message of Christianity. I felt I had to take this approach because the message of the gospel has been distorted beyond recognition in most of the western church, and in the culture.

Despite what you may have come to believe about Christians from the media, this message has nothing to do with politics. Even if you are not interested in this message, I still invite you to take a little time to read this. Perhaps you will at least understand what biblical Christians believe and what the bible teaches about eternal life.

Regardless of how you got here to this page, I hope you take the time to read this. It will take about 30 minutes to work through it. Take your time. If you receive what is presented here, it will set you on the ancient narrow path. If you get on this path, you will never regret your choice. I will not lie to you – it is a difficult path, but what awaits you is absolutely glorious.

Two Important Questions

I chose this narrow path about 30 years ago. And it began with a very simple, very interesting question which I now present to you:

Do you know for certain that you will go to heaven when you die?

Stop for a moment and consider this question. People have various responses. Maybe one of these is similar to your own response:

• I don’t believe in God or the bible. I do not believe there is a hell or heaven.
• I believe in God but I don’t know if I will go to heaven.
• I have done some terrible things in my life. I will not go to heaven.
• I am not sure I will go to heaven. I don’t think its possible to know.
• Yes, I will go to heaven.

Regardless of which response you have, please read on.

What I discovered, to my amazement, was yes, it is possible to know for certain that you will go to heaven when you die. The bible calls this eternal life. You don’t have to hope so or think so. You can know without any doubt, that when you leave this earth at the end of your physical life, you will go straight to heaven. Here is what it says in the bible:

These things are written so that you…may know that you have eternal life.

1 John 5:13

I was raised as a Catholic Christian, doing all the things I was told are required to go to heaven. I went to church every week, went to confession (sometimes), I was an altar boy for many years and even attended Catholic schools. Despite all of that participation in the Catholic system, I was unfamiliar with the simple truth quoted above in 1 John 5:13. But there is was, plainly written. According to the bible, I could know I have eternal life. I was always taught the opposite. I was taught it was not possible to know. I was even told it was presumptuous or prideful to know I would go to heaven.

When Jesus established the church, he gave it the primary mission to tell people how to receive eternal life. He ensured it was clearly documented in the bible. Knowing that you have eternal life is based on what is written in the scriptures, not in the traditions and the teachings of men or religious organizations.

I know that I have received eternal life. Knowing is not prideful or arrogant. The Lord wants all people to have eternal life and to know it, just as it says in the bible verse above. That’s why he entrusted this message to the church.

I don’t deserve eternal life – none of us do – but I know I have it because the bible is true. I am sure glad that my friend shared this truth with me a long time ago. Millions of people across the world and throughout history have received eternal life. Maybe today is your day.

Would you like to know how to receive the gift of eternal life, just as I and many others have?

Please read on.

My friend asked me a second question that I had never heard before – it turned out to be the most important question in my life.

If you died today, and you stood before the God of Heaven, and he asked you:

“Why should I let you into heaven?”

What would you say?

Think about this question for a moment. How would you respond? What do you think the requirements are for getting to heaven?

Sometimes people will say they don’t believe in God or that there is a heaven or hell. That, unfortunately, is becoming a more common belief. If that is what you believe, I invite you to continue reading to see what you think about the biblical message of eternal life. Maybe you will change your opinion, maybe you won’t. At least give yourself the opportunity to make an informed choice. Biblical faith is an invitation to be accepted or rejected – entirely your call. But at least read the invitation. At least know what is offered. Taking a few minutes to check it out is a good investment of your time.

For those who do believe God and heaven exist, here are some of the responses to the question above:

• “I consider myself a good person and I deserve to go to heaven”
• “I go to church every week and receive communion.”
• “I have taught Sunday school for years”
• “I’m a good parent, friend, or neighbor”
• “I regularly give to charity”
• “I love everyone”
• “I live my life with integrity – I am an honest person”
• “I’m raising three children. Of course I’m going to Heaven!”
• “I’ve done more good things than bad things”

Many people think heaven is a reward based on their performance in this life – doing those things considered “good” and trying not to do those things considered “bad”.

Many spiritual systems of belief, even some Christian denominations, teach that the quality of existence after death depends on our performance in life before death.

If you believe good works earn heaven, then it does raise some additional questions:

• What are “good works” exactly? What counts?
• Who determines what is good?
• How much good is required?
• Who is keeping score? The church? God? Myself? How can I know where I stand – what my score currently is?

Also, people rarely think about the impact of the bad things they do – the bible calls this sin. Is it possible we overestimate our “goodness” and underestimate our sinfulness? How does sin affect the outcome? If heaven is at stake, these are important questions.

Many people believe their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds – like a scale with the good stuff on one side and the bad stuff on the other. You are nice, kind, gave money to what you believe are worthy causes, did some really admirable things with your life. You did what you thought was right – all the things you believe would earn a place in heaven. Surely the scales are tipped in your favor. Right? Isn’t that what the bible teaches?

Its interesting that we tend to give much more weight to the few good things we do and hardly any weight at all to the sin that we do. It does not matter anyway, because the bible teaches something quite different. With respect to getting to heaven, God is not interested in our performance.

Please understand, I am not saying that good works are unimportant. Doing things that genuinely help people are commendable. There is a role for good works, but I will get to that later – and it has nothing to do with salvation. The current discussion is focused on one thing: how does a person receive eternal life, in other words, what is required to get into heaven. (It has nothing to do with politics.)

If you think heaven relies on scoring some unknown quota of good deeds or making sure the good outweighs the bad, or aligning yourself politically with some group, then I have some great news for you:

Eternal life in heaven, where there is no more death or disease or pain, no climate change or pollution, no COVID, no injustice or hatred, a perfect world forever and ever – is a free gift. That’s right, it is offered to each one of us as a gift. Is this something that the bible says? Yes.

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

Romans 6:23

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

A gift is 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.

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 cited above clearly says that the wages of sin is death. So its either eternal life, or eternal death – that’s the choice just like Romans 6:23 says. Despite what you may have been told, there are no other choices.

Lets see what the bible says about sin.

What is 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 wages of sin is death”. If you don’t believe you are a sinner, here is what the bible says:

for all  have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

Romans 3:23

We are all sinners. Usually, when someone tells me they don’t sin, its because they have no knowledge of God’s Law. But that is no excuse. 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.

If the Bible says the wages 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 for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

Revelation 21:8

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! Those who continue to live a life pursuing sin, continually breaking God’s Law, are 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.

I think I am a good person. Am I really that sinful?

Most of us are fairly confident in our own estimation of ourselves. But the bible does not hold back on the truth about how we really are. Many worldviews teach that mankind is basically good – that there is no sin. Maybe we just need a little self improvement. But is it really true that mankind is basically good?

Look around you at the condition of society today – its a powerful witness about who we really are. Mass shootings, violence and destruction in our streets, chaos, rebellion, lawlessness, injustice, rampant sexual depravity, hatred of those who look different or think different, lies, war, greed in the midst of poverty and famine, brutal oppression. It goes on and on. After 6000 years of recorded history, nothing has really changed about mankind. In fact, things are not getting better, they are getting worse. Why?

The inclinations of the human race – all of us – are wicked, dark, evil. Since we as a society have chosen to abandon the Law of the Creator, and even eject Him and His ways from society, expect things to get really bad. Darkness, wickedness, immorality, and deception are rushing in to fill the spiritual vacuum created by a culture that has expunged the Creator. Here is what the bible says about our increasingly wicked behaviors:

Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:19-25

Wow! This verse is a brutally accurate description of the way people and our culture really are. What do you think? If you are intellectually honest about the observations you make about the culture around you, do you think people are basically good?

I never thought I was that sinful and most people I’ve talked to don’t either, but given the behaviors listed above, consider the following:

• There are sins we commit – doing things God has forbidden. The ten commandments are still in force today. Murder and stealing are the obvious ones people know instinctively are wrong. But there is also lying and desiring what does not belong to us, adultery, pride, selfishness. All evil behaviors – all against God’s law. Have you ever told a lie? The bible says liars will not enter the Kingdom of God.
• There are also sins of neglect – not doing the things that God has commanded we do. For example, he commands us to worship Him alone (Deuteronomy 6:13). We are forbidden to worship, venerate, kneel before, or acknowledge any other spiritual entity. God calls this idolatry. We are to worship and serve only the God of Heaven – the one true God. He commands us to worship Him alone and yet many people do not even know who He is. Every time there is acknowledgement of a false god, or venerating the dead (to include prayers to dead people, even if they were saints), or kneeling in front of a statue made by human hands, or any other entity we turn to instead of the God of Heaven, we sin against the one true God.
• There are also sins in thought and word. Jesus said even thinking adulterous thoughts made us guilty of adultery. He equated hatred with murder. So even our thoughts can be profoundly sinful. What do you watch on TV? What internet sites do you display? What thoughts do you have as a result? Violence, hatred, lust – all violations of God’s Law.

Jesus taught something very interesting: what we say, the words that come out of our mouth, reveal the content of our heart. We are accountable for every careless word spoken. What words come out of your mouth? “F-bombs” all the time? That was me – I remember how I used to speak. Think about what you say for a moment. Many use the Lord’s name as a curse. One of the 10 commandments explicitly says not to misuse the Name of the Lord. I used to have a foul mouth – cursing, misusing the Name of the Lord all the time. The God of heaven says he will punish anyone who uses his Name in vain. Note the quotes below about how we speak.

Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Exodus 20:7

But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man.

Matthew 15:18-20

But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

Matthew 12:36-37

One day we will be confronted with every careless, angry, hateful word we ever spoke. Most of us use social media – now there is the clear evidence of the true content of the human heart! When we speak (or post) hatred, lies, threats, we sin. Technology hasn’t helped us at all – its only given additional ways to instantly broadcast to the world our sinful thoughts, words, and wicked deeds. Social media and the internet have multiplied, focused, and supercharged the sinfulness of mankind.

I used to think I wasn’t that bad – there wasn’t much sin in my life. Then I saw some of the verses above in the bible. When you let the truth of these verses sink in, you start to understand a little about just how sinful we really are. The bible clearly says those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God (in other words, not receive eternal life, not go to heaven). In those verses, I found I was in a lot more trouble that I thought.

How sinful are we? Well, for me, considering the sins I commit in violation of God’s law and the sins of neglect in failing to do what He commands, also sin in thought and word, I probably sin dozens of times a day.

The Magnitude of Sin in Our Lives – How Bad Is It?

Here is an illustration of how much we really sin. Just for the sake of the illustration, lets assume I only sin 3 times a day: a hateful post on Twitter, a lustful thought, a lie. Assuming only 3 sins, the result is over a thousand sins a year – multiply 1000 sins per year by my age and it totals to over 65,000 sins. Violation of the law of the Lord over 65,000 times – and of course, the real numbers are much bigger! Remember: every careless word spoken, every unclean thought, every unlawful act in the sight of God. Yep, all those sinful acts committed in secret – all recorded as violations of the Law. There are no secrets we can keep from God.

I used to think the good things I did compensated for my sin – a set of scales in my mind with good things always stacked in my favor – my thumb on the scales, conveniently ignoring the weight of my sin. By my example above, I am in real trouble because on one side are my 65,000 (and counting) sins. So a ton of sin on one side and a gram of goodness on the other. Uh-oh!

Again, from a biblical perspective, sin is a legal issue. There are no scales of heaven weighing my good against my sin. Sin is breaking the Law and we are all sinners, lawbreakers. A violation of the law stands on its own as requiring justice. It has nothing to do with whatever good I do. If I rob a bank, it does me no good to give half the money to the poor. I am still guilty of a crime. I must pay the penalty for that crime. And so it is with violating God’s law. Multiplied thousands of sins during a lifetime and each single sin has the sentence of death.

Think about this: every post you ever have made or will make on social media will be used as evidence against you in the court of heaven. Our self-assessed “goodness” is no answer for the massive legal trouble we are in because we continually break God’s unchanging Law. God will judge and the penalty of the Law will be applied. Is there any way to fix this? Keep reading!

Here are additional statements in the bible that are truthful about who we are:

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 6:5

The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?

Jeremiah 17:9

As it is written: there is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one. Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving; the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Romans 3:10-18

This, in itself, is proof the bible is true. The observations of culture around us, assuming we are intellectually honest, is a match with what is described in the bible. All of these behaviors clearly articulated in the bible have been evident throughout human history and even more evident today because of instantly accessible information about any place on earth.

Our polluted hearts cause deeply wicked thoughts and behaviors, some deeper than others, but we all stand guilty before God. In our own minds we think we do enough good to get to heaven. But it is our sin that bars entry. Heaven is a holy, undefiled place. What makes us think we will enter into a pure place with impure hearts?

OK, that was a lot about sin, but its necessary to help understand the reality of our situation before God. Sin is real and the penalty for sin is the bad news, but in light of that, the news of eternal life is really good!

God in His love for us has provided a way to resolve the sin problem. If we accept God’s solution, we can be forgiven of all of our sin. But perhaps things might be a clearer if we understand a little more about Him first.

Who is God?

There are many “gods” out there who make all kinds of claims. But there is only one true God: He is the Holy One of Israel, the Lord of hosts, the God of heaven, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. The universe itself is His handiwork. He is the author of the laws of physics, chemistry, quantum mechanics. He created everything that makes the universe function in its vast complexity. He established order and created life itself. He made each human being in His own image and likeness. The fact that we exist as living, breathing people is because he gave us life.

The God of heaven is gracious and compassionate. The bible says that God is love (1 John 4:16). He does not want any of us to perish but instead to come to repentance (2 Pet 3:9). He wants us all to go to heaven. His love and mercy are the attributes most people think of in their understanding of God. And its true, however, its not a complete picture of who God is.

God is also perfectly just, holy, righteous (Rev 4:8, Isaiah 5:16). Sin is an affront to His Holiness and He will judge the unrepentant according to their sinful deeds. Although He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11), He will not leave the guilty unpunished (Exodus 34:7, Isaiah 13:11). The unrepentant will indeed come to a moment of judgement as described in the Book of Revelation:

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and  books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.

Revelation 20:11-13

God’s love and mercy does not cancel out His Holiness and righteousness. So then, how does God reconcile His compassion, love, and mercy with His holiness, justice, and righteousness? We are all guilty of sin and sin has a death penalty, but the same God offers to forgive our sins and give us eternal life in heaven as a gift. Love and compassion, holiness and justice. Is it an unsolvable contradiction? It does seem a dilemma for us doesn’t it? The really good news is that none of us has to remain under judgement. None of us has to experience what is described above in Revelation 20:11-13. The Lord has provided a solution – the only one there is.

How did God resolve this dilemma? He resolved it once for all through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the one who has reconciled the love and mercy of God with the justice and holiness of God so that all people could be offered the free gift of eternal life.

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

Who is Jesus Christ?

There are many perspectives about who Jesus is. Jesus once asked his disciples “who do people say that I am”. He got a number of different responses from His disciples but Peter gave him the correct answer – “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mat 16:13-17). The scripture conveys that Jesus is fully God (John 1:1-4, Col 2:8-10). He, together with the Father, is the Creator (Col 1:12-18) of the very universe itself.

Jesus is also fully human. The scriptures say he became flesh and made his dwelling among us (John 1:14); that he was born of a woman, Mary His mother. His disciples walked with him and knew him. They ate with him. He was crucified, bled human blood, and died (John 1:14, Mat 1:20-23, Gal 4:4).

If Jesus was with God the Father in heaven, why did he come here to the Earth as one of us?

Jesus is the promised Messiah who came to fulfill a very specific mission – a mission of God’s mercy that would open the door to heaven for anyone who would trust in Him. Jesus made the free gift of eternal life possible. How? He died on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins: The penalty for all sin was paid in full at the cross so that we would not have to pay the penalty ourselves.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

1 Cor 15:3-4

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace

Ephesians 1:7

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

Isaiah 53:5-6

The full payment for our sin has been made at the cross. Before he died, Jesus said “it is finished” (John 19:28-30). The Greek word of the original manuscript is tetelestai meaning all has been fulfilled or accomplished. But the payment for sin that Jesus made upon the cross does not mean that we are all automatically saved.

Maybe an analogy might help with understanding. Think of the payment Jesus made for all sin as “money in the bank”. There is enough to pay for the sins of all people but a transaction for each person is still required: we still must have that money transferred to our account to wipe out our debt. Just an analogy.

How can a man who died upon a Roman cross offer us eternal life? If Jesus is still in the grave then there is no eternal life. But remember, Jesus is also fully God. Jesus is risen bodily from the grave. He walked out of the tomb fully alive, having the power of God to raise all from the dead who have believed upon His Name. Here is how He answered the question about death and resurrection to one of his followers:

²³ Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. ²⁴ Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. ²⁵ Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: ²⁶ And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? ²⁷ She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

John 11:23-27

⁵ And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. ⁶ He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. ⁷ And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. ⁸ And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

Matthew 28:5-8

The fact that Jesus paid our penalty through his death on the cross and is risen from the dead makes eternal life available to us: now its offered to each of us as a gift. Jesus Christ, the living Lord of Heaven with complete power over death, stands ready to forgive your sin and give you eternal life just like He has done with many millions of people throughout history and continues even today.

Millions of people. What about you? Are you ready to accept the free gift of eternal life that is available through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and His resurrection?

The bible calls this salvation. Our sin debt is paid and we receive eternal life on God’s terms: that we repent (turn away from sin), believe (place our complete trust in Jesus alone), and accept (invite Him into our life as our Lord). The scripture says:

He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him. But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.

John 1:11-13

When we receive him by faith, we receive the pardon for our sin – all of it. Heaven is entered only through Him. As Jesus said:

I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

John 14:3-6

Instead of the certainty of a death penalty, we are forgiven – our transgressions (sin) removed from us and we have the certainty of eternal life.

Previously, I quoted a verse that says it is by God’s grace through faith that we are saved – salvation is a gift from God (Eph 2:8-9). There is nothing we can add to what Christ has been done for us by His atoning death on the cross. There is also nothing that we can take away from what has been accomplished at the cross. As the verse says, we receive the gift of eternal life by God’s grace through faith.

What is faith?

Faith is likely the most important – and misunderstood – topic in all of religion or spirituality. Just believe…right? In what? Often times we hear that we should “just believe”. But the bible indicates the only kind of faith that is the key to receiving eternal life.

As an example, I have several keys on my keyring but only one will open my front door. The other keys are similar and may even fit inside the lock but if its the wrong key, the door remains locked and I cannot enter the house.

And so it is with faith. There is only one kind of faith that will open the door to eternal life and without it you cannot enter into heaven. Lets take a look at the different ideas about faith.

Head knowledge: One kind of “faith” that many people rely on is accepting information as true. This is actually necessary – you do have to hear, understand, and either accept or reject information as true. For example, growing up Catholic, I understood some things about who God is and basic facts about Jesus Christ: that he existed, was born of a virgin, died on the cross for our sins, and is risen from the dead. But knowing and accepting facts as truth is not enough. Even the demons know the facts about Jesus.

²⁸ And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. ²⁹ And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

Matthew 8:28-29

Clearly, despite their knowledge of Jesus as the Son of God, they will never have eternal life because they are forever condemned as a result of their rebellion.

Head knowledge is a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t open the door to heaven.

Temporal faith: Another kind of faith is trusting in God for the things of this life. I recall when I was on an aircraft in Texas years ago. The pilots were flying through a thunderstorm and the plane was being tossed around like a leaf in the wind. I was a little concerned about ending up in a heap of burning aircraft parts on the ground in the middle of nowhere, so I was praying for a safe landing. I was trusting in God for a temporal matter in that moment. Thankfully, we made it safely. It is good to trust God for the things of this life but it’s still not the kind of faith that unlocks the door of heaven.

Complete Trust: The key to opening the door of heaven, the right quality of faith is this: complete trust in Jesus Christ alone for forgiveness of all of your sin. It is resting your entire hope for heaven in Him alone rather than yourself or anybody else. Angels, dead relatives, Mary, saints – none of these can help you. Nothing can take the place of trusting completely in the the atoning death and the resurrection of Christ as the key that opens the door to heaven. As the Apostle Paul said:

Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us.

2 Cor 1:9-10

Paul says three times in this verse that we will be delivered from death – but not by trusting in ourselves – only if we set our hope on God who raises the dead.

The one you are trusting for heaven is your savior. So if you are trusting in what you can do for yourself, then you are trusting in the wrong person. If you are trusting in your favorite politician, wow. Good luck with that. If you are trusting in a church or a pastor, or some ritual, or the sacraments, you are trusting the wrong things. If you are trusting in the Blessed Virgin Mary, she can’t help you. The scapular, the miraculous medal, the rosary – useless, idolatrous distractions from the simple truth about Jesus Christ.

We are not qualified to be our own Savior. No one else is either. Nobody else can apply the sacrifice made for you at the cross to you through ritual or prayer, or the sprinkling of water. Its up to you to come before God in personal repentance and complete trust in Christ and receive him to yourself. Open the door of your heart and He comes into your life. That is His promise.

²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. ²¹ To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

Revelation 3:20-21

Placing your complete trust in Jesus alone is the key that opens the door to heaven, eternal life, immortality in the Kingdom of God.

If eternal life is received by faith apart from works, what is the motivation for living a godly life? What is the role of good works?

Great questions. Seems like you can receive eternal life and just do whatever you want because you are forgiven. But this is contrary to what the bible teaches. When we receive eternal life, we also receive the Holy Spirit – the Lord Jesus comes into our lives and changes us. He died on the cross and is risen as our savior, but also lives to be our Lord forever. The bible refers to Him as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. God’s Kingdom is coming and Jesus will rule as King. As people who are brought into His Kingdom, we are to learn to follow Him as our Lord. Its a lifelong process. Our faith is a living faith that produces the works that God has prepared for us.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Eph 2:10

¹⁷ So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. ¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

James 2:17-18

Those who trust in Jesus are created anew in Him – this is the essence of eternal life. So my motivation in doing good works is to honor God who saved me. I am no longer working to get heaven because I already have it. That which barred me from heaven – ALL my sin – is forgiven. Eternal life is a present possession. Now the motivation for a godly life is because I have repented from my sinful path and I now follow the path of righteousness – I am now a follower of Jesus. This is proven through obedience in what He calls us to do. So works that He calls us to, consistent with the teaching of scripture, are important so that through believers, God is glorified.

Clearly the bible defines and values good works, but good works flow out of the right kind of faith – a living, vibrant, God honoring faith that seeks to please Him. Jesus calls each believer to become his follower – a disciple. He has become the Lord of my life. He is not called the King of kings for nothing. He is my King. I do what He commands. Jesus says:

If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

John 14:15

So receiving eternal life begins a life of learning what it means to follow Jesus instead of following the wicked culture or the dictates of our own will, or the dictates of a religious organization. It means repenting of a sinful life – turning away from sin and turning towards Christ. The ultimate goal in life then becomes learning to love – with a biblically defined love.

We are required to turn away from the deception of the culture and even the deception of religion and turn instead to the truth of His Word. The whole purpose of life then becomes learning to love God with everything that I am and love my neighbor as myself, not with a permissive and distorted love as defined by the wicked culture but the love of God as defined in His Word.

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 22:36-40

So the whole motivation for living a godly life is Him. I don’t deserve eternal life. I know that now more than ever. But I have it because He gave it to me as a gift.

Now I love Him and I hate sin. I still sin because I am still a sinner and I still make mistakes. His work in me is not yet complete – but I no longer pursue sin as a lifestyle like before. I pursue Him instead because in Him is the fullness of life. Its what He has promised and what He has delivered for me. He is reliable, is risen, and can be trusted. There is no other answer for eternal life. Only him. Now He invites you too.

So, you can be judged in the court of Heaven according to the charges against you – bad plan. Or, you can have your sins forgiven – the charges against you dismissed, your sin remembered no more and thus not held against you. Your name can be written indelibly in the Savior’s Book of Life. My name is written there – not because I deserve it, but because of God’s promise to forgive my sin if I repent and believe on the name of Jesus, His only begotten Son. I’ve done that by God’s grace through faith.

Now its your turn.

Your decision regarding the gift of eternal life.

So, a few more questions my friend asked me after giving me this message:

1. Do you now understand what the bible teaches about eternal life? Yes, I said.
2. Would you like to receive the free gift of eternal life now? Yes, I said.

The bible says multiple times in multiple ways that eternal life is a gift. We can not work for and merit a gift. All we can do is receive it with gratitude – the hand of a beggar reaching for the gift of a King. We receive it through repentance and by faith. If you believe, you must receive.

Lets summarize. When I was confronted with these truths, I believed them. God had prepared me in advance.

• Do you believe there is one true eternal, all powerful God who is the Holy One of Israel, the God of Heaven, the Lord of Hosts, the Creator of the heavens and the earth? Do you believe that God has revealed Himself as one God manifested in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Yes or no?
• Do you believe that Jesus is the unique Son of God and is Himself fully God and also fully man? Yes or no?
• Do you believe Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins, was in the grave for 3 days and then was raised bodily from the dead? Yes or no?
• Do you also believe He is alive right now and seated on the throne of heaven at the right hand of God the Father? Yes or no?
• Do you believe that Jesus is the only way to salvation (John 14:1-6). Yes or no?
• Do you believe you are a sinner who can only be saved from the lake of fire by repenting of your sin and placing your complete trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Yes or no?
• Are you willing to transfer your complete trust for salvation from yourself to Jesus Christ? Yes or no?
• Will you forsake all other spiritual entities, all other ways that are empty, your own efforts to get to heaven and follow Jesus as your Lord from this day forward for the rest of your life (Rom 10:9-10)? Yes or no?

One final question: Are you willing to repent from your sinful life?

Are you willing to recognize that you are a sinner and that you must repent of your sin? This means turning your back on sinful pursuits. No more porn, no more lies, no more hatred and anger, no more hateful posts on social media, no more sinful pursuits at all – this is the goal and God will help. The Psalm says: “For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.” Doing what is in accordance with God’s ways – the way of the righteous – must become the direction and goal of your life from now on. This is a basic understanding of repentance.

From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Matthew 4:17

The requirement for repentance is usually what holds people back from receiving the gift of eternal life. Most people are able to believe the truths of the gospel, but when it comes time to repent, people choose unbelief. Its not that people can’t believe. They can. Most people, when they get this information, they know in their heart its true, but they refuse to believe because receiving the gift, receiving Christ into their lives, requires repentance. Repentance is simply choosing to let go of your sinful ways and start in a new direction – the path of righteousness.

Admittedly, repentance is a difficult thing. It was hard for me too. The natural inclinations of people, as the Bible explains, are sinful. I once explained the gospel to a young man who said he believed, but when I asked him if he could repent, he said he could not. He loved his sinful life. He chose not to place his trust in Christ. I admired his honesty but repentance was his obstacle as it often is. But remember this: your sinful life will end soon and then you face the judgement and the penalty – the lake of fire. If you understand the big picture of God’s Kingdom and all that He offers us – what He created us for, then accept the gift. Repent and believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved.

So, are you willing to repent? Yes or no.

If you said yes to all of the above questions, including the requirement to repent, then your moment of your salvation, eternal life, is right now. It is certain if you repent and place your trust in Christ alone. Not an hour from now, not tomorrow, not next week or some other time after you think about it. Are you shaking, sweating, struggling this very moment? That’s the battle going on inside you right now because you know this is true. You know what you must do right now, this very moment. Don’t let the battle hold you back from receiving the gift of eternal life, forgiveness, God’s Kingdom. All you have to do is call on His Name. The Word of God is now in your heart.

⁸ But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹ For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. ¹² For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. ¹³ For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved

Romans 10:8-13

If you are ready to repent and receive Jesus (John 1:12-13), this simply means asking him into your life and giving Him your complete trust. Trust him alone for salvation. Trust him that you are no longer under condemnation but under His grace. Trust Him that he will lead you and guide you in His ways. Trust that He has set you free from the bondage of sin and death. Trust that when you receive him and repent you are legally, in the court of heaven, declared righteous, all sins separated from you and not held against you. Trust that his forgiveness of your sin is complete.

You can receive Jesus and be saved by simply telling Him you trust in Him, that you repent of your sin, that you accept His death upon the cross as payment for your sin, that you believe he was raised bodily from the grave and is alive today, and that you will follow Him all the days of your life. (Romans 10:9-10).

Telling him these things is called prayer – talking to God. If this is the intent of your heart then tell him. Right now. Here is an example of how you can pray to the Lord for salvation. The prayer itself is not magic or some formula – its simply provided to help you. The important thing is this: God sees the intent of your heart.

“Lord Jesus, I am deeply sorry for my sin and I repent of my sinful life. I believe you died on the cross to pay the penalty for all of my sins and I believe in my heart that you are risen bodily from the dead and I declare that from this moment forward I am a follower of Jesus Christ as my Lord, for you are my way, my truth and now you are my life.”

God always hears the prayer of a repentant sinner. If you followed these steps and made this your statement to the Lord in prayer, then as of this moment, you are saved, you have eternal life as a present possession. Not because I say so but because God says so. Jesus said the following:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

John 5:24

Hath everlasting life – a present possession. Even though you will die someday, Jesus says “yet you shall live”. He died and is risen from the dead and we who believe will arise from the dead too. That is the great promise of eternal life.

Have you repented and believed? Did you ask him into your life through prayer? Yes? Then you are saved! Salvation means you now belong to the Lord. You have crossed over from death to life and nothing can take that away from you. Nothing. You will never experience hell or the lake of fire. Your name is now written in the Lamb’s Book of Life and your sin will not be held against you. The gift of eternal life is yours right at this very moment, by your faith in Christ.

As of right now, you have everlasting life and will one day enter into the Holy City in the presence of God and of the Lord Jesus. You will one day be with all those whom have been saved. You will one day see the glory of the nations who will walk by His light. You will one day have free access to the tree of life. What God has for you is fantastic. (Eph 1:13-14, Rev 21:7, Acts 26:18).

If you have not yet taken these steps of faith, then my hope is that by God’s grace, you will soon. Don’t miss out. Avoid the lake of fire and enter God’s Kingdom.

There. Now you know about the free gift of eternal life. And I will end this as I began with the same two questions:

1. Do you know for certain that you will go to heaven when you die?
2. If you died right now and stood before God, and He asked you “Why should I let you into heaven”, what would you say?

If you indeed received Jesus Christ as explained and if you truly repented from your sin, then you will go to heaven when you die. And if the God of Heaven asked you why He should let you into heaven your answer would simply be: “Lord, I received your free gift of eternal life by repenting of my sin and placing my complete trust for salvation in what Jesus did for me on the cross.” His response is actually recorded in the bible:

³⁴ Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Matthew 25:34

What the New Life in Christ Looks Like

I have already addressed the role of good works in the life of a true believer. They become important after receiving the gift of eternal life, not to earn eternal life (since we who believe already have it). A living, vibrant faith demonstrates our gratitude and love for God and others.

I quoted the verse above about what Jesus says to His people at the end of the age just prior to the full implementation of God’s Kingdom. Jesus goes on to give the reasons why he considers this group of people He calls the righteous as HIs own:

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: ³⁶ Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. ³⁷ Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? ³⁸ When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? ³⁹ Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Matthew 25:35-40

We demonstrate we are of the righteous by our good works. You see, in the passage above, the righteous are doing what comes natural as one of the righteous. They are not in streets burning police cars, they are not not bowing to the latest woke philosophy advanced by the wicked, they are not hating others because they think different or look different, they are just serving others in a very fundamental way by taking care of them – no matter who they are. This is a life of service that replaces a life of sinfulness. The service is rendered to others on behalf of the Lord and thus we serve Him as well with a sincere hope that all whom we serve will see what we do in the name of the Lord and they themselves will repent and also receive the free gift of eternal life.

The life of true believers manifests in several ways that show the world you now follow Christ:

1. You stop pursuing sin as a way of life. This repentance means you now hate sin and love righteousness as defined by the bible. You will find that God begins work in you immediately. The big stuff goes first. But it is a lifelong battle to maintain the right course towards righteousness. The Word of God is absolutely critical to victory over sin and living life in a way that honors God.
2. You accept the bible as the final authority for matters of faith and morality. A good place to start is the 10 commandments in Exodus 20. They have never changed. The culture does not get to redefine them. Incorporate reading and study of the bible into your daily life. You can start with “Reasons to Believe” on this site.
3. You become an active member of a good church. Unfortunately that is difficult these days because most of the church has become polluted by the culture. Jesus established the church for a reason: it has a mission to advance the gospel message to all people, calling all people to repent and believe. We all have sinned in various expressions of choices and lifestyle that are wicked. But we must never hate the sinner – only the sin. Part of the mission is also to teach people to obey all the Lord commands. The church is not a building but a people of all races, ethnicity, and generations. Its worldwide. You have a very large spiritual family! Find a multi racial, multi generational, multi ethnic church if you can. But the primary criteria for choosing a church is good, solid, accurate teaching of the bible. The church you choose should be a bible believing, bible preaching, bible teaching church that worships God and is serving the community in ways described by the bible. It should be following biblical morals not cultural morals. You need to find other followers of Jesus to help you grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ through His Word.
4. Building a pattern of prayer in your life is critical. The prayer above that you may have prayed to receive the gift of eternal life is a good place to start. Learning to pray is not that hard if you are part of a good, bible believing church. A good place to start right now is the the Lord’s instruction for proper prayer in Mat 6:5-15.

These are the basics for every believer. I did these things and here I am 30 years later, still growing, still battling sin, still following the Lord and His ways. I never regret my choice for Christ. I know I have a hope and a future in His forever Kingdom which is coming soon.

My prayer is that someday we will meet in the final Kingdom of God and you can tell me all about what the Lord has done for you and also what you did for Him.