“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” John 3:18
What do these verses from the bible mean?
God tells us in these verses that there is only one way to Heaven – and it is not through doing good things or being a good person. He makes it very clear that if we do not believe in his son Jesus we are condemned – we face God’s Judgement.
It is hard to believe that God will punish so called “good” people like you and me just the same as he will punish evil people. You’ve lived a good life, never hurt anyone, given your kids everything they need and you abide by the law. In fact you might even have spent most of your life helping others. But ask yourself this: do I believe in Jesus and if so how much of my life have I given to him? Where does God rate in my life? If Jesus returned tomorrow would he condemn me or accept me?
We do not get to Heaven based on the good works we may do. No. We know that we are sinners and that we fall a long way short of what God requires of us. But what gives us hope is that we put our faith in Jesus, then through his death on the cross God has forgiven our sins. Although we will continue to sin and fall short of God’s standards till we die, we believe that God accepts us because Jesus took the punishment we deserve on the cross.
Through trusting Christ alone God welcomes us into his family. He does not promise us any easy life or earthly riches but he does promise us his love and a place in Heaven with him forever.
So the answer to our question is “no”. Those who spend eternity with God in heaven are only those who trust in Jesus’ death to forgive them, and who have cast themselves on His mercy.
What can you do?
Simple, put your faith in Jesus, turn your life over to him and ask him to forgive you for trying to live without him. He will not turn you away or bring up the past. He will simply open his arms and welcome you into his Kingdom. Christians refer to being Born Again – it’s a fresh start with God in the controls of your life. God will change your life and fill you with his Holy Sprit.
If you feel ready to turn to Jesus there is no time like the present – none of us know when he might return and we all need to be ready. But as this is a huge step and you may need time and help please feel free to contact us. You will find our details on the talk to us page. Or go to the link below.
We don’t pressure anyone – this is a life changing decision that only you can make with God’s help. We are only here to help and make you aware that it is a decision that you do have to make one way or another. Please have a look at our notice board page and see what we do at our Church – we would love to see you any Sunday. Again we know this it is a big step but I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how easy going we are and how much fun it is to learn more about God through his word.
For further info, go to http://www.matthiasmedia.com.au/2wtl, or contact us.