How to Get to Heaven
Can Getting Saved Really Be That Easy?
First let me say that getting to heaven is far easier than you may think. With all the debating about the gospel it’s no wonder people are so confused about how a person can be forgiven of all their sins and enter heaven. I fully intend to keep this very simple, so before I offer up verses and answer common questions about God, Jesus, and salvation, let me give you the answer to everyone’s question of: “How can I get into heaven?”.
The Answer
Believe Jesus died for your sins, rose from the dead to give you new life, and nothing else can save you from your sins.
Not less sinning. Not trying to be perfect and sin less. Only faith in Jesus. Wow, can it really be that simple? And friend the answer is yes.
Salvation
A more detailed explanation, yet still simple to understand:
01
God is perfect and Holy, and there is only one God. Because He is perfect no sin whatsoever can be in His presence.
02
Anything that exists, God created it. Planets. Earth. Animals. Fish. Birds, Plants. And you guessed it, humans, beginning with Adam & Eve.
03
When Adam & Eve sinned against God life was lost. In other words, though we were still alive in the flesh we were dead spiritually and this spiritual deadness separated us from God. From that point forward everyone born inherited this spiritual deadness. The Bible refers to this as being dead in Adam. Think of it in terms of how humans resemble their parents. From our skin color to eye shapes, and body size, to inheriting high blood pressure or other diseases, we inherit features from mom and dad, and they from their parents, and so on. (For a better understanding of being dead spiritually and needing life, not rules, please see our study on life not rules)
04
You are a sinner. Romans 3:23 says all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. You are dead and in need of life (spiritual life). Unfortunately, you were born dead in Adam and there’s nothing you can “do” about it. And it doesn’t matter how big or little your sins are. You’re not perfect. Maybe you told a few small lies, maybe you committed adultery or stole something, and dare I say it, maybe you have murdered. The good news anyone and everyone can be forgiven and go to heaven, and it’s all by faith in Christ! But the first step is agreeing with God that you are a sinner that is spiritually dead.
05
God knows you can’t do anything on your own to fix your problem. In the old testament we see stories of animal sacrifices being offered for the “covering” of sin. According to scripture (Hebrews 9:22) without blood there can be no forgiveness of sin. If you’re reading this I assume you are new to this message and there’s no point in me giving you a complex explanation of why blood is needed, but to give you something to think about there is life in blood. We later learn that the blood of bulls and goats never really paid for sin. There was nothing overly special about animal blood.
06
The blood of Jesus is perfect. God sent His only son, Jesus, born or virgin, lived a human life (without any sin) and allowed Him to be sacrificed on the cross. The blood of Christ was perfect and able to take away all the sins of the world. Let me clear, by all, I mean ALL. God promised that whosoever believe in Jesus will have all of their sins taken away and would receive eternal life. Let me be very pointed again – religion puts all kinds of spins on how to be saved, but God is very clear that you are saved by faith in Jesus, apart from works and apart from law. Here are a few of those verses.
It really is that simple. Believe with all your heart that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness and Spiritual life, and believe God when He says He sent Jesus to die for our sins, and the moment we do God promises that He will forgive us of all our sins and He will give us His Spirit, which means He gives us back the life that we lost in the garden with Adam & Eve. You have free will and this is a choice that you need to make. God won’t force in on you.
Every day humans have free will to choose God, or chose evil. Will you choose God today? No fancy prayer is required. No walking down an aisle. And while we are called to be baptized to show our faith publicly, no water is necessary for salvation either. It all comes down to your heart. Do you believe God? If you can honestly answer yes then you can know that you will go to heaven and nothing can ever again separate you from the love of God. Not even your future struggles with sin. If you believe this in your heart then you are saved as we speak. If so, welcome to the family!
What If I Still Sin?
Let’s be clear, everyone, even the Pope sins daily. The Apostle James said in James 3:2 “we all stumble in many ways”. The Apostle Paul said in Romans 7:15“15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.
This Sounds too Easy.
Isn’t that a License to Sin?
Religion would tell you that total forgiveness is a license to sin, but the bible is very clear about what happens to sin upon putting your faith in Jesus. God said He will “remember your sins no more” (Hebrews 8:12) and “as far as the east of from the west He has removed your sins” (Psalms 103:12). So while they may call it a license to sin the real question is do they really believe their sins were forgiven, or not? Have they really put their faith in Jesus or are they still trusting themselves? Now understand this, God is not naive and He did something more than just forgive us of our sins. He said He gave us a new heart with new desires and He put His Spirit in us (Ezekiel 36:26), so that what we really want to do after we receive Gods Spirit has changed. The old you is gone, and the new person is here. Nonetheless, just like the Apostles, we all still struggle against sin, but be assured that God has forgiven them all, past, present, and future.You are now His child, and He will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). When you are faithless, He will remain faithful (2 Timothy 2:13).
This is what many people don’t understand. What unbelievers in Jesus needed was life, not rules. There was no amount of less sinning or good deeds that would get us into heaven. Once you put your faith in Jesus you were forgiven of all sins and received a new Spiritual life and no amount of sin can take it away. Jesus already paid it all and your sins are no longer keeping you from God. As the scriptures says “you are sealed to the day of redemption”.
Why Not Use Other Religions to get to God?
First, I am not going to give you some religious “beat-down” and force Jesus in your face. This is a decision that you make personally, by your own free will. I encourage everyone to examine all religions and look for truth. Good promises if you seek Him you will find Him. Knock and He will answer. Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
In my venture I realized every other religion requires you to “do” something, and even then there’s no promise of heaven. You just have to keep on trying and hope God likes you enough to let you in.
Man’s system is always about doing works and performing rituals as a means to get to heaven. Only God would come up with a system that says the only way to heaven is through faith, apart from works and apart for law. Man says we can do it ourselves, God says you need me, so I freely gave you my Son as a gift, and WE must choose to receive it and believe it, or to reject it.
This is also interesting, Jesus rose from the dead, and you won’t find that with any another gods. They died and now they are buried in a box.
I don’t know when you will take your last breath, but what if it were tonight? Would you go to heaven?
I hope you will seek God, and I believe that if you do then He is faithful and just and you will come to know Him. God Bless You.