Where are you going when you die?
Years ago I heard these two questions that knowing the answers will change your life forever. The first question is this, “Have you come to the place in your spiritual life where you know for certain that if you were to die to day you would go to heaven, or is that something that you would say you’re still working on?” Wow, what a question! Am I absolutely certain without a shadow of a doubt that I will end up in heaven after I die?!? That’s deep. Maybe you’re thinking, “I didn’t think anyone could know that.” Well, the Bible says that it was written in order that we might know we have eternal life!
You think that first question is tough, wait until you read the second question. “Suppose you were to die today and stand before God and He were to say to you, ‘Why should I let you into My heaven?’ what would you say?” Like I said, if you though the first one was tough, hearing this question might totally blow you away. So what is your answer?
The truth is, God offers heaven to us as a free gift. (Romans 6:23) It is not earned or deserved. The Bible says, “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) Did you catch that? Heaven is a free gift. You can’t work for it. You can’t buy it because it isn’t for sale. But God wants to give you eternal life as a free gift.
But what’s stopping us from having this free gift? We are. You see the Bible says that we all are sinners. Sin is anything we do that we shouldn’t do or anything we fail to do that we should do. We’ve all blown it. Scripture tells us, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Every one of us is a sinner. Because of this we can’t save ourselves. No amount of good works in the future can undo or erase our past! Jesus said that if we wanted to get into heaven on our own we’d have to be completely perfect! Never sin once! Okay, I know I’ve blown it too.
We also need to understand who God is. You see, God loves us and doesn’t want to punish us. God is love. But the same Bible that says God is love also reminds us that God is just and must punish sin. If I stole money from the bank and was caught red-handed you would expect the judge to find me guilty. If he just let me go you would think that HE needs to go to jail! We expect a human judge to be just. How much more do we expect God, the perfect judge to be just.
This is the problem that every one of us has. On the one hand God loves us and doesn’t want to punish us but at the same time He must punish sin. How did God solve our problem? He solve it through the person of Jesus.
Jesus is the infinite God-man. He is fully God and fully man. John’s gospel reminds us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Later he writes, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us…” Jesus is God in the flesh!
Why would God visit planet earth? He did it for you and for me because of the problem we have with sin. Jesus lived an absolutely perfect life without sinning once, then He died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay the penalty for our sins and to purchase a place in heaven for us. Because of our sin we deserve to be punished. We deserve ultimately to die for our sins and be separated from God for all eternity. But Jesus took the full punishment that we deserve. He became our substitute. He now offers forgiveness to each one of us.
But there is something that we have to do. We have to stop trusting ourselves and trust Him completely. This means that we need to believe that Jesus’ death on the cross was the full payment for all of my sins. This is more than just head knowledge. It is a total commitment as you transfer your trust. It is like the hand of a beggar reaching out to receive the gift of a king. There is nothing that you can give him, all you can do is open your hands to receive.
Does this make sense to you? If you would like to receive the free gift of eternal life right now you can. Here is what you need to do. First, understand that you are transferring your trust from yourself completely to Jesus. You are relying completely upon Him for eternal life. Next, you need to receive the resurrected and living Christ as Savior. Ask Jesus to forgive you and come into your life. Also, you need to receive Christ as Lord. Lord is another word for Master or Leader. It means that He has control of your life. You are turning it over completely to Him. Finally you need to repent. That means making a U-turn. You were going your own way but now you are turning around and going God’s way.
If that is what you really want I want to encourage you to talk to God right now about this. That’s what prayer is, talking to God from the heart. Let me give you a suggested prayer:
Lord, I know that I am a sinner and that I don’t deserve to go to heaven. I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the full penalty for all my sins. Right now I turn away from my sins and I turn to Jesus. I am asking you to forgive me for all of my sins and to come into my life. The best I know how I turn my life completely over to You. I receive the gift of eternal life right now. Thank you for forgiving me and giving me eternal life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer sincerely the Bible says that you are forgiven and have just received eternal life. Read the words of Jesus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.” (John 6:47) Jesus always tells the truth. He says that if you sincerely believe you have eternal life. Welcome to the family of God.
I want to encourage you to start walking with God each day. Find a good Bible and begin reading the gospel of John. (I suggest buying the New International Version or the New American Standard Version which you can find at a Christian Bookstore or online). Find a church that clearly preaches the good news. If you live in the San Diego, CA area I encourage you to check out our church in El Cajon! Talk to God every day in prayer. Also, tell someone else of the new commitment you just made.
If you prayed to received Jesus today, I would ask that you contact me. Please click on the email button and send me an email. I would love to give you some further information about the commitment you just made.
(I am indebted to Evangelism Explosion for the two diagnostic questions as well as the format and content of this gospel presentation)