How to Get to Heaven
God’s Plan of Salvation for You!
Exams, papers, projects, grades, diplomas… university life centers itself around personal accomplishment. Many people think that heaven and eternal life are rewards we earn just like scholarships and degrees. They think of eternity with God as a personal achievement, accomplished by passing grades in the tests of life. Not so! The Bible tells us eternal life is a gift to be received, not an award to be earned. As you prepare for the future, please give attention to the reality of eternity. Why? Because some day all your pursuits will end. Death will come. None of us knows when. Do you know what will happen to you when you die? God’s Word states God’s plan of salvation very clearly. It is reasonable and understandable. Consider it today; it’s God’s plan of salvation for you!
God’s Word tells us of the problem of sin.
Every person has failed the test of life. The word for this failure is sin. Sin is rebellion against God and involves any violation of God’s righteousness. The first man and woman who ever lived disobeyed God, and every person since has been born with a sin nature. There is no grading curve, God does not compare us to each other. Our lives are measured individually against God’s standard, and none of us makes the grade. The Bible says “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumbles in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10).
God’s Word tells us of the penalty of sin.
Is sin serious? Yes! Sin comes with a great penalty. God is holy. He must, and will, punish all sin. The Bible says ” the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Death is not just the ceasing of life, it is separation from God, physically, spiritually and eternally. Sin and spiritual death separate us from God, rendering impossible any human attempt to satisfy His righteous demands. Unlike college, where exams, courses and programs are earned through personal achievement, we cannot earn eternal life. All of us are justly condemned to face God’s wrath in hell forever. Religion cannot help. Good works cannot help. Denial cannot help. You will never be able to find an answer to your helplessness in yourself or through your efforts. “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6).
God’s Word tells us of a Savior for sinners.
God is love. God hates sin, but He loves sinful people. God loves you. He loves you so much that in His mercy He has provided a Savior to pay for your sin. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). God the Son became a man in the person of Jesus Christ. He lived a perfect life, fulfilling all God’s standards without any sin. He died on a cross to take your punishment and endure God’s wrath against your sin. He rose bodily from the dead in victory over death so that you can be reconciled to God and receive eternal life. His perfect life demonstrates His qualification to be your substitute, His resurrection proves He is the Son of God. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (I Corinthians 15:3, 4).
God’s Word tells us of the gift of eternal life.
Eternal life is a gift from God. “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). You cannot earn it nor merit it in anyway. It was paid for completely by Jesus Christ. Eternal life is a gift offered to unworthy sinners who will turn from their sin and futileattempts to gain salvation by their works and instead trust only in the person, merit and works of Jesus Christ. Will you? “But to him who does not work, but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5). “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8, 9).
God’s Word tells us to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
To obtain God’s gift of eternal life you must believe on the name of Jesus Christ. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). Believing is not merely agreeing with facts that He lived, died or even rose from the dead. To believe on the name of Jesus Christ means you confess there is no good thing you can do to earn any part of your salvation in the presence of God. It means you repent of your sins and any effort to save yourself. It means you acknowledge the wonderful truth that Jesus Christ sufficiently and completely paid for all of your sins on the cross and entrust the entire debt of your sin to his care. “For Christ also once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). It means you receive the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12).
Friend, how about you? Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but through me” (John 14:6). Is there any reason why you wouldn’t receive Jesus Christ as your Savior right now? This prayer may express the desire of your heart:
“Thank you God, for loving me. I confess that I am a sinner and cannot save myself. I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe He died on the cross to take the punishment for my sin, and rose from the dead to give me eternal life. I now repent of my sin. I receive the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior. Thank you for forgiving me and saving me. Thank you for the gift of eternal life. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.