Salvation

Most everyone wants to go to heaven. Most everyone thinks they are going to heaven. But the reality, based on the Bible, is that most people will NOT go to heaven and will be lost eternally. Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." The word of God clearly says that only a few will gain eternal life with God. Therefore, we should be asking "what shall I do to be saved?" With that question we should also seek a truthful answer and be prepared to do God's will in response to that question according to His truth.

When we honestly consider this question, we need to understand that it is not a matter of what God, Christ, or the Holy Spirit must do. It is not a question of what others have done, what I feel, what experience must I have, what I think, or what do other religions think. Dear friend, it is a question of "what must I do?" Jesus said these words in Matthew 7:21: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (See also Revelation 22:14; James 1:21-25). We can see from the Bible that there are certain things that must be done if we want to enjoy the salvation in Christ -- to be able to be among those "few" who really will go to heaven. Yes, the Bible clearly teaches there is something to do; and this must be done.

To Be Saved We Must.....

To be saved we must believe the gospel; we must believe in Christ (John 8:24). After believing, we must repent of all of our sins, which is a turning from the sinful things we have done in our past and be determined to live a life of godliness. “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins....” (Acts 2:38). We must then confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God as stated in Romans 10:9-10. Then we must be buried in baptism to have our sins forgiven (Acts 2:38) and to get INTO Christ (Galatians 3:26-27), where all spiritual blessings reside (see also Romans 6:1-5). Finally, we must live a life faithfully being obedient to God, making Him our first priority as we live our lives on earth. We must show others (and God) that we truly are devoted to Christ in order to receive the eternal reward (Revelation 2:10).

Simply having a knowledge of God’s Word does us absolutely no good unless we act upon that knowledge. Do we really want to go to heaven? Is it something we just talk about or are we really serious about wanting to go there? When one really is serious and has a desire to spend an eternity in comfort and joy with the Lord in heaven rather than suffer the consequences of hell's eternal fire, then one will make sure that they obey God's inspired teaching in the Bible and do what He says is required for salvation -- not what man says. The bottom line is this: When we are faced with taking our last breath on this earth -- all that matters is if we are in the right relationship with God. Today is the day we have to make sure we are ready -- we may not have a tomorrow. "For He says: "IN AN ACCEPTABLE TIME I HAVE HEARD YOU, AND IN THE DAY OF SALVATION I HAVE HELPED YOU." Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). God wants us to go to heaven. But whether we do or not is our choice. We must obey Christ now before it is everlastingly too late (Hebrews 5:9; 9:27).