The question of, how does a person get to heaven, is the most important question a person can ask. Christians affirm that a person must be saved in order to go to heaven. Maybe you have been asking this question yourself, what does it mean to be saved?

 

There are two ways we explain what has happened to the person that is going to heaven, Saved and Born again.1 Tim 2:4, And these are really just the same way of explaining what happens to a person who turns from their sins and is delivered from the penalty of their sins.

 

When a person gets saved, they have repented of their sins and turned to Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, at this very moment the sinner is forgiven and born again. Being saved from your sins means you are no longer under the penalty of your sins, ask a Christian about their experience when they repented and they will tell you that the weight and burden of their sins was lifted from them and they were filled with the feeling of freedom and closeness to God for the first time.

 

When a person repents and acknowledges what Jesus Christ has done for them, by giving himself as a sacrifice on behalf of the sinner, God gives that person the gift of His indwelling Holy Spirit. At that moment a person who was dead in their sins and trespasses to God is made alive by the Spirit of God that comes to take up residence in the person.

 

Why do we have to repent of our sins? Because God requires absolute righteousness from us in order for us to dwell with him forever, and we can never achieve absolute righteousness because we are all sinners. The bible says: Rom 3:23, This passage shows how that we all have sinned. All is an all inclusive word that does not leave any person out. The favorite belief today in the world is that people are by nature good, and at the heart of every person is a good, well meaning spirit. The truth is just the opposite, people by their very nature are sinners, bent twords evil and wrong doing.

 

Just watch little children to see this evil nature in action, you don’t have to teach children to be selfish and dishonest, they come by it naturally because this is their nature. It is very hard work to train a child to be honest and giving because this is not the natural bent of the spirit of man. Men always seek their own, they never seek God. God had to seek man throughout all human history because if left to himself, man would grow ever increasingly evil because all the imaginations of his heart is evil. Gen 6:5, Jer 11:8, Jer 18:12,

 

Since we are all sinners and God requires absolute righteousness, and since we as sinners cannot even start to have our own righteousness, God had to make a way that he could forgive us and still not turn from his standard of absolute righteousness. So he sent his son Jesus to be the “Messiah” or “Christ”, the perfect sacrifice for our sins. God in the person of his son took our sins upon himself because we cannot pay for our sins and still go to heaven. The only way for us to pay for our own sins is to be separated from God eternally in Hell.

 

 

God not wanting any of us to perish, 2 Pet 3:9, has paid for your sins so you don’t have to. 1 Pet 2:24 Every week on Friday I get a paycheck from my employer, I work all week and earn a wage and at the end of the week I receive my wage. Likewise, we are all sinners, we live a life of sin and at the end of this life we all will receive a wage. Rom 6:23 But thankfully God does not leave us in our sins without hope of forgiveness, the second part of the passage in Rom 6:23 states that the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord!

 

That is great news for the sinner that wants to be forgiven. Some men and women don’t want to be forgiven of their sins, they view their hatred, lying, gambling, pornography, adultery, fornication “sex outside of marriage”, cheating, drunkenness, drug abuse, filthy language and blasphemies as normal and ok. Many men and woman living in sin really think that if a person does not participate in such sin that there is something wrong with them. 1 Pet 4:4

 

If you are living in your sins and tired of it, there is good news! You don’t have to enter into God’s presence as a sinner with no hope but certain condemnation. You can accept the free gift of salvation that Christ offers you.

 

God has given to every person the knowledge of Himself. Rom 1:19 Every person knows that someday they will stand before a holy God, but because of mans evil nature, he denies the very truth that his own heart speaks to him and convinces himself that God does not exist. Usually this takes the place of mocking those that do trust in God, in an attempt to sooth their own conscience. But every once in awhile even the biggest sinners lie in bed at night troubled over the knowledge that their soul is forever condemned without Christ. And despite mans best attempts to lesson the terror of entering Hell forever by making Hell a joke or by convincing themselves that Hell will be a party, deep down where they wont admit exist, there is a drawing of God.

 

For those who know they are a sinner and want to be free from the burden and penalty of their sins, forgiveness is as easy to receive as asking for it. If you are tired of your sins and want to have a relationship with the very God that made you and loves you, all you have to do is ask him simply, we call it praying but all it is, is talking to God.

 

To receive forgiveness of your sins simply pray this, “Father, I know that I am a sinner and that Jesus died for my sins. I confess my sins to you and ask you to forgive me of my sins. I acknowledge that Jesus your son died for my sins and that you raised him from the dead and that he is alive and hears my prayers. I receive Jesus as my Savior and Lord and with your help wish to turn from my life of sin. In Jesus name I pray amen.”

 

If you prayed this prayer, God has forgiven you and Jesus is your Lord and Savior!

 

Satan is a poor looser, he has had you for along time and he is not happy that he has lost you to Christ. Don’t be fooled by him, his desire is to steel you back from Jesus. keep this passage in mind, Rom 10:9-10 and 13. You can have assurance that God really did forgive your sins and now you stand as a new creation in Christ, “Born Again”.

 

Find a good Bible believing Church, not all church’s with the words church or Jesus out front on a sign really follow Jesus today, you want to grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus and so you need to join a church that still holds the Bible as Gods infallible word. And you need to be baptized as soon as possible to show the world that you have been cleansed from your sin and old life and are walking in a new life. Any questions or need for help can be submitted to help@abundantlifetoday.com