Able To Go To Heaven On Our Own Merit
And What
God Did About It.
The Problem
① We are disqualified
from going to heaven on our own merit because we all have missed the mark.
Romans 3:23 says, "For all have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God." The words come
short mean to “miss the mark." It doesn't matter how close or far away
from the bulls-eye you hit—a miss is a miss, and Scripture declares that we
have all missed.
A friend and I were "siting in" my
12-guage shot gun. I bragged that I only missed the bulls-eye by a half-inch
and he missed it by five inches. The fact was, we both missed. In the spiritual
realm, coming close doesn't count.
Our Sin Deserves Punishment
② God wants us to
know that our sin is extremely grave and deserves
eternal punishment.
I have a friend
who was an officer in the army. He was washing up in a restroom at his base
when five private first class soldiers began
to make fun of him because of his small stature. My friend picked up his
coat from a nearby chair and put it on. When they saw that they were insulting
an officer, they each stood at attention, saluted my friend, and apologized.
Many people
think that sin is no big thing. Some think it's a joke. If you believe the above, you don't know who
you have sinned against. Jesus Christ's office and divinity is worthy of your
highest respect. He is the Supreme Commander of
the entire Universe. Everyone will bow their knee in recognition of this fact
at the judgment.
Romans 14:11 says, "For it is written,
As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall
confess to God.”
The Punishment For Sin Is Awesome!
Matthew 25:41 describes the sinner’s fate as “into everlasting punishment." That's forever!
Revelation 14:11 declares, "And
the
smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever."
Even what people think are insignificant
slips of the tongue or idle gossip will receive the full force of judgment in
Gehenna.
Note what
Matthew 12:36 says. "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men
shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment."
No one will have
religions’ trump cards to veto their sin and save them on the Day of Judgment.
All our sin carries an eternal punishment.
Is There Any Hope?
The only hope is
for someone perfect to take care of our eternal debt of punishment that we owe
for our sin. Yet God’s holy character, at the
same time, must not be violated. He cannot
change His moral and spiritual nature.
He is holy.
But, within His holiness, there is good news. He does have a way out for the
whole human race.
Christ Paid Our Sin Debt In Full
③ God wants you to
know that Christ paid your sin debt.
The Bible says in 1 Peter 2:24, speaking of Christ, "who
Himself bore
our sins in His own body on the tree."
The birth, death, and resurrection of Christ are
the three greatest events in human history. Christ
took care of our sin and paid the eternal debt of punishment that we owe
by dying on the cross. We cannot pay it unless we go to Hell forever. The
resurrection is God the Father’s “AMEN”
that He accepted the work of Christ for our sins.
Let's suppose you get a $500 traffic ticket but
don't have a dime to pay the fine. A loving compassionate person finds out and
goes to court with you. The judge, after hearing testimony, says, "That
will be $500, please."
The loving person steps up, pulls out his wallet,
and says, "I'll pay your debt." At this point you have a choice. You
can accept the money offered or you will have to pay it. If you pay your sin
debt, it means punishment forever for every sin. If you receive Christ's
payment, you are forgiven and freed from your debt for all eternity.
How To Be Assured Of Heaven
④ Finally, God wants
you to know how to apply Christ's redemptive work to your life.
In Acts 20:21 it says, "Testifying both to
the Jews; and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our
Lord Jesus Christ."
Scripture says in John 1:12, "But as many as received him, to them gave he
power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."
In my early religious life, I was deceived. I
believed that my church and religion could save me from the debt of punishment
I owe for my sin. A simple reading of
Scripture showed me that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior—not any church or religion. He is your only hope of heaven.
Embodied in my prayer of salvation on July 4,
1969 was the desire to forsake sin and reject the belief that my church and
religion could get me to heaven. I then received Christ alone as my soul's
salvation.
If
you really want your sins to be forgiven by receiving
Christ, first read the following prayer to know what you are praying, then pray
it sincerely.
"Lord Jesus, I’m a sinner and I need a Savior. Forgive me for my
sin. As best as I know how, right now, I turn from my sin and I receive you as
my Lord and Savior. Thank you for dying on the cross in my place."
If you have prayed this prayer and trusted the Lord Jesus Christ to
forgive you for your sin and make you his child, I encourage you to go to my
website at www.visitnormsplace.net and click on the words Bible Studies
found toward the top of the Home Page. These Bible studies are offered to aid
you as you begin to grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
