Your answer to this one simple question will show you right now if you are prepared for God to allow you into His heavenly kingdom when you die.
Whenever your time in this life is over and you stand before God Almighty, I am sure you will want to be allowed into Heaven. How would you answer God if He were to say: Everyone who has already died wanted into my kingdom – WHY SHOULD I LET YOU IN?
Take a moment and answer the question. The most common answer is something along the lines of:
* I tried to be a good person and have been helpful to others.
* I treated others the way I wanted to be treated – lived by the golden rule.
* I have always believed in you God.
* I went to church often and I was water baptized.
* I have received the sacraments and confessed my sins regularly.
* I have done small “misdemeanor” sins, like everyone has, but I haven’t lived a bad life.
* I don’t really know, but you are a loving God, so I hope you will let me in
With an answer similar to these, God cannot let you in. You see, you are trusting in the work and performance of a sinner – yourself. A sinner can never do enough good to be allowed in. God cannot allow one little sin into His kingdom or else His kingdom would not be perfect and pure. Although you may have done some good things in your life, those things do not remove your sins from you. God says salvation is: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done” (Titus 3:5), For by grace are ye saved through faith…Not of works, lest any man should boast (Eph. 2:8-9). If you show up bringing your sins along with you, you will be turned away into Hell and the Lake of Fire for all eternity.
To show up before God sinless (in your soul and spirit) you must be saved. Salvation is being saved from the eternal penalty of your sins, by having your sins removed. When Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross, God took our sins and placed them on Christ. Jesus Christ assumed our guilt on the cross and accepted the punishment we owe God for our sins. The scriptures testify of this great fact: For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust…But this man, offered one sacrifice for sins forever…Christ died for our sins and was raised again for our justification… In whom [Jesus Christ] we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins… This is how our sins are removed, and this is the gift of God. Jesus Christ paid our sin debt (for past, present, and future sins) so that we can arrive before God sinless.
Romans 6:23 says, For the wages of sin is death (eternal damnation apart from God); but the gift of God is eternal life (having your sins paid for by Jesus Christ).
How can I get this gift? It is quite simple. STOP trusting in the work of a sinner and START trusting in the work of a Savior. If you believe you are a sinner before God and you believe Christ died on the cross for your sins and was buried and rose again, you can simply call on God and tell Him you want to be saved – you want to receive the gift. Tell God you no longer want a hope so – maybe so – think so salvation, but you want to know you have it. Romans 10:13, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
You will then have the answer to: WHY SHOULD I LET YOU IN?
“Because Jesus Christ suffered and died to pay my way in, and He rose from the dead for my justification”. While I was still alive, I called on God to save me trusting in what Jesus Christ did to save me – not on my goodness.
“Jesus Christ paid for my sin, and I received this great gift when I called on you to save me.”
“I was trusting in the work of a sinner, but now I am trusting in the work of a Savior – Jesus Christ.”
