1 John 5:13 says "These things are written that you may know [for certain] that you have eternal life"

HERE ARE FIVE THINGS THE BIBLE RECORDS ABOUT GETTING TO HEAVEN   

1. GREAT NEWS   The Bible tells the greatest news you could ever hear. Heaven is a free gift (Romans 6:23b “The gift of God is eternal life” ). Because Heaven is a gift, it cannot be earned by things we do, nor is it deserved because of who we are (Ephesians 2:8-9 “for it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works so that no one can boast”).   

2. BAD NEWS  

The Bible tells us that no one deserves heaven because of they are sinners (Rom 3:23 “for everyone has sinned and falls short of God’s glory [perfect standard]”). Sin is all those bad things we do—even just one—that separates us from the God, Who is perfect (Matthew 5:48 Jesus said that you must be perfect even as God is perfect; James 2:10 “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it”). God, being perfect, cannot stand for sin therefore whoever does not meet God's standard is punished forever in a physical literal Hell (Revelation 20: 15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire).   

3. WHAT ABOUT GOD?

The Bible says that God is loving, so He doesn’t want to punish us (1 John 4:8 “God is love”), but God is also just and is required by His perfect nature to punish our sin (Exo 34:7 "I will by no means leave the guilty unpunished").   How is the sinner loved and the sin punished?     

4. JESUS IS THE ANSWER!

Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, the second person of the Trinity (John 1:1, 14 “In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.). Jesus came to earth, was born of Mary while she was still a virgin (Matt 1:25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus), lived a sinless life (1 Pet 2:22 “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.”), then laid down His life for yours by dying a violent death on a cross in order to pay the penalty for YOUR sins, then three days later physically rose from the dead—victorious over death (1 Cor 15:3-4 “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures”).  

5. RECEIVING THE GIFT  

As with any present, this gift must be received. God's gift of eternal life is received by faith. Faith is trusting in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone as your Lord and Savior (Acts 16:31 “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved”). Faith is not simply knowing the facts of Who Jesus is and what He did (e.g. you know who Abraham Lincoln is, but you are trusting him for anything.) James 2:19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. And it is not something temporary, such as trusting God for health and safety. Saving faith is placing all of your trust on Jesus Christ alone for your salvation. You are taking your trust from what you do and how you think you can go to heaven and placing it on what Jesus Christ did for you.  

UNLOCK THE DOOR OF YOUR HEART TODAY!

Even now, you can pray to God, tell Him that you know that you are a sinner and that because of your sin you cannot go to heaven. Tell God you are sorry for your sins and will turn from them; and that you believe that Jesus Christ died in your place for your sins and that you accept Him as your Savior. This prayer does not save you, it is merely expressing what you are doing in your heart: trusting Christ for your salvation (Romans 10:9-10 “if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are declared forgiven, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved”; John 1:12 "to all who received Christ, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God ").

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