You may be a good person and put forth great effort in
trying to live according to strict standards of morality and uprightness – meaning
that you strive to be good in every way possible. You may attend a church, you
may give to the poor, you may live a humble lifestyle, you may see to the needs
of others before your own, and many other good and noble deeds – and God does
take notice of your good deeds. But your good deeds aren’t good enough to rid
you of your sin. Your good deeds will not erase your sin. As good as you may
be, as moral as you may be, as upright as you may be, if your sin has not been cleansed
by the blood of Jesus Christ, it remains and you are an unforgiven sinner. And the
only way you can be cleansed of your sin is through repentance unto God and
faith in Jesus Christ. Have your sins been forgiven? Are you sure? Below is a
little four-question test to see whether you are good enough to enter Heaven.
1.
Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever told someone a little “white lie” in
order to not hurt their feelings? [A lie is a lie, no matter how insignificant
it may seem to you. In the Ten Commandments, the ninth commandment
states: “Thou shalt not bear false
witness against thy neighbour.” (Exodus
20:16) – meaning “Do not lie.”]
2.
Have you ever stolen anything? [Taking something that is not yours is stealing,
regardless of how inexpensive or insignificant it is. In the Ten Commandments,
the eighth commandment states: “Thou
shalt not steal.” (Exodus
20:15)]
3.
Have you ever harbored hatred towards another person or ever held unforgiveness
in your heart towards someone who has done you harm? [Jesus said that harboring
hatred in your heart towards another is the same as murder, which is the sixth
commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.” (Exodus 20:13; Matthew 5:21-26)]
4.
Have you ever desired something that someone else has? Have you ever wanted or
desired another person’s job, ca, house, money, popularity, looks, etc.?
[Desiring and wanting something that belongs to someone else is called
covetousness. The tenth commandment states “Thou
shalt not covet.”(Exodus
20:17)]
How did you do? If you were to be completely honest, you would
have to say that you broke at least one of those four commandments at some time
in your life. So that being said, if God were to judge you based on your
ability to keep all four of those commandments,
would He declare you innocent or guilty? Well, according to the Word of God, if
you have answered “Yes” to any one of the four questions you are guilty of sin
and are thereby a sinner in the eyes of God. And until the record of your sin
is blotted out, you will remain a sinner. If you die in your sin, you will be
condemned to the “second death,” and when you stand in the Great White Throne
Judgment you’ll be sentenced to the place where condemned sinners go – the Lake
of Fire (Revelation
20:11-15).
There is no such thing as a statute of limitations on sin. Time will not cover sin. It does not matter if the only lie you ever told was sixty years ago. Until your sin has been atoned for by the blood of Jesus Christ, it remains.
What Must You Do to Receive His Salvation?
“Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”(Acts 16:31)
While
it is certainly true that to be saved all you must do is believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, it must be understood that simply giving mental assent to His
miraculous birth, His sinless existence, His death on the Cross and His
glorious Resurrection is not going to save you. The Bible says in James 2:19 “Thou believest that there is one God; thou
doest well: the devils alsobelieve, and tremble.”
You receive Christ into your heart by surrendering your life unto Him and calling upon Him to be your Savior. This is done by an act of commitment, by an act of your will, based upon what you believe. You must, by faith, receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
“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.”
(John 1:12)
If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died on the Cross to pay the price for your sin, was raised from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of God in Heaven, you can be saved. You can do so by simply putting faith in what you believe to be true. When you put faith in the sacrifice that was made for you, believing that by doing so you will be saved, God will perform an instant supernatural work in your life. He will blot out all of your sin and write your name in His book of life, and His Holy Spirit will come into your heart and will begin to live in you (John 5:24; John 10: 9, 10; Acts 3:19; Romans 8:10, 11; I John 5:11, 12; Titus 3:4-7). You will know that your sins have been forgiven, and that you are now one of His own, because He will make it known to you. Romans 8:16 states “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” This experience is what is referred to as being “born again’ or being “born of the Spirit” (John 3:3-8).
Maybe you’re reading this and thinking that you are too sinful to be saved. Perhaps you are a backslidden Christian and feel that because of your sin that there is no longer any hope for you. Let me assure you, if you are still breathing there is hope! It does not matter how sinful you think you are or how blasphemous to God and Christ you’ve been, the blood of Jesus can cleanse you. Jesus said in Matthew 12:31 “All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men...”. Jesus loves you and died for you. He’ll forgive your sin if you will just come to Him in faith. He said in John 6:37 “...him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”
Now is the
Time!
The time is now; today is the day of salvation. Jesus said
in Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at
the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in
to him.” The Lord is at your heart’s door, open it unto Him and receive
Him.
Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Do you believe
that Jesus shed His precious blood and died on the Cross to atone for your
sins? Do you believe that God has raised Jesus from the dead? And furthermore,
do you believe that God loves you and wants to save you? If so, you can be
saved.
The Word of God says, “That
if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the
heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not
be ashamed.” And “For whosoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:9-11, 13)
To receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, simply
repent of your sin and call upon the Lord to save you. “How do I do that?” you
may ask. You do that by first expressing your desire to turn from your sin
(this is repentance) and then, with a sincere heart and in faith, call upon
Jesus to be your Savior and make Him the Lord of your life. The following
prayer will help guide you.
Dear God
in Heaven,
I have sinned against You - I am a sinner. I know and understand that I need to be saved and that Jesus Christ died on the Cross to pay the penalty for my sin and has risen from the dead.
I’m asking You to forgive me and cleanse me from all my sins with the blood of Jesus and save my soul. I surrender my life to You today and accept Jesus Christ into my heart as my Lord and Savior.
I believe that right now I am saved because Your Word, which is true, says that whosoever calls upon You to be saved will be saved.
Thank you Lord for saving me and giving me eternal life.
In Jesus Name, Amen
Are you Good Enough for Heaven
by Dustin Miller
by Dustin Miller
