Are you a
good or perfect person? Answering this question honestly will settle forever
whether your current belief will allow you into heaven after this life, and if
not, what you can do differently to reserve a place in heaven.
When it
comes to the topic of God and heaven, some people are doubly sure that God will
let them in since they are good, likable people. These people are undoubtedly very
good. Are you one of them? I have no doubt your family and friends will attest
to the fact that you are a great person, but God will not allow good or great
people into heaven; He allows only perfect people. Unfortunately, no one is, or
can claim to be, perfect!
How do you
define good? I think I can guess your
definition—good is being kind, friendly, giving, sharing, polite, and on and on.
But wait: are you good all the time, some of the time, or most of the time? Can
you say honestly that you do everything right, every single time? Can you think
of a single instance when you failed to meet even your own standards? If you’re
human, the answer to this question is a resounding yes. You are not alone
though, because there’s not a single person in the world who doesn’t fall short
every now and then.
The people
who think they are very good think that way because they are busy comparing
themselves to others. They listen to the news and hear of the evil that people
commit, and think they are so much better. They know co-workers and neighbors
who are probably not as nice, kind, courteous, and helpful as they are. Armed
with that knowledge, what do they conclude? They say to themselves, “I am not
as bad.” However, God does not make His decisions by comparing people. He
doesn’t go: good, better, and best. He is the standard!
God in His
holiness, love, and justice decided that for man to have fellowship with Him
now and in the life to come, he needs to be born again. What does it mean to be
born again? In the days of Jesus, a Jewish rabbi and a member of the ruling council
by the name of Nicodemus had the same concern after Jesus told him he needed to
be born again. He asked Jesus if he needed to go back into his mother’s womb to
be born again.
Here is part
of Jesus’ response. “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of
water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to
Spirit” (John 3:5-6 NIV). So you see, the new birth is not a physical birth at
all; it is a spiritual birth, and to obtain spiritual birth, you need to repent
of your sin, and put your faith in Jesus, the Son of God, who died to pay our
sins. Jesus further explained the new birth this way, “For God so loved the
world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV).
When you are
born again, the Holy Spirit comes to indwell you and renews your mind. A
transformation occurs in you, resulting in your desire to live for the One who
took your sins upon Himself on the cross. The Bible says, “If anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2
Corinthians 5:17 NIV). The new birth
makes you a new creation. Through this process, you become the child of God and
a member of His family. You are no longer your own; you belong to Him. You get
to live a decent, peaceful life here now, and a glorious life in heaven after
death.
If you’d
like to go to heaven someday, put your faith in Jesus and live for Him by
reading and obeying the Bible, which is His instruction for His children. Make
your decision now; tomorrow might be too late. This is a decision you have to
willingly make while you are alive; no amount of prayers after your death can
change your destination. If you don’t go to heaven, the alternate place is
hell, so please don’t treat this issue lightly!
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