Heaven and hell are the two places where people will be spending eternity. Heaven is described as God’s dwelling place; the very place Jesus has gone to prepare a place for His children (see John 14:2-3). Heaven is a place where there’s no crying, sin, or death; its streets are paved with gold, and it never gets dark there. Hell, on the other hand, is a place prepared for the devil and his demons; it is a place of torment, weeping, and gnashing of teeth. Everyone who has ever lived will spend eternity in one of these two places; there is no other option.
The best thing about it is that
you are not forced into either place: you get to choose. You decide which one
appeals to you, and then you do what it takes to get there by fulfilling the
requirements.
What are the requirements for
entrance into heaven? There are three things you have to do, and they are easy
to remember as, as one evangelist described it, the A B Cs of salvation:
A. Agree with God that you are a sinner. He has
declared that “Everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious
standard” (Romans 3:23). “Everyone” refers to all humanity, because we are all
the descendants of Adam and Eve, who sinned in the Garden of Eden through
disobedience. And because we are their descendants, we’ve inherited their
sinful nature and the resulting consequence—separation from God.
B. Believe in Jesus as your sin-bearer, who took on
the punishment you deserve as a sinner: “This is how God loved the world
{people}: He gave his one and only Son {Jesus} so that everyone who believes
in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world
not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgment
against anyone who believes in him {Jesus}” (John 3:16-18).
C. Confession of your faith is the next step after
placing your faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. At some point, sooner or
later, people should know about your faith in Jesus: “If you openly declare
that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead,
you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right
with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved” (Romans
10:9-10).
The next
question should be: How does one go to hell? If you disagree with God about
your sinful condition and therefore refuse to repent, you won’t go to heaven;
that automatically sends you to hell. On the other hand, you might agree that
you are a sinner, but choose some other way to get to heaven: maybe another
religion or good deeds. The response to that thinking is Jesus’ claim about
Himself: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the father
{God} except through me” (John 14:6). So, Jesus is the only way to heaven; the
Bible also compares your good deeds to filthy rags, so that won’t work. If you
really want to go to hell, which I sincerely hope and pray you don’t, reject
the love of God, ignore this message, and, in the end, you will find yourself
in hell.
Dear Reader,
I hope you’ve picked heaven over hell as your destination after this life. t If
so, welcome into the family of God; there are five things you’ll need to do now.
You are now a new baby in Christ Jesus.
1) How do babies grow and thrive? They are
fed milk, and the Bible says the same thing about new believers, including you:
“Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow
into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you
have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness” (1 Peter 2:2). Your milk is the Word
of God; read it every day, meditate on and study it. As you practice what you learn,
your life will begin to gradually change and you will grow in your walk with
God.
2) Secondly, you need to seek God in prayer.
He has declared, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Make prayer an
ongoing practice, expressing thanks, confessing what you might have done wrong,
and petitioning for yourself and others.
3) Find a Bible-believing church where you
can be fed the Word of God, and grow in your faith. “Let us think of ways to motivate one another
to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as
some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his
return is drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25). God has given each person at least
one spiritual gift with which to serve others in the church. Go and use your
gift to encourage others, and allow yourself to benefit from the gifts of the
other members of the family.
4) Start sharing your faith with family and
friends to help them come to salvation in Christ just as you have. Let your way
of life confirm what you share with them.
5) Heaven will be awesome. The more you read
about it, the more you’ll be looking forward to going there; anticipate Jesus’
return as He promised in John 14: 1-3. And while waiting for his return, live a
godly life, so when He appears, you’ll have nothing of which to be
ashamed.
Now
that you’ve definitely picked heaven over hell, be assured that God has put His
Holy Spirit in your heart to identify you as His own, and also, as a guarantee
that you will inherit heaven as He promised (see Ephesians 1:13-14).
And
if you are still on the fence, don’t wait too long, because time is running
out. Since you have no idea how much time you have before you pass on into
eternity, I encourage you to accept Christ today, ensuring that whenever that
time comes, you’ll have no regrets. Remember, you cannot make changes once your
window of opportunity closes. Please choose now, and choose wisely!
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