What About You?

Have you ever been asked, "Where will you spend eternity?" I have! The answer to this question is so very important, I thought I'd blog on it. Many people say they'll spend eternity in heaven. Most hope they do. Some just don't know. This begs the question, "How in the world do you actually get to Heaven, anyway?"

I guess the better question is, "What is God's standard or requirement for getting into Heaven?" The Bible tells us that God's standard for going to Heaven is perfect obedience to God's law (which is the Ten Commandments). So, let me ask you, "Have you ever told a lie...even just a tiny white one?" One of the Ten Commandments is "Thou shalt not bear false witness (tell a lie)." Have you ever stolen something...no matter its value? This can include answers to homework, answers to a test, or even time from your employer. I know I have. Thou shalt not steal is the eighth commandment. Have you ever felt hatred toward another person? Jesus said that hatred is the same as murder, when you look at the heart's motives. If you're looking at one's heart, as God does, Jesus says that lust is the same as adultery. My outward actions might actually seem pretty good...so might yours. But, God looks at the heart. My heart is filthy. It is filled with sin. The Bible tells us that if we fail in just one point of the Law (the Ten Commandments)--even if it was a long time ago, then it's the same as being guilty of failing in all the Law. It only takes one sin to keep me from going to Heaven. Just one. I know I'm as guilty as the most vile person you can think of...because God looks at my heart, my motives and desires. This presents a pretty big problem! Based on God's standard, the Law, I should go to Hell. How can I go to heaven if I can never be perfect?! I'll answer that in a moment, but first let me give you an analogy that I find really helpful.

Let's say that you are going on a plane trip. As you board the plane the flight attendant hands you a parachute saying, "This parachute is to make your flight better! I hope you enjoy it!" So you take the parachute and sit down. As the flight takes off you decide to put on your parachute. It doesn't take you long to realize that the parachute is pretty uncomfortable; you can't lean back in your seat properly, and your back begins to hurt. But you decide to keep wearing it anyway. Before too long you notice that other passengers are beginning to stare at you and laugh. This isn't as good as you thought it would be! When the flight attendant brings you your drink, she spills it all over you. That's it! You've had it! This stupid parachute is doing NOTHING to make your flight better...in fact, it's making you quite uncomfortable; it's plain awful! So you take the thing off, throw it to the ground and say,"That's the last time I'll ever put that thing on my back! It's not done one thing to improve my flight!"

Now consider a different version of the story. As you board a plane for a trip, a flight attendant hands you a parachute saying, "Your ride might get bumpy and it could be unsafe for you. This parachute will save your life. Please wear it." You take the parachute, go to your seat and put it on. You notice right away that the parachute is quite uncomfortable to wear. The discomfort is of little concern, though, because you know the parachute is there to save your life. As you notice other passengers pointing at you, staring and laughing, you think little of it, and pull your parachute tighter to you, because this is the thing that will save you. When the flight attendant spills your drink all over you, you don't blame your parachute. That would be ridiculous! It's there to save you, not give you a pleasant ride. And when the ride gets bumpy and turbulence is bad, you are grateful for the parachute that will save you if the plane starts to go down.

Christianity is like the second story, but many believe the first one to be true. Some people will tell you that, "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life." While this is true, it is also misleading. What's a person who believes this supposed to think when bad things happen in his or her life? Bad things DO happen. Does that mean God doesn't actually love us or have a wonderful plan for each of our lives? Of course not! Unfortunately though, many have been misled into believing that if you become a Christian life is going to be all good. After all, God has a wonderful plan for your life, and He loves you. Yes! This is true, BUT when you consider all the Bible has to say about being a follower of Christ, it's plain to see, all is not wonderful and easy. Consider Job, who lost all he owned, and all of his family died. His friends accused him of some sin and, therefore, deserving of all the bad things that happened in his life. In reality, God allowed Satan to test Job to demonstrate Job's faithfulness to God...no matter what circumstances Job faced. Think of Daniel, who was thrown into a den of hungry lions or Daniel's friends who were tossed into a burning furnace because they wouldn't bow down to a false god. Happily, God preserved these men's lives. On the other hand, consider Jesus' own disciples. All but one of them were martyred (and he was exiled!). Some were crucified. Some were beheaded. Some were beaten and/or stoned. Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament, was tortured many times. He was put in a vat of hot oil, beaten with a whip that had sharp objects attached to it (several times), stoned, shipwrecked and bitten by a deadly snake. I could go on... The point is, that just because God loves you and has a plan for your life, doesn't mean it's going to be easy or always seem good. The good is the end result, not the means of the journey. Sometimes the way does seem easy, good and pleasant. But we shouldn't take it for granted that that's how it's supposed to be.

So, in answer to the question I posed earlier, "How can I go to Heaven if I can never be perfect?": Jesus. He came to this earth and lived a perfect life. He died a horrible and painful death He didn't deserve. And He arose from the dead three days later, proving that even death couldn't conquer Him. Why? God requires perfection. We needed a substitute, because it's impossible to meet God's requirement on our own. Jesus died to take my punishment and to take your punishment for us--in our place. We each deserved to die on that cross, but Jesus made Himself a substitute for us...He took our place. When God looks at a Christian, He doesn't see the person, He sees Jesus and His perfection, because of that substitution. Think of it like this. Let's pretend that you committed a crime and are standing before a judge in a court of law. You are guilty. The punishment for your crime is death...and the punishment MUST be satisfied. Many people hearing the sentence were thinking, "That's unfair! Death?!!" But that doesn't change the judgement at all. The judgement is firm. Suddenly, a man stands up, walks to the bench and asks the judge if he can take your punishment for you. Because he had committed no crime, and was totally innocent before the court, the judge allowed him to take your place (the judge couldn't allow a guilty person to take your place because they would have their own punishment to satisfy). The punishment was satisfied, and so was the judge. You see, God provided a way for us to be able to spend all of eternity with Him through Jesus, the one who has saved us from eternal punishment! Isn't He good?! God draws people to Himself. Is He drawing you?

I'm firmly convinced that there are large numbers of people who believe that they are a Christian because they prayed a prayer earlier in their life. They invited Jesus to come live in their hearts and "save them." (Save them from what?! The Bible tells us eternal judgement in a place called Hell, where there is much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Flames burn you up without actually consuming you. Worst of all, God is totally absent. No good thing is there.) These people have put their faith in a prayer they prayed. There was never any repentance in their lives. They never surrendered themselves fully to God and His will. But, they did pray "the prayer" and, after all, the person who told them to do so in the first place said that from that moment on they were "saved." How tragic! There is no such prayer in the Bible.

Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." So, absolutely nothing we can do will ever earn our way into Heaven. No good deed, sacrificial living or even special prayer, will ever help us get to Heaven. It is a free gift from God that we must simply receive.

We're often told, "Believe in Jesus and be saved." But we need to remember that the Bible tells us that even the demons believe in Jesus...and tremble! Belief is only part of God's rescue plan. Of course! You have to believe! But it's an active belief. Sure, I can believe that a chair will hold me up, but my belief doesn't actually work until I finally sit in the chair. That's faith. God enables those He draws to believe with an active faith, it's not something one can manufacture.

Also, Jesus told us to repent and be saved. Repent. What exactly does that mean? To repent means to turn around and go the opposite direction. So, in relation to God, to repent means to turn away from my sins (anything that is displeasing to God) and to turn toward God. Genuine sorrow for dishonoring God is part of true repentance. The Bible tells us that God grants repentance. Again, nothing any of us do will save us...it's only by God's grace.

It's also important to note that 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (A sin is anything that displeases God. It might be something you do, or it could be something you don't do. The Bible tells us clearly how God wants us to behave.) God is a forgiving God! Psalms tells us that He is compassionate, slow to anger, and His mercies are new every morning. This doesn't give us a license to sin, but it is a comfort to know He forgives when we do mess up. Regular confession of sins helps keeps our conscience clear before God. It reminds us to be grateful for all He has done for us. It also helps us become more aware of changes that need to be made in us, in order to become the person He created each of us to be.

Finally, we need to surrender. Think of men fighting in a war. When the white flag is waved in surrender, those surrendering are giving themselves over completely to the "other side." When we surrender our lives to God, we give ourselves to Him completely to do whatever it is He wants to with us. The Bible gives clear guidelines on what is pleasing and displeasing to God. It doesn't matter if we like those guidelines or agree with them or not. God's Word (the Bible) is our standard for right and wrong. That standard doesn't change. A Christian's duty is to obey God's Word. While it's impossible to keep that standard fully at all times (because we are human and by nature sinful), God will change us and mold us, as we get to know Him better (through Bible study and memorization, prayer, and fellowship with other Christians), into the person He wants us to be.


So, the short answer to "How do you get to Heaven?": By God's grace alone! He helps us believe with an active faith in Jesus as God's son to be our Savior (our parachute). He helps us to repent(turn away from your sin and toward God). Confess your sins to God(be specific...as you read the Bible you learn more and more what pleases and displeases God). By His grace, surrender your life to Him completely. Only God's grace makes all of this possible. I am so grateful to Him for making a way to be rescued!

Well, what about you? Where will you spend eternity?