Moosic Alliance Church

If you read yesterday you know that today I promised to give you the solution to the problem of “badness” that every person has as part of their character. Remember that according to God’s standard we are all “bad” and as a consequence our eternal destiny is the lake of fire.
If you have concluded that you would rather have heaven as your eternal destiny then read on! It will mean your willingness to submit yourself to God’s rule and rules; it means surrender of your will for His.
Is there anyone who doesn’t know about John 3:16? Here how it reads from the New International Version of the Bible, “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.” The word “world” does not refer to the planet but rather to the humans living on the planet. Notice that is also so says “whoever” which simply means we all qualify. “Eternal life” equates with eternity in heaven with God. The word “gave” refers to the historical fact that God took on flesh (remember Christmas?) – we call Him Jesus – and lived a sinless life. Jesus was crucified and served as a substitute sacrifice for everyone sins; that is, He paid the price for your sins so you don’t have to pay it. What is boils down to is rather simple (though not simplistic). If you believe in Jesus Christ (what He did for you) God promises you heaven as your eternal dwelling place.
So let us get down to what it means to believe. The apostle Paul, the major writer of the New Testament, deals with this in Romans 10:9-13 if you want to see it in context. A person needs to confess “Jesus is Lord”. That means willingly, honestly, submitting yourself to His rule over your life such that your goal is to do His will not your will in all things, as you live your life. A person also needs to accept as true that God the Father raise Jesus the Son from the dead; you believe that in your heart. I know, your high school biology class proved that can not happen. But consider this. If God really is who He claims to be – a supernatural being – then it is not impossible with God to raise a dead man to life again; it is supernatural! High school biology is only intended to study the natural things of life not the supernatural. There were many eyewitnesses to the fact that Jesus died and rose again from the dead and there are a number of their written testimonies in the Bible for you to read. The celebration of Easter each year is the recognition of the event of Christ’s resurrection almost 2000 years ago. Paul then writes, “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” The promise from God is straight forward, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
If you are willing to tell God and others that you submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ, believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and then ask God to save you based upon what Jesus has done (and not on anything you have done) you will be saved. And this just starts the journey! The choice is up to you.
Want to talk about any of this? Drop me a line and let the dialogue begin. Oh, and if you do talk to God and ask Him to save you please let me know.

Tags: Gospel, Heaven
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