How Can I Get to Heaven When I Die?
Maybe you've asked yourself this question before but you were unsure of the answer. Maybe it's kept you up at night. Maybe the prospect of death brings absolute terror to your heart.
If you were to die today, are you sure that you would get to heaven? The Bible tells us that you CAN be sure...but that there is only one way (1 Jn. 5:13; Jn. 14:6). This message is the greatest news that you will ever hear! It is the story of God's great love for you!
First, you need to realize that you are a sinner (Rom. 3:10, 23). You willingly choose to sin each day. Here are a few examples of sin: a lie, an evil thought, getting impatient with your children, yelling at a ballgame. There is no question about it...everyone is a sinner.
You also need to know that God is perfectly just. God is a righteous God who must punish sin in order to exercise His justice (Ex. 34:7). This is bad news for us. Even if we sin only a couple of times a day (which is nearly impossible when you consider the fact that you can sin several times in your thoughts in only a few seconds), we will die with thousands upon thousands of sins that we have committed against this God.
This means that we could never save ourselves. Yet most people think that they can earn their way into heaven by being a good person. This simply is not the case (Rom. 3:20, 28; Gal. 2:16, 21; Tit. 3:5).
God's justice demands that you should be punished for your sins. The result of our sin is physical death (Rom. 6:23), but also spiritual death in a place of torment called hell (Rev. 21:8). Because of our sin, we deserve to spend eternity paying for our sins in hell.
This is when you might be asking, "I thought you said this was good news?" Well, there is! God is love and He loves you with an everlasting, unconditional love (1 Jn. 4:8). He doesn't want to punish you for your sins...yet He must. The only way to solve the dilemma was to pay for your sins Himself.
Jesus, God's Unique Son, came to Earth to suffer and die on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins. He loved you so much that He gave up His life for you (Jn. 3:16). Jesus' death is enough payment for you to get into heaven.
You need to realize that salvation is by faith alone (Eph. 2:8-9). In order for you to get to heaven, you need to recognize that you can't save yourself, repent of your sins (change your mind about them), and place your faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross.
The only way you can be saved is by placing your faith in the completed work Jesus Christ on the cross and by asking Him to save you from the penalty of your sins (Rom. 10:9-10, 13).
Would you place your faith in Christ today?
If you have decided to trust in Christ, please be sure to contact us and we will be happy to help you in your new life for God.