I was born into a Christian home. I've been to church all my life, and I was raised to believe in God and to love Jesus. But at one point in my childhood, I remember hearing that not everyone goes to heaven when they die. Not even everyone who goes to church goes to heaven. The Bible said the same thing. I was pretty scared, because even though I was a pretty good kid, I knew I did things wrong sometimes. My father and I talked about it, and it was then that I had a life-changing experience. Since that time, I've been able to live with confidence that I am on good terms with God. I know that I have the assurance of eternal life, and I am sure that if I died today, I would go to heaven.
The Bible tells how you, too, can have that confidence. It's not just a matter of joining a church, saying a prayer, or participating in a ceremony. There are a lot of ways to explain the gospel, the "good news" about Jesus Christ. I believe these are the essential things to understand:
1. God deserves our worship and service.
There is one God, and He really does exist. He is the Creator and Ruler of everything–the whole universe and each one of us. He alone knows everything and is able to do anything He wants. But not only is God powerful, He is also good. This means, for one thing, that God is holy. He is righteous in all that He does, and He rewards good and punishes evil. God's goodness also means that He is loving, merciful, and gracious. God cares about us, and every good thing we have comes from Him. God has even revealed to us many things about Himself and how we can know Him. In former times He spoke through prophets, and we have His words preserved for us today as the Bible.
The Bible tells us that God created us for His glory. That means that He desires us to give Him all our worship and praise, and to live our lives for His purposes. As our Creator, this is His right, and surely He is worthy of our worship and service. It is astonishing that God would even bother with mortal beings like us. But He gave us the ability to serve Him by our choice, and to know Him personally.
2. We deserve God's judgment.
God also made us moral beings–the things we do are right or wrong, and we are accountable to God for our decisions. It is a sobering thought that God is just, because justice for us means a penalty must be paid for the wrong things we have done. God calls our moral failures sins, and every one of us has committed sins. We all want to go to heaven, but God cannot allow sin into heaven. The Bible reveals that the penalty for sin is eternal punishment. One reason that talking about God makes so many people uncomfortable is that we can't measure up to His perfect standard. We know that if we were to stand before Him on our own, we would have nothing to say in our defense.
3. God offers us forgiveness.
The good news is that God has provided a way to forgive sins and allow people into heaven anyway. Even though He was not obligated to, God sent His Son, Jesus, to live in the world. Jesus took upon Himself a human nature and lived among us. While He was on earth, Jesus lived a life without any sin at all, and He willingly died to pay the whole penalty for all the sins of anyone who would believe on Him. On the third day after that, God raised Jesus from the dead, and Jesus appeared to many people. This was proof that Jesus was truly God's Son, the Christ, and it was a promise that those who believe on Jesus do not need to fear death. Before Jesus returned to heaven, He gave His believers a mission to tell this good news to all people.
4. We must offer God our lives.
What does it mean to "believe on Jesus"? It is more than just believing that He exists, and feeling good about Him. The Bible uses two words to describe the act of belief: faith and repentance. Faith is embracing God's testimony about Christ and salvation. It is when I see my sin the way God sees it–as my rebellion against Him and His ways, deserving of punishment–and when I see the mercy God demonstrated when Jesus paid for my sin. By faith I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, raised from the dead. Faith is not just mental assent; I embrace these facts as excellent and precious, and that faith moves me toward repentance. Repentance is when I turn from living life my own, sinful way, and start living for God, pursuing obedience to His will. God invites all people everywhere to have faith and to repent, and He promises salvation to everyone who does. Even so, it is nothing we do that earns our salvation. All this is provided for us graciously by God.
The Benefits of Salvation
What we are saved from is God's judgment. From the moment we believe on Jesus, we can know that our sins are paid for, and God, as judge, considers us "not guilty." We are now friends of God, rather than enemies. As a believer, I have access to God through prayer, and I can trust Him to provide for me and protect me.
I also look at life differently than if I had not believed. Faith and repentance are themselves gifts from God. God's Holy Spirit changed my heart; before, I was in slavery to sin, but now I am set free and inclined to follow God. I am a new person, and this is what the Bible calls being "born again." The Holy Spirit continues to work in my life, so that I am better able to overcome temptations to sin, and can live a righteous life. The name Christian reminds me that the goal of God's work is to make me like Jesus Christ in my character, although that will not be perfectly accomplished until I am in heaven.
The Holy Spirit also lives in me, to comfort and encourage me, to guide me in finding and doing God's will, and to allow me to accept the things the Bible teaches. The Spirit produces a godly character in me–love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control. The Spirit gives me a greater love for God and man, a greater reverence for Jesus and the Bible, a commitment to truth, and a caution about sin and temptation. When I see the effects of the Holy Spirit in me, it serves as confirmation that I am truly saved. He has promised to keep me from ever permanently falling away from my commitment.
We don't have to go through the Christian life alone. Other believers are there to encourage us, and as we serve God we also serve one another and provide for one another's needs. A Christian can find compassion and acceptance in a good church. I have found that there is a special bond between believers–even those who don't know each other.
The greatest benefit of all is that I will spend eternity with God. The Bible teaches that when believers die, their spirits go to heaven to be with Jesus. Some day, in God's timing, Jesus will return from heaven and reunite us with our bodies, which will be raised and fitted for eternity. We will be with Him forever in His new creation. The Bible also promises rewards in eternity for the good things believers do on earth.
The Cost of Salvation
While we live in this world, it will sometimes be difficult to live as a believer. There are many personal and social pressures on us to sin, and many people resent us for being Christians at all. We face temptation, hatred, and even persecution. Sinful habits that we established before we believed may be difficult to break. But God gives us the strength to stand firm in our faith, and promises the greatest eternal rewards for those who hold up under trials.
We also struggle with the fact that God sometimes asks us to do things we would prefer not to. This is our failure, not His, since we know that His plan is always best. Our American culture has taught us to live our own lives, and it takes a strong trust to rely on what we cannot yet see. This is where prayer comes in handy, since we not only make our requests known to God, but we can ask Him for the wisdom to see things His way, and for the humility to submit to His will. When we speak of God as Lord, we mean that we serve Him as our master.
God does not promise freedom from life's everyday difficulties and occasional traumas. But He does provide the joy of knowing Him, and any Christian will tell you that the benefits of being a believer far outweigh the costs. I urge you to consider both in your decision, since it is a serious and lifelong surrender to Jesus as Lord.
What Do I Do Now?
We don't immediately go to heaven when we believe, because God has things for us to do here on earth. When we speak of "living the Christian life," or "doing the will of God," we are talking about a day-by-day commitment to worship and serve God.
Jesus first commands that we be baptized. Baptism symbolizes our identification with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection–and our beginning of a new life. It also represents how, when we believed, we were spiritually cleansed from sin and set apart for Him. Baptism in the New Testament was done by being immersed in water. Baptist churches today always baptize by immersion. Most others simply sprinkle water, but will baptize by immersion upon request.
Baptism enters a person into membership in a church. It is through churches that God does most of His work, and it is a place where believers worship and serve God collectively. You will want to find a church that regularly teaches from the Bible and that is committed to the good news you believed. Just as important is that the church be full of loving and encouraging people. There you can find instruction in God's will, help in becoming a more faithful follower of Jesus, and opportunities to serve God and strengthen one another.
Your own private relationship with God is strengthened through prayer and through the Bible. In prayer you can communicate with God. The Bible is God's word and is essential to being Christian in our beliefs and behavior. Christians often have a daily "devotional" or "quiet time" set aside for time in prayer and Bible reading.
Believers have a mission to tell others about salvation; people cannot go to heaven unless they know how. Look for opportunities to spread the word.
Relevant Portions of This Site
What Jesus Did summarizes the events surrounding Jesus' death and resurrection.
This page on the Bible gives basic information on what the Bible is and how it came to us.
Bible reading schedules to get you started. You might want to do half a reading a day if you're just starting out.
This article on the Trinity explains one of the most important Christian doctrines, that the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are all God, yet there is only one God.
For a concise statement of my beliefs about salvation and the Christian life, see my Declaration of Faith.
SALVATION ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE
This section provides Bible passages as references for the statements I've made here.
God Deserves Our Worship and Service
Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created. (Revelation 4:11)
For I am God, and there is no other; God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, "My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure." (Isaiah 46:9-10)
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. (Isaiah 40:28-29)
One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of Your majesty and on Your wonderful works, I will meditate. Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, and I will tell of Your greatness. They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness and will shout joyfully of Your righteousness.The LORD is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. The LORD is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works. All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD, and Your godly ones shall bless You. They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom and talk of Your power, to make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts and the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom. (Psalm 145:4-12)
The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.... The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him. (Nahum 1:3, 7)
Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth." (Psalm 58:11)
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. (James 1:17)
Your testimonies are wonderful, therefore my soul observes them. The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. (Psalm 119:129-130)
The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting. (Psalm 119:160)
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth. (Psalm 115:1)
Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by My name, and whom I created for My glory, whom I have formed, even whom I have made. (Isaiah 43:6-7)
We Deserve God's Judgment
So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. (Romans 14:12)
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (Romans. 1:18-20)
For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law. (Romans 2:12)
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
Nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it [heaven], but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. (Revelation 21:27)
God Offers Us Forgiveness
We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. (1 John 4:14)
For this reason the Father loves Me [Jesus], because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. (John 10:17-18)
In Him we have redemption through His [Jesus'] blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. (Ephesians 1:7-8)
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, for by His wounds you were healed. (1 Peter 2:24)
Now I make known to you, brothers, the gospel...by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He has been raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
Because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. (Acts 17:31)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. (1 Peter 1:3-4)
Then He [Jesus] opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. (Luke 24:46-48)
We Must Offer God Our Lives
Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:14-15)
I [Paul] did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who believes in the Son of God, has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. (1 John 5:10-12)
If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved, for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. (Romans 10:9-10)
My sheep hear My voice, and I [Jesus] know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. (John 10:27-28)
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
The Benefits of Salvation
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. (Ephesians 1:3-4)
For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:3-7)
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in the hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2)
Through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the holy, and are of God's households. (Ephesians 2:19)
And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. (Romans 8:1-2)
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:23-25)
Knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you.... For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. (2 Corinthians 4:14, 16)
The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:17)
And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain." (Revelation 21:3-4)
The Cost of Salvation
Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. (Matthew 16:24)
If you were of the world, the world would love its own, but because you are not of the world, but I [Jesus] chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. (John 15:19)
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me [Paul] His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God. (2 Timothy 1:8)
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carry about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. (2 Corinthians 4:8-10)
I [Paul] know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Ephesians 4:12)
