Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. -Acts 16:31
“Only bad people go to heaven.”
Ever heard that before? Usually we think its the other way around.
Dr. Lewis Chafer was born in 1871 in Rock Creek, Ohio, and was the founder of Dallas Seminary. As a gifted professor of the Bible Dr. Chafer used to say, “Anyone can come up with a religion whereby good people go to heaven, but only God can come up with a religion whereby bad people go.”
While everyone else says there are good and bad people the Bible teaches that no one is good. No one. Take a look:
“There is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10).
“There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.”(Ecclesiastes 7:20).
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
“Who can say ‘I have kept my heart pure. I am clean and without sin'” (Pvb. 20:9)
“If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves…” (1 John 1:8).
We’re all in the same predicament – no one can look at someone else and feel good about themselves. All of us have this sin problem. So how on earth do any of us bad people go to heaven?
Answer: Jesus. That’s why He came. As God’s sinless Son, He took all our sins on Himself when He died on the cross. While hanging there God was punishing Him for every sin we’ve ever committed. He was our Substitute.
Why would God do this? Because He is holy and righteous and therefore He must bring justice to every sin. But, God also loves us so He doesn’t want to destroy us and lose us forever. His solution was to offer His Son who would pay the full penalty for our sins. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this:that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”
You don’t have to try your whole life to be “good enough”. You can’t anyway. Instead, God says to believe in His Son Jesus Christ who died for you:“For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son so that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.”
As Professor Chafer said, “This one word ‘believe’ represents all a sinner can do and all a sinner must do to be saved.”
Today – even right now – you can get eternal life. If you would like to pray to receive Christ then look over the prayer below. If the words capture what’s in your heart then bow your head and pray right now to God in heaven.
“Father in Heaven, I understand that I have sinned against you and that I cannot make up for what I’ve done. You are holy and will judge every sin. Yet I have learned that you also love me and offer me forgiveness. I now believe that your Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross for all my sins and that you raised Him up from the dead. I put my faith in Him to be my Savior and to forgive me for all my sins. Please save me and come into my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
If you prayed this today, please contact us (here) so we can welcome you and encourage you in your new life with Jesus Christ.
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” – 1 John 5:1