Will you spend eternal life in Heaven or Hell? Has the Good Lord saved you? This is the most important question that you will have to answer in life. Hell is a real, horrific place.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. – Revelation 20:12-14
Jesus does not want you to go there. So what do you need to do to be saved? It’s very simple. Repent of your sins and believe, with all your heart, that Jesus died as payment for your sins and was resurrected on the third day. The following is a basic explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ:
If I were to ask you if you were a good person, your answer would more than likely be “Yes, of course.” The problem that arises from this is that maybe in the eyes of society (because you are not some axe murderer or pedophile), you are good but in front of the Holy God, you are not.
Have you ever in your lifetime lied? Cheated? Stole something no matter the value? Used God’s name in vain? Looked at someone with lust? Your answer would be yes just like everyone else. You have broken the Law of God; His Ten Commandments. This should concern you because there will be a day of judgement when you approach God’s throne after you die. In God’s eyes we are not good because our natural tendencies lean towards sin because of our love of the things of this temporary world.
Thankfully, God gave humankind a safety net in Jesus. But the decision to follow Jesus must be made sooner than later because none of us know when our time will be up. Let’s just look at the following scenario as an example:
If I were to offer you the choice of four gifts – a Van Gogh original painting, a Ferrari, a million dollars cash, or a parachute – which one would you choose? Before you decide, here is more information that will help you decide. You must jump 10,000 feet out of an airplane. Does this help with your decision? It should because you will need the parachute. A painting, car, or cash will not help you at that split second. The other gifts have some value but are useless when it comes to the law of gravity. The knowledge that you will have to jump should produce a healthy fear in you.
God Himself provided a “parachute” for us. His Word says that we need to “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ”. Just as the parachute solved the dilemma of jumping from a place, Jesus saved us from the consequences of our sins by becoming a human being, taking God’s wrath upon Himself, and dying on the cross to save us from our transgressions. God can justify you. He can cleanse you. He can give you the “righteousness” of Christ. He can make you pure in heart by washing away your sins. He can shelter you from His wrath as outlined in The Book of Revelation. Only Jesus can save you from death and hell which is something that you could ever earn or deserve.
To receive the gift of eternal life and salvation, you must confess and repent of your sins (turn from them), believe that Jesus died for you and was resurrected three days later, and forsake your own good works and prideful behavior and trust in Jesus alone. Call upon Jesus with a humble and sorrow filled heart and with sincerity. It is better to use your own words, but you can pray something like the following:
“God, today I turn away from all of my sins (name them) and I put my trust in Jesus Christ alone as my Lord and Savior. Please forgive me, change my heart, and grant me Your gift of everlasting life. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”
You can view a full list of sins here.