Believe

One of my favorite things to do every day is go for a walk.  My favorite time for this is in years gone by when I could take our pet dog, Bailey. We went out early in the morning while it was still dark. She spent most of her time sniffing and watching for other animals so she could strain at her leash to see how close I woul let her get. Even now when I go on my walks minus my companion Bailey, I spend most of my time enjoying the quiet time I can have with my God! I pray for requests of those that are in the midst of a health crises or marriage crises; and for my children and the activities, new adventures, and new chapters of their lives, and for God’s plan for this chapter of my life.

I know that someday when God says it is time for me to be done here on this earth; He will take me to Heaven to be with Him. Maybe you are wondering how I know for a fact that I will be in Heaven. I know because I read about it in the Bible. Of course, as with any other part of our lives there are certain necessary steps that must be taken in order to know for sure that you are going to Heaven.

If you went to college you remember that there were requirements in order to enter. This is no different with God. However, the requirements are not that hard, nor are they that difficult to understand.

Let’s look at the Bible and see what it tells us about these requirements. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This verse tells us that we have all sinned. The first step is to admit that you are a sinner. I think most if not all people would admit to doing something wrong. This wrong is called sin.

Romans 6:23 tells us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Since we all are sinners there must be a wage that is paid for our sin. We could also call this wage a penalty for our sin. Whenever someone does something wrong they must pay the penalty for their wrongdoing. So a sinner must pay the penalty for his sin. This penalty or wage is death, but this is not just physical death it is also spiritual death. Spiritual death is being separated from God forever. Due to our sin,we must pay the price for our sin.

The last part of Romans 6:23 tells us that there is a way out of this spiritual death, this separation from God forever. The way is Jesus. God will give us the gift of eternal life, or not being separated from God for forever, but we must do a few things.

First, we must admit that we are sinners. Second we must understand that there is nothing in and of ourselves that can save us from the everlasting curse of sin. There is nothing that we can do to merit being in God’s presence, EXCEPT believe in our hearts that Jesus took the penalty for our sin.

Romans 5:8 tells us”But God demonstrated His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ Died for us.”  Christ died on the cross for our sins to take the penalty for our sins. Instead of me having to pay my own penalty and my own punishment, God provided a way for me to escape eternal separation from Him.

There are many more verses to discuss regarding this topic, but I would like to conclude this with Acts 16:31, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”