But this is not what the Bible (God's holy word) teaches. The bible teaches for example, that all men are sinners and are incapable of seeking God on their own:
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Many people in our society believe that if someone is basically a good person that when they die they will go to heaven.
By "good" they mean that a person leads a law abiding life and is hard working and occasionally does a good deed or
two (e.g., give to the poor, go to church, etc.). Sometimes there is the idea that if a person's good deeds out-weigh
the bad, then that person will be "admitted" into heaven after death.
But this is not what the Bible (God's holy word) teaches. The bible teaches for example, that all men are sinners and are incapable of seeking God on their own: "There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God." (Romans 3:10-11) "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)
And the Bible also teaches that because of this sin, man is under the penalty of death:
"For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23a) The Bible further teaches that when man dies he must face God on a day of judgment to answer for his sins. "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment," (Hebrews 9:27) At this judgment, God will review a person's whole life. And each person will answer to God for everything he or she ever did. As was noted earlier, there is no one who is without sin. Because of this, every person can expect to be found guilty of sin. Therefore, everyone is subject to the ultimate punishment for his sins: eternal punishment in a place called hell. The Bible calls this the second death. "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." (Psalm 9:17) "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:11-15) We hope that you will agree, that this is bad news. We hope the question foremost in your mind at this point is, 'How can I escape the righteous judgment of God upon me for my sins?' Well, we have good news! God in His goodness and grace has provided a way to escape the judgment for our sins. And that way is Jesus Christ! Above we quoted the first part of Romans 6:23 ("the wages of sin is death"). Well here is the 2nd part of that verse: "But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23b) God is a righteous judge, and must execute justice - the penalty for sin must be paid! But God is also rich in mercy and love - and has provided a way to escape the penalty of our sins. He has provided this in His beloved Son - Jesus Christ. When Jesus died on the cross, he paid the penalty for our sins. The Bible teaches that if we believe in Him, we can receive the forgiveness for our sins on the basis of what He did on the cross. It is very important for us to understand, that only through faith (believing, putting trust) in Jesus Christ can we find salvation. He is the only way! The remaining passages quoted in this devotion will show that there really is no other way to be saved!
"He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God
abides on him." (John 3:36)
"And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." (1 John 5:11-12) "To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins." (Acts 10:43) "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." (John 8:24) "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) "And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come." (1 Thes 1:10) "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:" (John 11:25) "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" (John 14:6) Further study: In the Bible, Read Acts chapter 3 to learn more about the Lord Jesus Christ and His salvation. |
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