Whether or not humanity is indeed approaching the End-Times as I believe, each one of us can decide today where we will spend eternity.
Many of the world's religions teach and many people believe that a person can reach God by their good deeds. However, the Bible disagrees with this concept as the following scriptures show:
The Bible says that sin keeps us apart from God:
God , who is a perfect being, cannot have imperfection in His presence. His perfect holiness would consume it:
Therefore human beings, who are sinful by nature, could never enter the presence of God on their own merit. Jesus said that those that do not believe in Him will die in their sins. This means that those unbelieving persons will never be able to enter into the presence of God in the eternal life that is to come:
So what is the biblical definition of sin that we can never overcome with our good deeds and that will keep us separated from God for eternity?
The Greek word used in the original language of the New Testament is "αμαρτια" (hamartia is the English transliteration of this word). This word was used to describe a departure from divine standards of uprightness. Of course the New Testament writers would have restricted this meaning not to the standards of the "divine" Greek and Roman gods but to the standard of the God of Israel, the God of Creation.
God's perfect standard is stated clearly in the Bible. In the Old Testament He gave the nation of Israel 613 commands or laws that they were to observe and obey. The most famous of these laws are the Ten Commandments which prohibited such things as idolatry, murder, stealing, adultery, coveting, the giving of false testimony, and the taking of God's name in vain. There are laws against transvestitism, bestiality, sorcery, and astrology. The list of sinful behaviors prohibited in the Old Testament is too long for me to enumerate in this section.
In the New Testament Jesus elaborated on some of these commandments. He said that if you hate someone you have committed murder in your heart. He also said that if you lusted after someone you have committed adultery in your heart. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, "Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." In Revelation 21:8 we read, "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake of fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
As you can see, the Bible is quite extensive when it comes to the subject of sin. After reading it a person could feel severely condemned. Remember the apostle Paul wrote, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." So that means all of us humans are guilty of falling short of God's divine standard of perfection. But condemnation is not God's goal for His creation. In John 3:17 we read, "For God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him."
The biblical truth about sin and separation from God is the bad news. The good news is what the Bible says about forgiveness for your sins and restoration of fellowshipship with your Heavenly Father.
As you read, our sins separate us from fellowship with God. Jesus indicated that if we die without having our sins taken away from us we will be separated from God for eternity. Thankfully God has made a way for humans to be cleansed and free of their sins.
There are multitudes of scriptures in the Bible that relate God's plan of salvation. The unadulterated, unequivocal, unquestionable truth is that this plan revolves around Jesus Christ and no other being that has ever existed. In John 14:6 Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me". The rest of the New Testament substantiates that truth.
The Word of God says in John 3:36, "He that believes on the Son has everlasting life. He that does not believe on the Son shall not see [eternal] life but the wrath of God abides upon him." The last part of this verse is not God's will for humans as is stated in 1 Timothy 2:3-4, "...God our Savior who would have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." It is those who do not believe in Jesus Christ who are in for a very unpleasant eternity unless they repent and are saved from their sins.
There is only one place in the entire Bible where the question is asked: "What must I do to be saved?" It is found in the book of Acts, chapter 16, verse 30. A man there had just witnessed the power of God and was trembling with great fear. He asked this question of the apostle Paul whose response was, "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved."
The apostle Peter in Acts 4:10 said that a miracle God had just performed through him was only possible because he had invoked the name of Jesus Christ. He then states in verse 12, "Neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name [Jesus Christ] under heaven given among men whereby we can be saved."
The apostle Paul states in Romans 10:9; 13, "If you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Jesus said clearly and unequivocally in John 11:25-26, "I am the resurrection and the life, he that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. Whosoever lives and believes in Me shall never die."
Many people and many religions believe that if you do good works you can earn your way into heaven. The people who came to hear Jesus teach asked Him, "What shall we do that we might work the works of God?" Jesus responded, "This is the work of God, that you believe on Him [Jesus] whom He has sent" (John 6:28-29). According to Jesus there is no work that can get us into heaven. Only by believing in Jesus Christ and accepting His sacrifice for our sins will we be able to come to God.
The apostle Peter understood that none of the other religions of the world had the answers to life. In John 6:67-68 Jesus asked His disciples if they wanted to quit following Him. Peter answered, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."
Obviously by now you realize that the Bible teaches that for a person to be saved they must believe in Jesus Christ. This means believing that there is nothing you can do to save yourself. This means believing that Jesus shed His blood on the cross to cleanse your sins and remove them from you. This means believing that God raised Jesus from the dead to show us that we too can have eternal life. This means believing God's promise that if you receive Jesus as your Savior you will be with Him for eternity.
You may ignore everything I've said up until now but please don't ignore the scriptures I have quoted for they are the answers to life. Jesus said in John 6:63, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life."
So how does one become saved? It starts with the acknowledgement that you are a sinner and that you can do nothing to change this fact. Then you need to repent or in other words, you have a desire to want to turn away from your sinful behavior. Then it is a matter of you asking God to forgive and cleanse you of your sins through His Son's, Jesus Christ, sacrificial death. God, who is always faithful, will do what He promised and forgive your sins. He will then allow His Holy Spirit to live in you to help you for the rest of your earthly life. You will never become perfect, but if you allow God to, He will help you through the hard and the good times. Best of all, you now have eternal life and will live with God forever!
If you wish to become a follower of Jesus Christ and live forever with Him you can pray the following prayer:
Heavenly Father God, I know that I am a sinner and have led a sinful life. I want to stop struggling with my sin. I ask you to cleanse me and forgive me of all my sins through the shed blood of your Son, Jesus Christ. I believe you raised Jesus from the dead. I accept Jesus the Messiah as my Lord and Savior now and for eternity. It is in Jesus' name that I pray and ask these things. Amen.
You now have God's promise that you are saved! You should start reading the Bible beginning with the Gospel of John. Definitely find a Bible-Believing church to attend and ask to be baptized as soon as possible. Your sins are already washed away but baptism is a public declaration that you identify with Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection and have accepted Him as your Savior.
You may want to start each day with a simple prayer: Heavenly Father, please slay my old sinful nature, please cleanse me from my daily sins, please fill me with the power of your Holy Spirit, please lead me where You would have me go, and please use me for your kingdom's sake.
Whether the End-Times comes during your lifetime or the Lord takes you before then, you can have confidence that you are saved for eternity.