Are you sure you are going to heaven when you die?
Dear friends:
Many unbelieving people have a false hope of a "good life" after they die, even if they lived like the devil, but they have no basis for such a hope. You can hear it in their empty eulogies: "He is a better place." NOT! Don't believe it.
Shockingly, even many so-called Christians are not sure they are going to heaven. Without conviction, some may nervously say, "I hope so." That may be because (1) they may be Christians in name only, maybe pew-sitters but never a real commitment to Jesus Christ, or (2) they simply do not know what God's Word says.
God makes it plain and simple in the Bible.
To go to heaven, Jesus said that one must be "born again" of the Spirit. (John 3:3).
How does one become born again?
The apostle Paul wrote, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9, NKJV).
When you do that, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of you and you are saved from perishing, along with the rest of the world.
How do you know the Holy Spirit is inside of you?
Easy. Two tests:
1. "No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit" ( 1 Corinthians 12:3.) If you can sincerely say "Jesus is Lord" (Lord is from the Greek word for God), that is proof that you have the Spirit. If you cannot say that, you had better settle the issue now before it is too late.
2. Here is the evidence: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22). Do you exhibit this fruit, maybe not perfectly, but you see them working more consistently in your life? If not, you had better make sure you are born again before it is too late. (Go to previous step # 1.)
Being born again and going to heaven was not made difficult by God. He made it easy and simple. Jesus did it all. There is nothing we can add or do except to trust in Him and what He did.
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast"
(Ephesians 2:8-9)
Now -- here is a major point most people miss. Being born again is not just to get us to heaven, but it allows one to enter and enjoy the Kingdom of God right here on this earth. Jesus said, "Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).
The born-again person enters the Kingdom of God and a whole new dimension of living, which includes many kingdom benefits right here on the earth.
Don't miss out! Get yours now! Those benefits are free to us, but paid for with Jesus' precious blood.
Jim
jbramlett@earthlink.net
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