The story is told of a Sunday school teacher whose assignment was to explain to the six-year-olds in his class what someone had to do in order to go to heaven. In an attempt to discover what the kids already believed about the subject, he asked a few questions.
"If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale, and gave all my money to the church, would that get me into heaven?"
"NO!" the children all answered.
"If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into heaven?"
Again the answer was, "NO!"
"Well, then," he said, "if I was kind to animals and gave candy to all the children and loved my wife, would that get me into heaven?"
Again they all shouted, "NO!" "Well then, how can I get into heaven?"
A boy in the back row stood up and shouted, "YOU GOTTA BE DEAD!"
Here lies the problem: "You gotta be dead to go to heaven." Consequently, you gotta be dead to know how much about the place, as well. And most people are pretty insecure about this dilemma.
The people who seem to be most confident about what heaven is like are those who claim to have died and come back to talk about it – and write bestselling books on the subject. I have read a couple of those books, and I've heard a couple of "returnees" interviewed on television. Their stories are interesting.
But they never give a straight answer to the questions we are all asking: "How do you get there? What can we do on this side of death to assure ourselves a spot in heaven?" Most agree that death is a prerequisite, but that's pretty much where agreement ends and speculation begins.
Tonight, we are going to look at an ancient but popular theory regarding who goes to heaven. I say ancient, because the idea has been around since the beginning of civilization. In terms of popularity, it is what most world religions espouse. Why bother to talk about it? Because in spite of its immense popularity and long standing, it doesn't make a lick of sense.
Seriously. Smart, educated, accomplished men and women from just about every nation on earth are banking their eternities on a theory that just doesn't hold up under the slightest scrutiny. Why? Well, you'll see. My assumption is that everybody is preoccupied with making a living, falling in love, having kids, and whatever else they are doing.
Nobody's got time to think about heaven. So they don't – until …other realities of life catch up.! You see – Every now and again we are confronted with our mortality. When that happens, we mentally take hold of something that gives us assurance. For most people on this spinning ball of minerals and dirt, assurance is found in an assumption they have never tested. And it brings them the assurance they need to jump right back into the game of life. But it just doesn't seem to really last!
So what is this internationally held assumption? Good people go to heaven.
The logic flows something like this: There is a good God who lives in a good place reserved for good people. This God goes by many names. He is behind all major world religions. Therefore, all major, and possibly minor, religions provide a legitimate path to God and, therefore, heaven. The criterion for making it to this good place is to be good. Of course – Each religion has its own definition for good.
But what they all have in common is that men and women must do certain things, and not do certain things, in order to assure themselves a spot in this good place with a good God. Make sense? Actually, it doesn't really make sense at all. In fact, if you are smart enough to be here tonight, you are smart enough to find the problems with the "good people go" view without my help. Chances are, like many you've never really thought it through. But you owe it to yourself to do so.
Tonight, let us start with a passage from Jesus referring to these last days of Earth's history. He spoke words that are so relevant and true. In Luke's Gospel we find a text which describes the times in which we live - a text that not only tells us what is happening in the world around us, but what is going on inside peoples lives.
Luke 21:26 states, "Men's hearts would fail them because of fear."
Fear is a disease of our modern times. And to be sure there are many antagonisms in our morally darkened age which threaten to bring fear and insecurity to our personal lives. The text mentions people's hearts failing because of the things that are coming upon the earth - about the future. Some are afraid of the situation concerning "Mark of the Beast" and the great tribulation period of Revelation.
Now friends, you know it's a fact, all of us are interested and concerned about the future, because that is where we hope to spend the rest of our lives. And this is precisely the problem for so many today. They do not know where they will spend the rest of their life.
As beings who were created to spend an eternity with our creator God we are fearful and insecure when we are unsure about our hope of tomorrow. And today as so many people, restless and unsure about tomorrow, search for direction and moral stability they often find themselves ridden with guilt and depression.
I believe that much of our insecurity about tomorrow is related to our guilt. Guilt is the product of a lack of knowledge. And strange as it may seem, but many deeply religious people are burdened with guilt because of uncertainty about salvation.
One of the best examples in religious history:The great German reformer, Martin Luther, is a perfect example. After deciding to become a monk to seek purity and salvation he shrank from no sacrifice, whether physical pain or mental stress in his quest to attain God's approval.
As his sense of sin and guilt deepened, he zealously set about to rid himself of sin and save his soul by his own good works. Yet, despite his rigorous efforts to satisfy what he thought to be an angry God, Luther never felt relief from his sense of guilt. The harder he tried the more sinful he felt. Inner peace and happiness alluded him. He felt he could not do enough to merit God's forgiveness and favor.
This raises a question. Does man receive forgiveness and eternal life by doing more good deeds than bad?
Almost every religion outside of true Christianity teaches just that.
In India, men walk on shoes of spikes believing that by torturing their bodies they can earn God's favor.
Flagellants beat and bruise their bodies with ships and chains. Fire-walkers and skewer-bearers seek favor by unusual acts of physical abuse. Buddhists believe they gain merit for a future life by building pagodas or feeding the holy men. And for the Moslem, there is no greater joy or better way of earning favor with God than a pilgrimage to Mecca, praying several times a day or even to die in defense of Islam.
And strange as it may seem, many Christians unwittingly do the same thing. They attend church, give offerings, and follow the Golden Rule, thinking they earn favor with God and receive eternal life.
Is that possible? Can man, through some means of physical punishment, mental anguish or deeds of kindness bribe God to grant him forgiveness and eternal life? Do we earn salvation, or win it as one does the Olympic Gold Medal? Working hard, sacrificing, straining every spiritual muscle to the breaking point?
Luther tried, but he finally concluded that if forgiveness depended on his own works, he was a lost man. So he turned to the medieval church, which promised forgiveness through indulgences, penance and gifts. When the Augustinian monasteries selected him to head a delegation to Rome in 1510, Luther was overjoyed. No city on earth had so many holy relics or spiritual indulgences. Here was his chance to earn merit and secure the peace he so much desired.
Determined to earn all the merit with God he could while in Rome, Luther climbed Pilate's staircase on hands and knees repeating the Lord's prayer. And for good measure, kissing each of the 28 steps. But, even as he climbed the stairs, a disturbing thought would not go away.
Was this a valid means of forgiveness? At the top of the stairs Luther stood erect and voiced his question:
"Who knows whether it is so." Here I Stand-A Life of Martin Luther, page 38. This nagging doubt followed Luther back to the monastery in Germany, where he searched the Scriptures as never before. He was determined to find the answer to this most important question: How is man saved? How can we have peace with God, confidence, assurance, hope.
To his amazement as he studied God's Word, Luther found no teaching of trying harder or winning merit to make oneself righteous. Rather he found the good news that forgiveness is free! As he studied the book of Romans, Luther found a text that would forever quiet his troubled heart: Romans 1:17 The Bible says, "The just shall live by faith."
Instead of seeking forgiveness by works such as prayers, vigils, scourging, and climbing stairs on hands and knees, Luther found and took the simple steps of faith given by God in His Holy Word.
Tonight we are going to study the simple yet profound and powerful truth of the Gospel. It's so vital in light of the real issues of Revelation's message to a world in sin and rebellion today.
In Revelation 14 we see an Angel flying across the sky – symbolizing a message of hope going to all the world in the last days. He is giving the Good News of the saving grace of Jesus and the Cross preached by Paul and Martin Luther, centering in the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus our Saving Lord. The first step to eternal life Luther had recognized years before; that he was a sinner and he needed help.
The Apostle Paul had written: Romans 3:10, "There is none righteous, no not one."That included Paul and Martin Luther. It includes you and me.
"Wait a minute," you say, "I'm a good person. I don't steal or kill or commit adultery! I'm a good neighbor. I even share what I have with the poor." That may be true, but remember Jesus said that if we hate someone we are sinners. And if we lie, cheat, or gossip - if we are unkind or uncaring - we are sinners! Have you ever been cross with your children? Impatient with your husband or wife? That makes you a lawbreaker.
The Bible says: I John 3:4 - Remember what we learned.
And just like the laws of our land there is a penalty for disobedience. The Bible says: Romans 6:23
You see, we have all sinned! No doubt about that. In fact, if only commit three sinful acts a day - be guilty of over 1000 sins each year. Multiply that number by your age and you have some idea of how sinful you may be! Yet it is good to recognize we have a sin problem; then we will seek help. Need to recognize our problem. If a person had serious medical problem and he never recognized his condition or sought medical assistance, he would eventually die. Just so the fate of the sinner who fails to seek aid. Why? What is the real problem here? Isaiah, the prophet, answers: Isaiah. 59:2
Sin separates us from God. God is the source of all life, and when the relationship between God and man was severed by Adam's rebellion, he began to die.
Wasn't just a problem of losing home in the Garden of Eden, more than a real estate loss to claim on his taxes.
Sin produces Fear, Anxiety, Guilt,… Sin results in Broken Relationships.
Paul describes the results of Adam's sin: Romans. 5:12
What a problem we all have! All of us are sinners!
WE are under sentence of death. But a God of love did not tell us the results of sin without giving us hope for salvation. Here is the Good News!
Roms. 6:23
In this text Luther discovered that eternal life is a gift! It is not something you can earn or deserve for Paul wrote these wonderful words in: Ephesians 2:8,9
"For by grace (free love and favor of God) are you saved - faith. It is the gift of God: not of works, any man should boast."
You cannot save yourself by your own works. No matter how good they are! You must depend on God's grace, God's love and favor, which are free. If could earn salvation - would not be gift.
Let me illustrate:
Suppose your employer gave you an envelope and said he had a gift for you. If you discovered your paycheck for the past two weeks inside, would that be a gift? Not if you had earned it!
But if I should give one of you a gift, like this (give wrapped gift) what would this be? A gift - totally undeserved, yet very wonderful indeed!
But, perhaps you are wondering why the mighty God who rules the universe would be concerned about people on a planet in rebellion, way out on the edge of space. Why did He not just abandon rebellious man and leave him to suffer the consequences of sin? Why does He show so much mercy and concern for our lost human race?
The answer is found in John's first letter: I John 4:16 - "God is love...!"
God's love for man, who is terminally ill with the disease of sin, perhaps can best be understood by a human illustration.
A young couple bring their baby home from the hospital. Within a few days the infant begins to cry day and night with a severe stomach ache. The parents follow the doctor's advice, but nothing seems to help.
They walk the floor with the baby until they are exhausted, but not once do they consider giving the child away or leaving her to suffer alone. Why? Because they actually love that little helpless child all the more because of the pain and suffering she has to endure. That is what God is like.
His children on planet earth developed the disease of sin, and the pain and suffering they have endured because of it have only intensified God's love for them. Never has God considered abandoning us! Never has He considered leaving us to perish and suffer the consequences of our rebellion. 2 Peter 3:9
Regardless of how good or bad you may be, God loves you and wants to save you. He is not willing that "any perish." But now earthly governments cannot tolerate lawlessness and survive for long. Violators are punished. And violating God's law is even more serious because sin separates us from God, the source of life! You see, even though God is a God of love, He is also a God of justice. On Mt. Sinai the Lord described Himself:
Exodus 34:6,7
Jesus came to live on earth as a man, facing the same problems and temptations that every human has faced. He proved by His perfect life of obedience that there is no excuse of sin. Then, as the one sinless representative of the human race, Christ voluntarily took upon Himself the guilt of every person who would ever live, and died in his or her behalf. This is what Calvary is all about – You and Me!
Paul says: Romans 5:19
Jesus' death was in no sense intended to appease "an angry God", as Luther first thought. Jesus offered to die to save us from our sins. And God loved us so much He was willing to sacrifice His only Son as a ransom. Jesus was the Lamb of God, the sacrificial Lamb!
Under the shadow of Mt. Sinai the people of God daily witnessed, through symbols and ceremonies, a demonstration of God's plan to redeem fallen man.
The desert tabernacle, built to God's specific instructions with services instituted by God, continually called man's attention to a future Calvary, when the true Lamb would be sacrificed for the sins of all mankind - giving to all the hope and assurance of forgiveness and salvation. The sinner came bringing a sacrificial animal. He placed his hand on the head of the animal and confessed his sin. Then he took a knife and killed the animal, symbolizing how his sins caused the death of Jesus, the sacrificial Lamb.
In this act God demonstrated that sin brings death, either to the sinner or to the innocent sacrifice. God's people in the Old Testament time offered sacrifices to show their faith in the coming death of the Son of God, the One who would die in man's place as his substitute. Jesus was the true sacrifice the true sacrificial Lamb.
As Jesus came to be baptized, John said of Him: John 1:29
Yet, as the Bible says, the one "Who did not sin" died on that cross!
I Peter 2:22
In death He was identified with sinners. He was crucified between two thieves! And as God place upon Him the sins of the whole world, He cried out: "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27:46
The crowd shouted: "He saved others; Himself He cannot save." Mark 15:31
And that was true. He could not save Himself and still save others. He was incarnate God paying the price for a lost race, a broken law - the wages of sin.
Thus it was that God with a love that could not be satisfied until man was restored to His family, gave His own Son to die in Man's place as his substitute. Jesus was treated just like we deserve to be treated. He was condemned for our sins and suffered our death so that we might have eternal life.
In this way God could give man eternal life and still be just. Not because of any good thing we have done.
But because God through an act of faith and repentance our part, can give us credit for what Christ did - the perfect life He lived.
Paul, the apostle, to the Gentiles said: Ephesians 2:8
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith." This faith is the very heart of salvation.
When the Phillipian jailer asked Paul what he must do to be saved, Paul answered: Acts 16:31 - "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved."
Now friend, to believe in Jesus means more than just acknowledging that He died 1900 years ago.
Saving faith is trusting in the sacrifice of Christ as the full and complete atonement for every sin we have ever committed. It is believing that it is not what we can do, but what Christ did on Calvary that saves us. No human can ever boast that he saved himself.
The glory is all God's! It is grace on God's part and faith on man's part - trusting God and willingly letting Him control your life completely. Receiving salvation is so simple, yet many make it seem so complex. We cannot earn it. We do not deserve it. But a God of love wants to give it to us, if we will reach out and accept it.
If a friend gave you a birthday present, would you try to pay him for it? Of course not! You would happily and gratefully accept it.
Jesus offers you His righteousness and salvation as a gift of love. And even if you wanted to you could not pay for it. But you can reach out in faith and accept it. By just coming an kneeling at the foot of the cross ask for forgiveness and salvation. You can say, "God, I recognize I am a sinner and I need help. I want to accept Jesus as my Savior and Lord. Please forgive every sin I have ever committed and take complete control of my life.
At that moment God gives you eternal life! For the disciple John says: I John 5:12,13
Jesus gives the invitation to everyone everywhere so that "Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16
Maybe you feel you are a hopeless sinner. But that is not true! God can turn the most impossible situation into victory. No life is too bad; no sin too great for Christ to forgive.
On the cross Jesus hung between two sinners, both common criminals. And while they were hanging side by side in excruciating pain, the Bible tells us that at first the two thieves made fun of Jesus. But as the day wore on one thief caught a glimpse of the love Jesus demonstrated that day on Calvary.
He could see Jesus' hands and feet being nailed to the cross without a world of complaint. Then he heard Jesus' halting prayer coming from lips of agony.
Luke 23:34, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."
This thief's life flashed before him. He recognized his sinfulness; sensed his hopelessness...
and then he turned his eyes back to Jesus. he did not look like One who could help then. Yet, there was a majesty about Him, even in His agony. Truly, he reasoned, this must be the Lamb of God spoken of by the prophets, the Messiah who was dying for the sins of the world.
The repentant thief cried out from the depths of his soul, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom." Luke 23:42
Instantly Jesus answered, "You will be with me in paradise." Luke 23:43
Today, Jesus longs to give you the same assurance. In fact, in the last book of the Bible, Jesus pictures Himself knocking at your heart's door - waiting to be invited in. He is listening and waiting. Why not open your heart's door today and invite Him to come in and be the Savior and Lord of your life? He is waiting....
This very moment you can come to Him at the cross. As you give yourself to Him and ask for forgiveness and salvation he will accept you and give you eternal life tonight. Jesus promises to accept you just as you are and receive you into His kingdom.
Jesus says to you tonight: John 6:37
Let me Review Simple Steps of Salvation.
1. Accept the fact of sin - Romans 3:23
2. Trust, Believe - Acts 16:31
3. Confess - 1 John 1:9 It Doesn't matter how sinful. - Mary Magdalene
4. You Must Decide – Jesus Says: Revelation 3:20 - Only you can commit your life to Christ and receive His salvation personally.
His gift of Eternal life can be yours if you ask and accept. Would you like to do this? Tonight as I pray repeat this prayer quietly to yourself and our Father and Savior.
Dear Father, I come to You just now because I know that I am a sinner in need of salvation. Realizing that I can do nothing of my own to gain eternal life. I come and ask for forgiveness and cleansing from sin. And now as I give my life to You I trust You and accept Your free gift of salvation. Thank You, Father, for saving me by Your mercy and grace. Amen.
Remember in Revelation we read about those who are victorious at that day of the last great battle for mankind. Revelation 16:15 They have put on the robes of Christ's Righteousness. This robe is ours through the blood of Jesus. As we accept His salvation by faith.What a promise! Looking into the future when all who love Him will be gathered into His Kingdom.
Jesus promised to remember the repentant thief, who reached out in faith to Jesus. And in reaching out found salvation.He felt the terrible separation that sin brings. Jesus could not bear the agony of separation from the Father. It broke His heart. And yet, how sad that some of the men He came to save plotted to take His life! Jesus was beaten and mocked and sentenced to be crucified - the cruelest form of execution ever devised. And that cruel cross should have held Barabbas, the hardened criminal. Barabbas, the lawbreaker; Barabbas, the sinner. Barabbas, deserving of the death penalty.God is a loving, forgiving, compassionate God, but He says it is impossible for Him to overlook man's guilt. He cannot just ignore sin. He cannot change His law. He cannot make wrong right. So those who sin will die because they separate themselves from God, the source of life. Is there no solution? Yes, friend, there is! A loving God found a way to save us and still be just.
He provided a perfect substitute to die in our place - paying the penalty for our sins so we could live. The bible explains it in John 3:16.