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How to Go to Heaven
The Bible is wonderful. It is the story of God and His love for us. It is God’s message to us. It is truth. Have you read it recently? The Old Testament contains 39 books that tell how God created the universe and placed life on earth (Genesis 1 & 2) … how man sinned by disobeying God (Genesis 12:1-3) … how He gave them The Law of 10 Commandments (Deuteronomy 5) … and how they often sinned by breaking the law.
In the 27 books of the New Testament, we are told in Galatian 3:24-25 that the Old Testament was given to bring us to Christ. And in Hebrews 1:1-3 we are told that God speaks to us today through Jesus Christ, His Son. So, the New Testament is all about how Jesus came to this earth from heaven to bring us eternal life in heaven (John 3:16-21) … how He taught us to live (the 4 books of good news: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) … how He was crucified on a cross to take away our sins, wsa buried for 3 days, then rose from the dead. (Luke 22-24)
God wants everyone to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-6 and 2 Peter 3:8-9). That is why we are sending you this message of love. We hope you enjoy reading it.
What does the Bible teach about how to go to heaven?
1. Grace – The Bible, in Ephesians 2:4-10, says that we are saved by grace through faith and that grace if a gift from God. In John 3:16 we learn that Jesus, God’s only Son, offers us salvation as a gift. That’s grace! And through Him, comes the gift of eternal life. Wow! In Acts 4:8-12 we see that salvation is found in Jesus … and only in Jesus.
2. Faith – The writer of Hebrews in 11:1 says, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Over and over, we are told in the New Testament that to be saved and to go to heaven we must believe … we must have faith … that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He died for our sins, that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 the writer says that this is most important. Again, in Hebrews 11:6, we read, “Without faith it is impossible to please God…” To be really convinced that Jesus is God’s Son, take time to read the Gospel of John, because he says in 20:30-31 that he recorded the miracles of Jesus in this book so “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you might have life in His name.”
3. Repentance – Repentance is being sorry for our sins and turning away from them. 2 Corinthians 7:10 the writer says, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation…” In Luke 13:3 Jesus Himself declares, “But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” Again, at the beginning of His ministry, Jesus calls for repentance: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17). Sound important, doesn’t it? In a discussion about judging each other, the apostle Paul encourages repentance and concludes with this wonderful statement: “God’s kindness leads you towards repentance” (Romans 2:4).
4. Confession – As we consider all scriptures related to salvation … and how to go to heaven … we read this in Romans 10 9-10: “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” It doesn’t get any clearer that that. When Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was in Matthew 16:15-16, the apostle Peter boldly declares, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus was so excited that He told Peter, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
5. Baptism – Baptism is the immersion of the body in water for the forgiveness of sins. It is a beautiful way to respond to God’s grace. God loved us so much that He sent His only son, Jesus, to die for us on the cross. What a gift! In Mark 16:16 Jesus says, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” So, in response to God’s great gift, don’t we want to obey this teaching completely and be saved? In Acts 2:37-38 we learn that repentance and baptism remove sin. When the people asked Peter, “Brothers, what shall we do?” he does not hesitate. He says, “Repent and be baptized everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins…” Then, in verse 41 we read about their amazing response: “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about 3,000 were added to their number that day.” Not only does baptism remove sin, it unites us with Christ (Romans 6:1-10). We are also clothed with Christ when we are baptized (Galatians 3:26-27). And in 1 Peter 3:18-22 Peter makes it clear, “This water symbolized baptism that now saves you also.” In summary, baptism is beautiful and wonderful. It scrubs away our sins and makes us new. And just as the Bible tells us that we are saved by grace, faith, repentance, and confession, it tells us that we are saved by baptism.
6. Walking with Jesus – When we are baptized into Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). And the Holy Spirit helps us walk in the truth. He helps us to walk through life with Christ. So, when we wake up every day, we can say, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). When we have followed the teachings of Jesus and are faithful to Him until we pass from this life, He will take us home to live with Him in heaven (John 14:1-4). Isn’t this Good News?
We want to go to heaven, and just as God wants everyone to live with Him throughout eternity, we do too! We pray that you read and study the whole Bible, especially the New Testament, because it is the word of God and the road map to heaven. But we sincerely pray that you will study the scriptures we have mentioned and that your heart and mind will lead you to follow them in every way.
___ If we can help you with a personal Bible study about “How to Go to Heaven,” contact us.
___ If you agree with these teachings and need help in following them, contact us.
(Tell us how to contact you … email or phone … and we will respond within 24 hours.)
In the love of Christ,
Christians … Who are members of Smyrna Church of Christ at 112 Division St. Smyrna, TN 37167
