Every Christian's hope is to be able to spend eternity with God and Christ in Heaven. However, not all Christians agree on how to get there. The following document shows what I believe the Bible teaches on becoming a Christian. I encourage you to get a Bible and study along with the text.
May God Bless You
Lightofjoy
GOING TO HEAVEN
What must I do to go to heaven? Many individuals ask this question. What answer they receive depends on whom they ask. Some of the answers include:
Attend the Church of your choice
Be baptized by pouring, sprinkling, or immersion. (Either method is acceptable)
Be "Christened" as an infant by sprinkling, pouring, or immersion, and be "Confirmed" at a later age.
Believe in Jesus Christ, Repent of your sins, Confess your faith, and be baptized (by immersion only) when you understand that you are a sinner ("Age of Accountability)
Confess your sins to a priest and pray to the Virgin Mary
As you can see, some of these answers contradict one another. Is it possible for all of them to be right? If not, how can we know which is right? I believe we should check God's Word, the Bible. If a man tells me something that contradicts the teachings of the Bible, then I will reject that man's words. What about you? Before you answer, let me call your attention to a verse in Matthew. In Chapter 7, verse 21, Jesus said,
"Not everyone that says to me Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven…" I believe you want to go to heaven as much as I do. Are you willing to do the will of the Father? Do you know for sure what His will says about being saved? Please allow me to present some thoughts for you to consider.Salvation According to the Bible
(God's Plan for Redeeming Man)
I believe the Bible teaches that in order to please God we must have FAITH. What is FAITH? In Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1, FAITH is defines as "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." In the same chapter, verse 6, we find that "without FAITH it is impossible to please Him (God). For he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is the rewarder of those who seek Him." I hope that we can agree that God's will is that we have FAITH. How can we get FAITH? IN Romans chapter 10, verse 17, we find "Now FAITH comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." But is FAITH all that is required for us to go to heaven? James tells us that devils believe there is one God. Are they going to heaven? Since the answer is no, then we must assume there is more. Let's examine more of what God has to say concerning His will.
After we have acquired our FAITH, we attentively listen to the teachings of Jesus. Because we truly believe that he is the Son of God, we are ready and willing to follow His instructions. In Luke chapter 13, verse 3, Jesus tells us "except you REPENT, you shall likewise perish." We can conclude from this statement that we cannot get to heaven unless we REPENT. But what is REPENTANCE? REPENTANCE is defined as a change of heart or attitude. It is a change from the desire to do what is wrong to the desire to do what is right, and it is a heart that is sorrowful when we do what is wrong. I hope you will agree with me that one needs FAITH and REPENTANCE to go to heaven, but is that all? Please look some more at the Word of God with me and you decide.
Look at Romans Chapter 10, verse 10, "For with the mouth CONFESSION is made unto salvation." Is CONFESSION necessary to go to heaven? What is CONFESSION? Is it telling your sins to a priest? A careful examination of our next scripture text will help you understand the meaning of CONFESSION. The text will also introduce a new word for study "BAPTIZED". Please observe this word as you read the Book of Acts, chapter 8, beginning at verse 27.
In the text we find an Ethiopian eunuch on a journey. As he is travelling, he is reading a passage of scripture from Isaiah. As he continues on the journey, a preacher named Philip joins him. Philip asks him if he understands what he is reading. The Ethiopian replies that he really does not understand whom the prophet is talking about. Philip then begins to teach the Ethiopian about Jesus. In verse 36, the Ethiopian asks, "Look here is water! What doth hinder me to be BAPTIZED? In verse 37, Philip answers, "If you believe with all your heart you may." The Ethiopian answered, " I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." Continuing on to verse 38 we find "and Philip ordered the chariot to stand still and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch and he BAPTIZED him." In verse 39 we find that Philip was called by the Lord and the eunuch continued on his way rejoicing.
Now let us analyze the text. When Philip preached to the Ethiopian, he recognized a need to be BAPTIZED and wanted to do so as soon as water was sighted. The only condition that was placed on the Ethiopian by Philip was that he believed. In response, the Ethiopian made a CONFESSION of his FAITH that Jesus was the Son of God. This is the CONFESSION spoken of in Romans 10. The CONFESSION that is unto salvation. We also notice that the Ethiopian wanted to be BAPTIZED right away. WHY???
Is it possible that BAPTISM is also necessary to go to heaven? Read the words of Jesus on Mark, chapter 16, verse 16, "He that BELIEVETH and is BAPTIZED shall be saved." The apostle Peter was among those who Jesus spoke those words to. A few days later Peter commanded a large assembly of Jews to "REPENT and be BAPTIZED for the REMISSION of SINS" (Acts chapter 2, verse 38.) Later on in his life Peter wrote in his epistle (letter) to Christians in I Peter chapter 3, verse 21 "BAPTISM now SAVES us." It seems clear from these texts that BAPTISM is necessary for salvation.
If so, then we must determine what BAPTISM is. Webster's Dictionary tells us that BAPTISM is sprinkling, pouring water on an individual, or immersion of that individual. How does the Bible describe BAPTISM? In our story of Philip and the Ethiopian, we recall that the Bible said that both Philip and the Ethiopian went down into the water. Why??? Perhaps by reading Romans Chapter 6, verse 3, we can determine the reason. The apostle Paul explains that when we are BAPTIZED we are BAPTIZED into the death of Jesus and that through BAPTISM we are buried and raised in water to imitate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. In other words we go into the water a sinner, bury our sinful self in the water through the blood of Jesus, and we are raised from the water a sinless soul. The Greek word for baptism used in the scriptures, "baptizo", actually means to plunge under or submerge. Remember Webster's definitions of BAPTISM? Which one of his definitions matches the Bible description? I hope you agree that the text clearly points out that people in the New Testament were immersed for the remission of their sins. Have you been immersed for the remission of your sins?
Once a person is BAPTIZED, then he is able to receive all the spiritual blessings that are in Christ. He is now IN CHRIST (read Romans Chapter 6, verse 3 and Galatians Chapter 3, verse 27). Is he now guaranteed heaven? Once again the Bible answers our questions. In Revelation Chapter 2, verse 10 Jesus instructs, "Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of Life." Jesus gave a condition of keeping on being faithful until we die in order to receive the crown. What if we don't remain faithful? That same Jesus promises destruction (read Revelation Chapter 3, verses 14-22). Those who have been saved the Lord adds to the church (Acts Chapter 2, verse 47). Please notice that the Bible uses church in its singular form. Why? Look at Ephesians Chapter 4, verse 4. Paul says, "there is one body and one Spirit." Next read Ephesians Chapter 2, verse 22-23. Paul says, "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church. Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all." We find in this scripture that the church is the same as the body. Therefore, if there is one body, then there is one church. This is confusing today since there are over 300 different churches in the United States. How can we know which one is right? The only way is to consult the scriptures and determine if the doctrine of the church follows the Bible. Even their name should be from the Bible. In Romans Chapter 16, verse 16 we read, "Greet one another with a holy kiss. The Churches of Christ salute you." Do you know of any churches around you that use that name?
I hope you can tell that it is impossible for an infant to do all the things necessary to be saved. But why should he? A person needs to be saved only if they are lost, and to be lost a person must have sinned. Since sin is a willful disobedience of God's law, an infant cannot sin. Therefore, an infant is not lost and is SAFE! According to Ezekiel Chapter 18, verse 20, a person is only responsible for the sins he commits. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son…" What about YOU? Have YOU SINNED? The Bible tells us in Romans, Chapter 3, verse 23, "all men have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God". Based on this fact, we know that all of us have sinned at least once. It takes only ONE SIN to separate us from God if it has not been forgiven. We have seen from the scriptures what we have to do to remove our sins and go to heaven. To review, we must acquire FAITH, we must REPENT of our sins, we must CONFESS our belief that Jesus is the Son of God, we must be BAPTIZED in water for the forgiveness of our sins, and we must be FAITHFUL till death.
I plead with you to examine your life and determine if the steps and actions you have taken to go to heaven agree with what the Bible says you must do to reach heaven. Remember, it is important that you consider what decisions YOU made, not decisions that were made by your parents, friends, etc. For example, if at some point in your life you were immersed, did you make the decision to be baptized or did your parents bring you in while you were still an infant? If you haven't obeyed God's instructions for going to heaven, then you are on a journey to HELL where the torment is indescribable in human terms. But if you do obey Him, the peace and pleasure of HEAVEN, which is also beyond description is yours! The choice is yours! If you see a need to make some changes in your life, I urge you to do so as soon as possible.
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