Please do not leave this page without reading it. Our life on earth is but a short time compared to eternity and you need to know the answer to this all important question of where you will spend eternity.
You are also invited to listen to an audio sermon about salvation, Why Christianity?, that explains why Christianity is unique among all the religions of the world and how Jesus is the answer to the greatest dilemma that we all face:
Is this life all that there is? After I die, where will I go? Will I go to heaven? How does one gain eternal life? These are important questions that we all ponder from time to time. However, we often spend a great deal of time thinking about things like how to make more money, how to gain approval from other people, and even what celebrities and professional sports teams are doing. Jesus tells us that it is more important and that we should be more concerned about the treasures in heaven rather than on earth, because all material things on earth will decay and pass away (St. Matthew 6:19-21).
The Bible teaches that that all souls have an eternal destination. There are only two possible destinations: heaven or hell. Heaven is a place of eternal life with God Himself, free of pain and suffering. Hell is a place of eternal death, where there is only torment (see Revelation Chapters 20-21 for contrast of this). St. Matthew 25 describes the Final Judgment and Jesus says in verse 46, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”
So with this information in mind, just about everyone wants to go to heaven when they die. A popular country song from a few years ago has these words as some of its lyrics, “Everyone wants to go to heaven, it beats the other place their ain’t no doubt. Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go now.” Unfortunately, heaven is often only thought of as “fire insurance”, without really reflecting deeply on the love that God has for us or the reasons for the existence of heaven and hell.
When asked if you will go to heaven when you die, you may respond like many people “I think so.” But with something this important you should be confident of your eternal destination. When asked why they think they will go to heaven, many people respond, “by being good.” Let’s examine this for a moment.
God gives commandments or “rules” for people to follow in the Bible (Lutherans call this the Law). You may be familiar with the 10 Commandments found in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. Examine yourself by the Commandments. Have you ever bore false witness (told a lie)? Have you always put God first in your life? Have you ever taken the name of the Lord in vain, that is used God’s name in a careless way or to curse? Have you always been honoring and respectful of your parents? Have you ever desired things that are not yours (coveting) and not been content with what God has provided for you? Have you ever taken anything that does not belong to you (stealing)? If you are honest you would have to say you have not kept these Commandments. You still may claim to be a “good person” because you claim to not have broken the Commandments “too much” or have not committed adultery or killed anyone. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus elevates the commandments to a whole new level in that He says it is not only our outward actions, but the evil thoughts that we have. He says that if we insult and are angry with someone (verse 21-22) then we are in danger of hell fire. If we look with lust we have committed adultery in our hearts (v27-28). So in thought or deed we have broken all of the Commandments.
So when you stand before God on the Day of Judgment, are you guilty or innocent? If you are honest, you know that you are like the rest of us-guilty of breaking God’s Law. Maybe you still will claim to be good because you have done many good deeds as well. But this will not save you. This would be like standing before a judge, guilty of countless crimes and trying to avoid punishment because you did some good things too. Isaiah 6:46 says in part, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags”. We like to compare ourselves to other people and say, “I am good compared to that guy”, but other people are not the standard. You see God knows all and his standard is much higher than being a “good citizen” in the world’s eyes. In fact, Jesus said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” James 2:10 states, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”
The hard truth, that we don’t want to hear is that we all deserve to go to hell because we have rebelled and disobeyed the just and holy God of the universe. He has told us what He expects, and we have failed miserably in meeting those expectations. I hope it is clear to you that you cannot be “good” in God’s eyes or gain salvation (and thus eternal life in heaven) by following the Law. Galatians 3:10 tells us this by saying, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, cursed is everyone that continueth not in all the things which are written in the book of the law to do them.”
It is my prayer that by this point you realize that you are a sinner in need of God’s grace and that you cannot save yourself by anything that you could do. If you are still holding on to your own goodness, I urge you to continue to think about the Law and how you have not kept it. Or you may feel hopeless, “If I have to be perfect to enter heaven, then there is no way that I will ever get there.” Or you may be thinking that God is vengeful and unloving as all deserve to go to hell. Please DO NOT stop reading. While we all deserve punishment in hell, this is not what God desires. He wants all people to be with him eternally in heaven. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promises, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)
The Bible is clear that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This is the key issue: sin separates us from God and so there must be a forgiveness of sins for you to have fellowship with God. So what is the solution? The solution is not in ourselves as we cannot atone for our sins by good works. The answer is that God did what we could not do out of love for us (Romans 6:23 continues with, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”)! The forgiveness of your sin is not found in yourself, but in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A Christian is someone who does not depend on his or her own works, but relies solely on Jesus Christ to grant forgiveness and eternal life.
The Father sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to earth to suffer and die in our place. Yes, Jesus taught interesting things, healed the sick, and helped the poor but His main purpose on earth was to die for the sins of the world. He took the just wrath of God on Himself when He died on the cross. He did this for me-for you-and for all. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” (Romans 5:8-9) “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin (Jesus); that we might be made the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
You see Jesus, as God in the flesh (St. John 1:14) was the only one who could keep the Law perfectly-and He did just that. As man He had flesh and blood and the Bible requires a blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. So Jesus Christ as true God and true man was the only acceptable sacrifice to provide forgiveness for the sins of the world. Three days after His crucifixion, Jesus rose from the dead in complete victory over sin, death, and the devil. This is Good News indeed!
So how do you experience this forgiveness and eternal life in Jesus? “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8). Salvation is a gift from God. He paid the price and gives us this gift out of grace and love. A gift is not earned-if it is-it is not truly a gift. We cannot receive this gift by our own will or intellect. It can only be received by faith-and this faith is created by the working of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3). Repent of your sins. You can pray a prayer of repentance in your own words or if you would like to see an example of a prayer of repentance read Psalm 51. Receive the gift of faith by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (St. John 14:6)
I would urge you to read the Bible. What I have shared with you today is the truth of the Scriptures: Christ has come to save sinners. Find a Bible teaching church, receive instruction in the faith, be Baptized, and share the message of the cross with others. Please contact me with any questions.
A summary of the message of the Gospel can be found in this 5 minute video that uses an engaging cartoon format:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH-APOcUoho
Be advised that this video is not produced by Lutherans, but I believe the Law and Gospel message is strongly presented. One thing to note is that toward the end when it says “come to Jesus” it would be more accurate to say that Jesus comes to us as we cannot come to Jesus in our fallen state (1 Corinthians 2:14), but He graciously comes to us and delivers forgiveness, life and salvation.
A final note on good works: Sometimes Lutheran Christians are accused of saying good works are not important. Good works are very important-it is just that our good works in no way contribute to our salvation-our right standing before God. We do encourage Christians to do good works. In fact, if someone claims to have faith but never does any good works then they don’t have faith (James says faith without works is dead-see also Galatians 5:22-23). Ephesians 2:10 says that the Christian is “created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” So as Christians we do not do good works to earn salvation, but because we have been saved. We are so thankful and full of joy for what God has done for us we do good works to serve others in Christ name. Jesus uses the example of a good tree bearing good fruit (St. Matthew 7:17 and St. Luke 6:43). If a tree is truly a fruit tree, then it will bear fruit. The Christian is God’s ambassador to the world, showing the faith that God has created in him or her by doing good works.
I pray that the following sermon on grace, faith, and works is helpful: