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I have a question for you. If you were to die today (God forbid), are you absolutely sure you would go directly to Heaven? The Bible says in I John 5:13, "I write these things to you...that you may know that you have eternal life." Do you know? There is a verse in the Bible that really describes the whole situation very clearly. Romans 6:23 says, "The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Let’s check it out:
Wages – Payment for effort
Sin – Disobedience to God
Death – In this context, eternal separation from God and everything He is, such as love, kindness, generosity, compassion, grace etc.
Gift – Something given to you that you don’t earn
Eternal Life – Everlasting life in Heaven with God
Through Jesus Christ – clearly referring to the fact of His death on the cross, and the fact that he took our punishment.
Summary:
There is a payment (wages) for sin and it is eternal damnation in Hell (death). BUT, the free gift of God to you and me is Heaven (eternal life) through Jesus Christ. In other words, we are all going to stand before God on the judgment day and receive the wages of our sin unless we have been saved. What does it mean to be saved? There are some who will not have to face God in judgment because they have said, "I believe that when Jesus died on the cross He took my punishment for me. He suffered an eternity in Hell (compressed into one afternoon) in my place. He gave me the free gift of eternal life. Because He died I won’t have to. Because he saved me from God’s judgment, I can go free.
There is one catch…A gift (like the gift of eternal life) may be bought and paid for, but it does not become yours until you reach out and accept it. Have you accepted God’s free gift? The Bible also calls it being "born again." It is being forgiven (once and for all) of all of your sin and starting over again, with a clean slate. You could pray to God right now and say, "God, I know I’m a sinner. I know that I can’t get to Heaven on my own. I am sorry that I sinned against you but I believe that when Jesus died on the cross He died in my place. Today, Lord, I believe what You said, and I ask you to come into my life and change me. I want you to be my Savior from sin and the God of my life. I take You at Your word and thank You for changing me and giving me an assurance of Heaven. In Jesus Name, Amen."
If you prayed that prayer, you made a very wise decision. You are now my brother or sister in God’s family. I would love to rejoice with you. Please contact my web sight at DavidMusselman.com. I would like to give you some additional information on how to get started in your new life.
Let me hear from you.
Your friend, David J. Musselman
e-mail: dmusselman@liberty.edu