People often wonder to themselves whether or not they would go to Heaven if they died. The simple answer can all be boiled down to one thing- Do you believe in Jesus Christ? Scripture says if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ you will be saved. In a nutshell, this is the short answer. Now, let’s explain in simple terms what it means to believe.
License Heresy: People who turn Grace into a license for immorality are not really saved.
People always exhibit their real beliefs by what they do. If they believe in Christ and his words, then they will also follow his instruction wholeheartedly. If they sit on the fence, then they are really undecided on the matter. Many people hear the ways of the world are not really good for them and yet they like them all the same. They hear that God’s ways are better and yet they hesitate to embrace His ways. They feel guilty over their sin and yet take no pleasure in doing what is right either. They hesitate because they are not convinced and do not yet believe. They don’t believe because they have yet to see. They lack understanding; they have yet to recognize Christ for the treasure He really is. If they had this, they would follow him wholeheartedly. For whatever a man comes to treasure, there his heart will be also. Christ labeled people with such lukewarm attitudes toward him as simply wretched, poor, blind, and naked. Indeed, Jesus Christ calls things for what they are. If a person hesitates or appears to leave the faith, it’s because he never really had it to begin with. Faith without works is really a dead faith. Making half-hearted attempts at being a Christian does not make you a Saint. It’s important to remember that the Christian is always saved from their sin and not despite it. If you try to use Grace as simply a license for continued immorality, then you will only find yourself condemned in the end. Christ promises to forgive anyone of their past sins, but He will not forgive those who never change their sinful ways. If God promises life through following him and yet you never change, does it not imply you never really believed in his words?
Legalism Heresy: Outward deeds without heart will always fall short.
Beliefs say more about Heart motives than just the outward actions themselves. Being Righteous is more than just what you are to do, but rather who you are to be. As a man thinks in his heart, so is He. You cannot placate God with just a few outward works. This is where many do good people stumble. You cannot really fulfill the Law if any part of your heart is not really in it. Jesus teaching on the Beattitudes in Scripture has always been about the sentiments Christians should really possess in their heart. So the Race God calls every Christian to enter is first and foremost a work of personal transformation. You have to be Born again to be saved. Christ’s prescription for remedying the heart of a sinner is to transform a person by renewing their mind. The inward transformation of a man is what God is concerned with. If the heart of a person becomes clean, then so does everything else. It is with your heart that a person believes unto righteousness and is justified. Outward gestures apart from heart are really just sacrifices and will always fall short with God. Jesus said those who hunger and thirst after righteousness would be blessed because they will be filled. You cannot be righteous without first having a hunger to be so. You have to first want to be righteous in order to become righteous. The Bible teaches that no one is pure and without sin. So He advises us to acquire from him white garments. White garments stand for the righteous deeds of the saints in Scripture. A believer’s righteousness comes from the Lord as we learn of his ways. No one wants their shame to be exposed. There is no better way to keep yourself from being left bare than putting on a new nature. A Christian should never try to rest on any past accomplishments for they really have no merit in themselves. Rather a person should strive with God until He makes you a new person from within with the same love He has. You enter his rest once you share in His same Spirit.
Narrow Road of the Gospel: Personal Transformation through Faith in Jesus Christ and his promises
How does a person acquire this inner desire for righteousness and this new nature? By first coming to believe that doing the right thing will really pay off for you. When people feel they stand little to gain for a given course of action, following such a path always holds little appeal for them. So a person’s faith must first compel them to choose to act. This is why the Scripture says, the righteous will live by faith. Jesus advised half-hearted people to buy from him Gold refined in the fire. You buy this Gold without money, which means Christ will freely give it to you. He offers you a valuable treasure and you have only to recognize it for yourself. A genuine faith is said to be more precious than Gold in Scripture. A genuine faith stands up to the fire because it has been proven genuine. The truth will always stand against any criticism or attack. Belief in Jesus Christ will stand against any adversity precisely because He is the truth. This is why Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. He purifies our Heart through our faith. The Bible always describes the path of Christian transformation as a process of changing personal beliefs. It says by faith in God one comes to be saved. If you change a person’s personal beliefs you can change the person. What a person believes sets the course of their life. God’s intention through the gospel has always been to change a person from the inside out. Faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see. Those who hope in the Lord will soar on wings of eagles. To soar implies that the ride becomes effortless. People do not stumble or fall when their Hope in God drives all their decisions. For a man will always choose what He believes to be right in his own eyes. As a man comes to recognize for himself how God’s ways are truly higher than our ways, every other path naturally comes to only be less appealing.
The only real work of the Gospel: To believe in the one in whom God sent.
The endurance race God has set before his people is to simply believe in the one whom He has sent- Jesus Christ. On your part, coming to believe begins with a willingness to learn and a willingness to try something different. Faith truly does come from hearing the word of God. Let Christ transform you by the renewing of your mind. Let him into your heart and teach you things you do not yet know. This is why we say that knowing Christ is central to this transformation. A person cannot rise above their own understanding. A person can only aspire to be as great as their own teachers. Allow God to enlighten your heart. Be open to his instruction in His Word. The Omniscient God is not tempted by sin. He can anoint your eyes with eye salve that you may see. Wisdom will keep you from sin. Sin appeals to people only because they lack understanding. It is in knowing the truth that you are set free. This is what repentance is all about. God commands all men to go and reason with Him. In doing this, He promises that though your sin be like scarlet, He can make you white as snow. For those who know this, their salvation is not based on their own performance, but rather on God’s promise. To those who believe in Him He credits with righteousness. Christ died for sinners. If He was willing to justify people when they were at their worst, how much more will He save us as we mature. So we do not fret our past but continue to aim our focus and effort at understanding what God has laid before us that He will somehow change us too through our faith in Him.
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