The Most Amazing Gift Ever!

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How good do you have to be to get to heaven?

The Bible teaches that God is holy and perfect, and as such He requires perfect obedience (Matt 5:48). But, as we all know, "no one is perfect." How then can we ever have a relationship with God or get to heaven?

Well, the Bible tells the story of who God is and what He did to bring people into relationship with Him. Here's how the story unfolds:

I. Creation: The Bible tells us that God created the universe, and He created human beings to be in a loving relationship with Him forever. But, something went terribly wrong:

II. Death: The Bible then tells us how man disobeyed God and decided to make up his own rules for living apart from God. This is basically the meaning of "sin." As a result of sin, death came into the world: "For the wages of sin is death..." (Rom 6:23) This death is seen in two ways:

         - Physical Death: there's a saying that "life is short." The Bible agrees and says, "You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." (James 4:14). Life is indeed short. We are all going to physically die one day, and none of us knows for sure when that will happen. 

        - Spiritual Death: the Bible says that we are "dead in our trespasses and sins…" (Eph 2:1). This means that we are separated from the life of God and relationship with Him.

So, the problem for us is that because of sin, both physical and spiritual death has entered into our existence, and no amount of good works can change this situation. We are all guilty before God, and one day we're all going to be judged for our sins.

If that were the end of the story, we would have no hope! But that's not the end of the story! We now see what God did to bring us into relationship with Himself!

III. New Life: The greatest "good news" that has ever been given to mankind is that Jesus Christ did everything that was needed to bring us into relationship with God!

Jesus was fully God and fully man. He came as our substitute: He took our place. He obeyed God's law perfectly, died on the cross to pay the full penalty for our sins, and then He rose bodily from the grave so that everyone who trusts in Him alone would have a relationship with God that would last forever!

So, getting to heaven and having a relationship with God isn't based on what you do or how good you are. It's based entirely on God's grace and what Jesus Christ alone has done for you! It's a gift! God's Word says: "…the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus" (Rom 6:23).

How then do you receive this amazing gift? Through saving faith and repentance. Jesus said, "…repent and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:15) In other words, turn from your way of living to God's way of living (repentance), and place all of your trust in Jesus Christ alone to save you (saving faith). The Bible says, "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works…" (Eph 2:8,9)

Would you like to receive the most amazing gift ever; God's free gift of eternal life? You can do that right now! Here is a suggested prayer:

"Dear God, I believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, and that he died for my sins and rose bodily from the grave. I now place my life in your hands, Jesus. I trust in you alone to save me! I turn from my sins and commit my life to you. Thank you for forgiving me of all of my sins. Amen."

If you prayed that prayer, please let me know! I would love to rejoice with you, and direct you to some helpful resources.

My email address is johnandursula@yahoo.com