Jesus Christ - The Only Way To Heaven

Jesus Christ made it clear that He is the Only Way to Heaven.

“6 Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me’.” (John 14:6 *NASB) (*All Scripture is in NASB unless otherwise noted)

Have you ever seen the bumper sticker, “Only Jesus Saves!”? It’s true! 

One reason Jesus Christ is the only Way to Heaven is because He, being perfectly united with His Heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit, is the only Perfect Savior. 

Another undeniable reason, Jesus is the only One who was willing, and able, to die in order to defeat the power of sin and death. Jesus Christ was willingly crucified on a cross 2000 years ago, and then He arose from His grave, all so His Heavenly Father could forgive the sins of anyone willing to let Him rule their life. 

Only Jesus Christ could accomplish making a way for sinful people to enter Heaven, because He is the only perfect and sinless Savior. And here’s what is so amazing. Only Jesus has a documented historical record of having risen from His grave, never to die again. After Jesus arose, many eyewitnesses spent time talking with Him. Some eyewitnesses documented that they “ate and drank with Him” (Acts 10:41). His disciple John documented that Jesus even showed them His nail-scarred hands after He arose from being dead. His disciple Thomas had said he wouldn’t believe Jesus had arisen, unless he could see and touch His scars from the cross. (John 20:24-28; Acts 1:3; 10:39-42) The risen Lord Jesus let doubting Thomas do just that. (John 20:27)

“27 Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ 28 Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ 29 Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed’.” (John 20:27–29) 

Jesus is the sinless Savior, who suffered, died and arose for the forgiveness of sins. Did you notice that Jesus did not rebuke Thomas for calling Him his God? The Lord Jesus Christ is God, perfectly One with His Holy Father and the Holy Spirit. The reality of the Holy Trinity is a truth we will not be able to understand until we get to Heaven.  When the name “God” is used in a sentence that also refers to Jesus, we can always know this is not excluding Jesus from also being God Himself, along with the Holy Father and the Holy Spirit.

3 To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. (Acts 1:3) 

38 “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. 39 “We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. 40 “God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, 41 not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. 42 “And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. (Acts 10:38–42) 

The day is coming when you will stand before Jesus as your Judge. Are you ready for that day? Forty days after Jesus arose from His grave, He let many eyewitnesses watch Him ascend back up into Heaven. Two angels told the eyewitnesses that Jesus will return “in just the same way” (Acts 1:11). What will you do with the historical proof that Jesus is God, and that He is “Judge of the living and the dead”? (Acts 10:42)

Jesus Christ is the only sinless human Savior, who also let it be known that He is God, divinely One with the Holy Father and the Holy Spirit. (John 10:30; 14:9) Furthermore, by His victorious death, Jesus caused the veil, of His chosen Jewish people’s temple, in Jerusalem, to be “torn in two from top to bottom”! (Matthew 27:51) Quite astounding historical evidence of His having broken the spiritual barrier that sin had made between all human beings and God. Jesus Christ’s victorious death and resurrection also made it possible for all sincerely humble and repentant people, whether Jews or not, to go to Heaven when their life here on Earth ends, to live with Him eternally, in perfect peace.

ONLY JESUS CHRIST’S NAME HAS THE POWER TO SAVE YOU

“12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

43 “Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” (Acts 10:43) 

REPENTANCE IS NECESSARY TO GO TO HEAVEN

Now, this is huge. Each person must be willing to turn away from sinfully living in whatever ways they desire, and each repentant person must individually choose to live for Jesus Christ. God created all people with a free will, to be able to choose to either love and obey Him or not. Forced obedience, apart from one’s free will, does not come from a heart of true love. Without willful repentance, there is no hope of salvation. 

Regarding eternal salvation, it’s very important to understand, until a person’s moral cognitive development, which greatly affects their moral decision-making, reaches a high enough level of maturity, when they will have come to know “enough to refuse evil and choose good”, the Holy Father, in His perfect justice, does not hold them accountable for repenting of their sin (Isaiah 7:15). 

Nor does the Holy Father hold cognitively-immature individuals accountable for their need to submissively make a life commitment to His Son Jesus. The repentance needed for saving faith requires a certain level of cognitive ability to be able to honor the supreme authority and Lordship of Jesus Christ. 

The Holy Bible is God’s Holy Word, also referred to as the Word. The Holy Bible assures us, when human souls attain to that level of maturity, whether they have ever heard the name of Jesus or not, they will begin to be aware of the Holy Spirit’s convicting power, lovingly drawing them away from sin to Himself. (Romans 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9; Psalm 25:14) 

“14 The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant.” (Psalm 25:14) 

“2 ‘For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being,’ declares the Lord. ‘But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word’.” (Isaiah 66:2) 

A HEART COMMITMENT VERSUS MERE HEAD KNOWLEDGE 

Please understand this urgent warning. Do not be fooled by the devil’s lies. The devil wants to make you think that just believing the right things is all you need to do to go to Heaven. But the Bible clearly tells us that even Satan’s “demons also believe, and shudder” (James 2:19). Satan’s demonic followers are in dreadful fear and trembling because of how much they know to be true about the God they rebel against.

“19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” (James 2:19–20 NKJV) 

Intellectual belief about God is not enough to go to Heaven. Just intellectually believing Jesus died on the cross and arose 2000 years ago, all by itself, is not all there is to saving faith. Mere head knowledge isn’t what the Lord requires of you. It takes repentance, right beliefs, and a heart commitment of one’s life to go to Heaven. 

Knowing God as your Lord and Savior requires far more than having only head knowledge about God. Awareness of the historical reality of Christ’s death on a cross, followed by His resurrection, is not all it takes to go to Heaven. Knowing God as your Lord and Savior requires making a life commitment to Him with heart knowledge, or a heart that is willing to receive God’s all-powerful grace.

A heart ready to become a Christian is one that yearns to know God personally, and to be made right with Him through His perfect righteousness. A heart ready to become a Christian is one who wants to grow to better understand God’s Word of absolute unchanging truth, the Holy Bible. A saving heart commitment has the aim of desiring to live pleasing to God at the core of one’s ambition, wanting to please God as much as possible in all of your future choices and ways of living. 

That is what saving faith is all about, and it is empowered only by the free grace of God, which no one deserves or could ever earn by doing good deeds. It is not your knowledge that can save you either, though intellectual knowledge is needed. And it’s not your own commitment that can save you, though your life commitment is needed. But it’s receiving the free grace and perfect love of God that can save you, if you are willing to receive it. 

Receiving God’s grace will result in your ability to turn away from living for sin and self-rule. Becoming a Christian is all about asking the Holy Father to forgive you and to cover all your sins with Jesus Christ’s righteousness, making the victory Christ won on the cross count for you. The Holy Father will empower you to receive the Holy Spirit the moment you choose to be born again to new life in Christ. God’s gift of eternal salvation is a free grace gift for anyone who is willing to receive it. (Revelation 3:20; 22:17)

YOU MUST BE SPIRITUALLY BORN AGAIN

“3 Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ 4 Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?’ 5 Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, “You must be born again”.’” (John 3:3–7)

The Lord Jesus wants you to understand how to be born again. Cognitive understanding, or intellectual belief, in addition to making a life commitment, requiring sincere humble repentance, are all essential to being born again, before baptism in water can symbolize the new spiritual birth God intends it to signify. You will learn more about how to be born again to new life in Christ as you continue reading “Christ—The Only Way to Heaven”. 

Then this website’s next topic, “Sure of Going to Heaven”, explains more about assurance of being born again. Like this selection, it also ends with a prayer you can pray to become a Christian, sure of spending eternity in Heaven after this life here on earth. Following that selection, you can read more about the need for Scriptural baptism, by immersion in water, under the topic “Baptized in Christ”.

God only requires more cognitively-mature older children to verbally express real repentance from their sin, along with expressing a commitment of saving faith by His grace. Becoming a Christian is a personal choice one can make only after their moral understanding has reached a certain level of maturity. (Isaiah 7:15) Before any person can receive the Holy Spirit through saving faith, by the Holy Father’s grace, they must be able to understand what it means to believe in Jesus as their Lord. 

It is so important to understand this. “Lord” means the One honored as having “supreme authority”, worthy to be obeyed as the “Controller” of a person’s future choices (The Strong’s New Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words). Without understanding this, a person has not truly called “on the name of the Lord” for the eternal salvation of the Holy Bible (Romans 10:13).

Prior to the time of sufficient cognitive and moral maturity, if any precious little one’s earthly life should pass away, God’s justice, love and perfect grace will carry each treasured soul straight to Heaven. God would never keep a soul He created from entering Heaven who had not been given sufficient opportunity to turn their free will over to His control. Loved ones can rest assured in the promises of God, as soon as any precious little one is “absent from the body”, they will instantly be “present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8 NKJV). Yes, they will be with the Lord Jesus Christ, their Maker, in Heaven’s wonderful Paradise! (Luke 23:43; 2 Samuel 12:23; Colossians 1:16-17)

In efforts to prevent later confusion about one’s spiritual need to become a Christian, and to then obey the Lord with Scriptural believer’s baptism, it’s important to understand that God does not call on children to be baptized until after they have made a choice to repent of their sin and make a commitment to Him. After a person has been spiritually born again to new life in Jesus Christ, then baptism through immersion in water, like Jesus was baptized as an example for us to follow, comes next. The Holy Bible tells us there is only one baptism. 

“16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased’.” (Matthew 3:16–17) 

“4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:4–6) 

Clearly, infants and very young children are not yet able to understand the spiritual beliefs, repentance and commitment necessary to be born again. But what about people who have reached a mature level of cognitive moral development, able to know right from wrong, and well able to make accurate decisions about the difference between good and evil? Those are the people who stand accountable for their sins before God, and who need to be saved from the eternal consequences of all their sins. 

Each person’s sin caused an uncrossable gap between them and the Lord. No other Savior than the Lord Jesus Christ can forgive all their sins. (Mark 2:10-11) Only Jesus Christ can make what He accomplished, through His death on the cross and His victorious resurrection, count for their eternal pardon. Only the cross of Jesus Christ provides the way to bridge the immeasurable gap that sin caused. Trusting Jesus is the only way to Heaven.

ONLY JESUS IS THE TRUE AND NARROW GATE

The Holy Bible says that Jesus Christ is the True and Narrow Gate. All must whole-heartedly embrace Jesus as “Lord” to be able to enter Heaven. In the following passage of Scripture, the word “door”, in John 10:7-9, means “gate”. The most important Gate, that Jesus yearns for each soul to be able to enter, is Heaven’s gate. And no one can enter Heaven except by the power of “the blood of the Lamb”, Jesus Christ the Lord! (Revelation 12:11)

“1 ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.’ 6 This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them. 7 So Jesus said to them again, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly’.” (John 10:1–10)

Just believing in something doesn’t make it true. And there are so many conflicting human opinions out there about what truth really is. (John 18:38) But we know, from logic’s Law of Noncontradiction, they can’t all be true. In fact, no two opinions can both be true if they contradict each other. Logic’s Law of Noncontradiction states that it is impossible for contradictory opinions to both be accurate. This scientific awareness of reasonable logic supports the fact that contradictory religious beliefs cannot all be true. There has to be only one absolute truth about life after death, and about all things pertaining to life. Only Christianity has a Perfect Savior who loves sinners perfectly.

“25 But the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word which was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:25) 

“8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:8) 

Even human logic tells us there can only be one truth, about eternal life, that comes from, and is still in, the perfect heart of God, our Unchanging Creator. 

“8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

“6 Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me’.” (John 14:6)

THE CREDIBILITY, AUTHORITY AND TRUTH OF THE HOLY BIBLE

And here’s the significant reality. The Holy Bible is the only historically-credible document making a claim to have been inspired by the Creator of all mankind Himself­­, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the Living Word who became flesh (John 1:1-3,14), and that He also holds all things together that the Heavenly Father created through Him. (Colossians 1:16-17)

“16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” (Colossians 1:16–18) 

The true church is referred to above as "the body" of Christ, which includes all born again Christians (Colossians 1:17). Christians believe the Holy Bible, also referred to as Scripture, is God's Holy Word, that tells us how to live pleasing to God. 

“20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:20–21)

“16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16–17)

Then this next passage of Scripture reminds us that God would not be God if He was not perfect, and therefore, “It is impossible for God to lie” (2 Timothy 3:16). God is far too loving, pure, just and good to ever fail to keep one of His promises. Only God is perfect! Only God is worthy to be God!

“16 For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. 17 In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. 19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, 20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever . . . .” (Hebrews 6:16–20a)

“2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,” (Titus 1:2) 

“25 ‘But the word of the Lord endures forever.’ And this is the word which was preached to you.” 

(1 Peter 1:25)

“33 He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. 36 He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:33–36)

SIN PREVENTS FULFILLMENT OF OUR PURPOSE

The ever-enduring Word of truth, the Holy Bible, tells us the reason God made us. The Heavenly Father wants us to live in close fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ.

“9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:9)

But the problem with that close fellowship happening is that our sin stands in the way. And all people ever born, since the first two notoriously-sinful people, Adam and Eve, are sinners. 

“23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23) 

All people are sinners, who choose to do wrong things, against God’s perfect will and loving plan for us. (1 John 1:8) However, before any of us today start pointing a finger at Adam and Eve, there’s something we must remember. Though all people are sinful because of Adam and Eve’s initial sin, Jesus did let us know that some sins are greater than others, when He told the Roman Governor, Pilate, “he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin” (John 19:11b). If we would have been in Adam or Eve’s situation, we might have sinned against God in an even greater way. 

Now it’s true, none of Christ's true followers, who call ourselves Christians, will be completely perfect, in our understanding of the Bible, until we see Christ “face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12). Nor will we be perfect in our efforts to live holy and right, but we aim at and long for perfection, for the honor of His name’s sake. When we finally see Jesus, and will have finally been completely transformed into His likeness (1 John 3:2), “in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:52), then we will be fully perfected like Him. Christ’s perfection in holiness is our highest aim!

“12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

Till that glorious moment, every Christian’s aim should be to seek to cooperate as fully as possible with the indwelling Holy Spirit. He is always yearning to transform our perspectives, motives and ways of living to be more and more like those of Christ. True freedom is found only when this is our number one whole-hearted pursuit in life.

“17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:17–18) 

“1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1)

As already stated, logic’s Law of Noncontradiction brings us back to reality. If two interpretations of the Holy Bible contradict each other, there’s no way they can both be right. So we all must seek to understand the meaning of the Holy Bible, God's Word of absolute unchanging truth, to the best of our ability. We must prayerfully ask God to enlighten the eyes of our heart’s understanding about His spiritual wisdom each time we read, study or tell others about His Word of absolute truth. (Ephesians 1:18; Colossians 3:1-4) And we must realize God wants us to understand His commands in whatever ways best help us become more holy, as He is holy. (1 Peter 1:13-16; 2 Peter 1:2-11; Jude 1:17-25; Proverbs 4:23) 

ONLY JESUS CAN SAVE YOU

Without a doubt, no one else could have made a way for sinful people to enter Heaven except Jesus Christ Himself—the only sinless Savior. Jesus is the Holy One, infinitely all-powerful, who, while being eternally and fully God Himself, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, also became fully man, when He left His perfect throne in Heaven, where He had perfect oneness of fellowship with the Holy Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus left Heaven and came to our sin-stained Earth, born as a baby in a humble manger. 

Yes, Jesus Christ came to Earth to show us how to live blamelessly. And to die in our place, He took the eternal penalty for all our sins. By His triumphant death and resurrection, Jesus defeated the power of sin, death, Satan and hell. 

Human beings are the only creatures on Earth who have been given the choice to either love God in obedience, or to rebel and go our own way, which the Bible calls sin. When it comes to sin and rebellion, Jesus sees all and knows all. (2 Corinthians 5:2)

“13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:13–16)

“24 For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25 nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, 28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.” (Hebrews 9:24–28) 

GRACE COVERS ALL SIN

The Heavenly Father's grace truly does cover all sin, that is, for all who have repented and have submitted to Christ as their Lord, or Master. As we study the Holy Bible, we must thank God that His grace covers all of the sins and misunderstandings of anyone who belongs to Him as a “born again” Christian (John 3:3-7). We are sealed by God’s Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30), because of our having placed our faith in the Holy Father's Perfect Son, Jesus Christ. (John 1:12; Romans 10:9-10) 

Being sealed by the Holy Spirit means He has set His stamp of approval on our soul, because of how all our sins are covered with the righteousness of Christ’s sinless blood. God’s unbreakable seal is immovable and eternal. Once a sinful but repentant person has humbly been forgiven of all sins, born again to new life in Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit, nothing they could ever do can break that eternal seal. 

“15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, 16 ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart, And on their mind I will write them,’ He then says, 17 ‘And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’ 18 Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.” (Hebrews 10:15–18) 

If a person, who claims they were once born again, should ever renounce Christ as their Lord, that would be evidence that they never were truly born again and sealed by God’s Holy Spirit to begin with, and that they still desperately need to be saved. This is from the viewpoint of someone who firmly believes that once a person is saved, the Holy Bible totally supports the belief that they never can lose their salvation, no matter what. If you do not believe that, then that means you do not believe in a perfect all-powerful God, who is able to keep born again souls saved and sealed for all eternity.

God is omnipotent, and He promises to keep every born again believer eternally secure, as He holds us with His righteous almighty hand in the center of His heart. (John 10:27-30; 1 John 2:25, 5:11-13; Jude 1:1) God promises to finish the good work He began in us the moment we were spiritually born again, and He will never break any of His promises. (1 Corinthians 1:8; Philippians 1:6,10)

God promises all who have been born again that we were saved in full by His grace, which we could never deserve, a salvation which we could never have earned by any amount of even the noblest of good deeds, also referred to as our good works. (Ephesians 2:8-9) Even our ability to believe in the perfect finished work Christ accomplished on the cross is, it itself, a free grace gift from the Holy Father. But like any gift, it isn’t really yours until you receive it. Oh how we pray you will receive it.

“8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8–10)  

“12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12–13) 

OBEDIENCE HONORS GOD YOUR MAKER

Once you do receive God’s free grace gift of salvation, your subsequent good works, made out of obedience to God’s commands, that should follow your life commitment to Him, are evidence that you truly were born again and sealed by God’s Holy Spirit. Those obedient works cannot save you, for once you have been saved in full by God’s grace, you could never become any more, or less, saved. But your subsequent good works of obedience prove to everyone that you are saved, in addition to their being an example of Christlikeness, that draws others closer to Him. 

Furthermore, after being “born again”, your good works of obedience store up greater treasure in Heaven for you to enjoy with God and all His forever family, for all eternity without end! Good works will result in greater treasure in Heaven, that is, when they are done from the sincere motive of love for God and a desire to humbly honor Him and help others get closer to Him. But the Bible makes it clear, good works could never save anyone. 

“4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:4–7) 

SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS NEVER HONORS GOD

The self-righteous Pharisees of Jesus’ day thought they could work their way to Heaven, not only by obeying God’s rules, or commands, but also by obeying their own legalistic rules they had made up, to flaunt their feigned self-righteousness. But the Bible lets us know the self-righteous Pharisees were dead wrong. The Lord Jesus held nothing back in letting the Pharisees know that their spiritual father was the devil. (John 8:44) For the devil, Satan, loves to deceive people into thinking they can self-righteously work their way into Heaven. If that was true, then Jesus died needlessly.

“42 Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies’.” (John 8:42–44) 

REPENTANCE, FAITH AND COMMITMENT ARE ESSENTIAL

Salvation comes only by placing our faith in what Jesus accomplished for each of us through His death and resurrection, when He took our place on the cross and bore the shame of our sins, as well as the punishment you and I deserved. The only way to be reconciled with God, or made right with Him, is through repenting of your sin, placing your faith in Him and making a commitment to live for Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

“8 Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;” (Matthew 3:8) 

“20 . . . repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance.” (Acts 26:20b)

“20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:20–21)

The Holy Bible promises all, who want to be spiritually born again to follow Christ, that the Holy Spirit will enter and seal each new believer’s heart for all eternity, never to leave you nor forsake you. (Ephesians 1:13-14) This is our blessed assurance of having eternal peace with God, through the power of the perfect sinless blood Christ shed on the cross for all sins (Titus 2:11-14), and through the infinite power of Christ’s victorious resurrection. (Ephesians 3:14-21; Philippians 3:7-21)

“3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 7 then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.” (1 Corinthians 15:3–8)

RELATIVELY FEW WILL FIND THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN

But what is so sad is that the Bible says only a “few” will choose to believe Jesus is the only Way to Heaven (Matthew 7:13-14). That is, “few”, in comparison to the multitudes, who will have chosen to reject Jesus as their "Lord". Once again, rejecting Jesus as “Lord” means rejecting His exclusive right to rule one’s life choices, by refusing to submit to His supreme authority, by refusing to obey His holy commands. 

“46 Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46)

“13 Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13–14)

The urgency of this tragic reality, that only a few will find the true and narrow way leading to eternal life in Heaven, should change everything about how we live. This tragic reality should spur every true Christian on to encourage everyone we can to repent and to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord, before it’s too late.

“20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20) 

That's the basics of the Holy Bible, that a person needs to embrace, humbly bowing before the Lord, spiritually-speaking, to have the promised assurance of eternal salvation. Anything added to that, not found in the Holy Bible, is just wrong. Only Jesus Christ has an irrefutable historical record of being the one and only Savior, who not only claimed to be God in the flesh, but who also made a claim to love sinners. Jesus loves all sinners so much that He was willing to suffer horrendous shame and torture, to die so His Heavenly Father could forgive all our sins. There is no greater love.

“6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6–8) 

“16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” (John 3:16–21) 

And, once again, only Jesus has a historical record of having risen from the dead, and afterward, having been seen by hundreds of eyewitnesses (1 Corinthians 15:6; Acts 10:39), with “many convincing proofs” (Acts 1:3). Then 40 days after Jesus arose from the dead, eyewitnesses even watched Him ascend back up into Heaven (Acts 1:9-11), in the same way He will return to raise up all born again Christians, yes, “in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air”! (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

Now, as you read carefully the following words the Lord Jesus spoke, realize He was speaking them not only to those listening 2000 years ago, but He is also speaking them to you right now. Jesus yearns for you to listen to His gentle loving voice, begging you to let Him into your heart. The Lord Jesus deeply desires to bless you, to make your life meaningful, and to have close fellowship with you, more fulfilling, satisfying and enjoyable than you could ever possibly imagine! Jesus is knocking at your heart’s door now.

“20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. 21 He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” (Revelation 3:20–21) 

“23 Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me’.” (John 14:23–24 NKJV) 

NOTHING COULD BRING GREATER JOY

“11 You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” (Psalm 16:11) 

Not only does the Lord Jesus want you to repent, of going the wrong way, to avoid perishing eternally in hell, because of what your sins deserve in the Holy Father’s sight, but Jesus also yearns to fill you with His joy in full, both now (Psalm 16:11; 1 Peter 1:8-9), and later in Heaven! (Matthew 25:23)

Born again Christians’ joy does not depend on outer circumstances. Instead, true inner joy relies on having a right relationship with the Holy Father, through honoring His Perfect Son, Jesus, by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 3:14-21) 

Nothing in this world could bring greater joy! Jesus promises that the Holy Father, the Holy Spirit and He Himself will come to live with anyone who loves Them. Our love for God, the Holy Trinity, is evidenced by our commitment to honor Them as we obey the commands of the Holy Bible. Isn’t it amazing that Jesus promises They will make Their Forever Home with us, in our hearts! (John 14:23) They want to help us keep our commitment, so They can most fully bless us in wonderful ways. 

Obedience brings fullness of true joy. And the Lord Jesus’ friendship brings fullness of joy. Consider these powerful words of John 15:11-14 that Jesus spoke to all who will honor and obey Him as His true followers.

“11 These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. 12 This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do what I command you.” (John 15:11–14) 

“15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)

All who love Jesus and want to be His friend will obey Him. More than anything, Jesus wants all to come to repentance. So that’s why we hope and pray you will read the next section, “Sure of Going to Heaven”, which is all about making sure you are really headed for eternity in Heaven, and not hell.

“9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) 

We earnestly pray, as God is drawing you closer to His heart, that the spiritual eyes of your heart may be enlightened, “that you will know what is the hope of His calling, and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance” (Ephesians 1:18). And we pray that, if you have already been saved by God’s grace, you will let God keep drawing you closer and closer to Himself. We pray you will become more eager to share His truth with others too.

So if faith in God is real, it will result in doing good works of obedience, that go along with a heart that truly wants to honor and obey God. But don’t get discouraged dear friend. Keep in mind, no born again Christian’s obedience will be perfected, with perfect consistency, until we see Jesus Christ face to face. Christians still aim at attaining Christ's perfection, eagerly looking forward to that glorious moment our own perfection will be made complete when we see Him for the first time. So every Christian’s obedience should be evidence enough, to all who know us, by our fruit, or the evidence of our choices, that we truly are headed for Heaven’s gate. (Matthew 7:16a, 20; John 13:35) 

“20 So then, you will know them by their fruits. 21 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” (Matthew 7:20–21) 

The spiritual fruit, or results of our choices, should totally cause others to know we deeply love the Lord above all, and therefore love them too.

“34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34–35) 

TODAY IS THE DAY OF SALVATION

“1 And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain— 2 for He says, ‘At the acceptable time I listened to you, And on the day of salvation I helped you.’ Behold, now is ‘the acceptable time,’ behold, now is ‘the day of salvation’—" (2 Corinthians 6:1–2)

TOMORROW MAY BE TOO LATE

We urge you to not wait any longer to make certain you will spend eternity at peace with God in Heaven. Out of the Holy Father’s love for us, He has provided us with the Holy Bible, that warns us to flee from His wrath that will fall on all who reject His Son Jesus as the Lord and Ruler of their life. So please choose to run into God’s arms of perfect love for you right now. (Proverbs 18:10; Nahum 1:7) Respond to His kindness that is now drawing you to repentance. Let Him hold you in His arms of perfect love.

“4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who will render to each person according to his deeds: 7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.” (Romans 2:4–8) 

“3 The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness’.” (Jeremiah 31:3)  

CHOOSE JESUS TODAY, HEAVEN’S TRUE AND NARROW GATE

Please choose to receive Jesus Christ as your “Lord” (i.e., Controller) and as your Savior, while you still can. No one knows what the next hour holds. Ask Jesus to come into your heart, and to cover all your sin with His righteousness before the Holy Father. Let Jesus have control. His Holy Spirit will enter your life, and fill your heart with His wonderful true peace, and He will make His Forever Home with you and in you.

“20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)  

Don’t put it off. Do it now, dear friend, before it’s too late. (Matthew 7:23) Tomorrow might be too late. Don’t listen to the devil’s lie that you can always do it later. Satan wants you for his kingdom of darkness, to be his own follower, but only because he hates you, since you are one of God’s most priceless creations, and even far more so, because he hates God. Satan wants to imprison you eternally in hell. So please choose to run away from the devil and his kingdom of sin and darkness. Run into the loving, everlasting arms of God! The Lord, the only true Savior, is waiting for you to trust Him now! (John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 11:3; Revelation 12:9-11)

“18 Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him.” (Isaiah 30:18) 

“3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3–4) 

Realize God your Creator loves you more than you could ever fathom. He yearns to forgive you in full, to embrace you as His own and to welcome you into His forever family. The Holy Father is pleading with you to turn away from your sin, and to trust His Son Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. You can talk to God right now, either aloud, or just within your heart and mind. He knows all your thoughts better than even you do. He’s listening, and He cares about you, and whatever you’re going though, more than you can imagine. So sincerely pray the following prayer to the Lord God Most High, who is the Holy Father, the Holy Lord Jesus 

, and the Blessed Holy Spirit: 

PRAYER TO BE BORN AGAIN AND SURE OF GOING TO HEAVEN:

Lord God, I need You. I’m finally really ready to let You have control of everything. Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me enough to let Your perfect Son, Jesus Christ, die in my place, to take the punishment for all my sins. I believe Jesus defeated the power of sin, death and hell, and then arose from His grave. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for so willingly suffering in my place, on the cross that I deserved. Oh Lord God, please forgive me of all my sins against You, past, present and future. I receive You, Jesus, as my Lord, and I give You first place, to rule my life. I welcome You, Holy Spirit, into my heart. Make me whole and brand new. I’m ready to let You change me into a new person, free from the bondage of sin. Help me live for You now Lord God. Help me form new habits that will give evidence to everyone that I really do belong to You. Thank You for saving me from spending eternity in hell. Thank You for Your saving grace. I’m so glad I’m now free to live for Your honor, and I look so forward to spending eternity with You in Heaven. I love You, my Savior, my Leader and my Lord. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

If you just sincerely prayed the above prayer, all of your sin, past, present and future, is now whiter than snow when the Holy Father looks at you. You are covered with the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.  
Welcome to the eternal family of God! Do you feel the wonderful freedom of no longer carrying the heavy burden of all your sin and shame? We so hope and pray you will continue to read other parts of this website that will help you learn how grow stronger as a victorious Christian. Oh how we rejoice with you to celebrate the reality that you are now a born again child of God!

“3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3–5)  

The next section of this website, that we hope you will read, called “Sure of Going to Heaven”, will help you live with blessed assurance that you’ve been born again, to new life in Christ, assured of spending eternity in Heaven. That selection will help you defeat the enemy when he tries to make your doubt whether or not you will truly spend eternity in Heaven, in spite of your sinfulness. “Sure of Going to Heaven” will explain other important truths about the Holy Bible that will help you grow in your Christian journey with the Lord. 

Beware, because God’s arch enemy, the devil, often tries to make born again Christians doubt God’s promises and instead believe subtle misconceptions that are not true about God’s will. That’s why it’s so important for you to grow in your understanding of God’s Word, the Bible. 

For example, the false belief that mere church attendance qualifies a person for Heaven is a misconception that will be exposed as one of Satan’s lies. Even if a person serves on a church staff, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are a born again Christian. We hope and pray you will keep reading. 

Knowing God’s truth can prevent a lot of unnecessary heart ache, if you will take the next steps to embrace His truth and apply it to your lifestyle choices by the power of His indwelling Holy Spirit.

As a new joint heir with Jesus Christ, you can now look forward to obtaining the riches of His glorious inheritance in Heaven. So let the Lord Jesus fill your heart with His peace, joy, hope and love. Our hearts are truly filled with rejoicing at the thought that our Heavenly Father might use this website to lead someone to place their faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. If you happen to be such a brother or sister in Christ, we look forward with eager anticipation to one day meeting you on the other side of Heaven’s True and Narrow Gate! 

“5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” (1 Timothy 1:5) 

“11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11) 

“15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15) 

*All Bible verses referenced are from NASB, The New American Standard Bible (1995), unless otherwise noted. All Bible verses listed individually are in bold print.