If someone came up to you on the street and asked you, "How do you get to heaven?" What would you tell them?
I would begin by dealing with what keeps us out. The most common misconception is when I hear people say “I’m a good person”, as if a good act could undo a bad one. As if you could “unbreak a heart” or “unpain” someone. If God is love, and we reject Him and His offer of love, it would be unkind of Him to force us to be where we don’t want to be, and with whom we don’t want to be. I would tell of the sin which we all carry, and point them to the things they only know, and nobody else. I would ask them to reflect on their secret things, and tell them how they have not only sinned against God, but their own consciences. Then I would tell them the good news. God sent His Son to take their place in being punished and separated from God in their place. I would lastly be sure to not only tell them about Jesus as Savior, but the terms of the relationship. Lord and property, King and subject, Master and servant. I would tell them that only in such a relationship can He be freely given the authority to own, and thus save us. I would be sure to tell them of the new life to the fullest which comes from this relationship. I would explain that it is never God rejecting men, but men rejecting God. He sent His Son to die so He could be with them totally, without the relationship interference of sin. How could that be rejection? I would then invite them to enter into this relationship on His terms, and see what He will do to change their lives, and their eternities.
Romans 3:21-25
"But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood."
Matthew 10:37-40
"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. "He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me"
(Thilo Young)
Tough Question Of The Week #3