Are you good enough to get into heaven? Being good is very important, but it will not “get us into heaven.” Being good shows our love and respect for the Lord. Thankfully when Jesus came, He not only made heaven possible for us, but He also showed us “the way” to make it to heaven.
There was a very good and religious man who came to Jesus concerned about this very subject. His name was Nicodemus. And Jesus told him as seen in John 3:3, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Nicodemus was an older guy and said, “How could this happen, I cannot re-enter my mother’s womb and come out again…” And Jesus went on to explain to him that everyone is born of the flesh, but that this kind of re-birth is of the spirit (spiritual).
When we believe on Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we can be born-again. This means recognizing Him as Savior for the remission of sins and choosing to commit to Him, asking Him to be our Lord.
This is where the most famous verse in the Bible comes from, and it actually is the Gospel. It is John 3:16.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Jesus further explained that He did not come to condemn us, but that through Him we might be saved. And then He said as seen in John 3:18, “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
The apostle Paul under the direction of the Holy Spirit wrote that all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. It means we are all sinners in need of a Savior. If any of us could ever be good enough, Jesus would not have had to leave heaven and come and lay down His life for us.
The penalty for disobedience with God is death. It is the kind of death that means separation from Him. And we are born separated spiritually. If we die separated, we will go to the place of eternal death and separation. It is a horrible place because not only will one be in eternal darkness and separated from God and all that is light and good, but there will be torment because it is the same place where demons and the devil will be in eternal punishment.
But God does not want that for us. He wants to be our spiritual Father now and forever. By accepting His plan of salvation, meaning taking the pardon that Jesus acquired for us on the cross, and then committing to putting Him first in our lives, we can be truly saved! This is the good news of the Gospel. This is the reason Jesus came and the heart of God for us.
Life is not by chance. God made the heavens and the earth on purpose. He made mankind on purpose. He even uniquely designed you and I in our mothers’ wombs, each on purpose.
There really were an Adam and Eve. And they really were pure and sinless. But when they chose to disobey God, sin came into this world. They had been spiritually in one accord with God, but when they sinned, a spiritual separation happened. And all their descendants have been born with a sinful nature and spiritually separated from God ever since. When we willfully decide to respect and accept that everything came from God and belongs to Him, including us, we are on the path of wisdom and respect. God alone decides our eternal fate. If we continue as we were born, living under the direction of a “fallen nature” (sinful nature, spiritually separated from God), we can try to be good and moral all day long, but if we are not really born again, as Jesus explained to Nicodemus, then we “cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Something changes on the inside of us when one is born-again. It is no longer simply forcing oneself to be good. We realize that sin hurts. It hurts the Lord, it hurts us, and most of the time hurts others and when born-again, we simply do not want to sin anymore. And it happens because our spirits really do go from darkness, into the light. We come into one accord with God. And by keeping a right relationship with Him, we have real life and eternal life forever.
The moment Jesus died, our sin-debt was paid. But it is up to us to accept His pardon. If you have not accepted God as Creator and Lord and His offering of eternal life through Jesus Christ, today can be the day. Don’t waste another moment trying to be your own lord. Find true joy and satisfaction in the destiny God has for you. Jesus offers us life and life more abundantly. And a kind of peace that can only be found in Him.
Just sincerely pray to the Lord something like this from your heart.
Oh God, I recognize that I am in real need of You as my Lord and Savior. I understand that You sent Jesus to take the penalty for my sins. Thank You Jesus for all that You did. Please forgive me of my sins and give me this new life You spoke of. Make me born-again and help me live my life for you today and forever. Oh Lord I thank You for redeeming me. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Hallelujah, if you prayed this sincerely and have really chosen to continue with God as Lord, then there is no doubt that you have been born-again. Share it with someone! The Bible says that with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:10). Get a Bible and start reading it (I recommend the New King James Version). The book of John, which is the fourth book in the New Testament, is a great place to start. Through the Bible, we discover God’s character and ways so that we can live the abundant life the Lord wants for us.
Get plugged into a church where you can continue growing in Christ. You are now like a little child in the Lord and need to grow up in Him. This is the beginning of real life. God has now come to live in your heart by way of His Holy Spirit. If you stay with Him, He promises to never leave you or forsake you. We have His Word on it.