How to Get to Heaven  



                               
    How does a person make it to heaven?



    THE 4 SIMPLE LAWS



    LAW 1:


    GOD IS HOLY AND JUST

    In civil law, a good judge must punish crime. If he turns a blind eye to injustice, then
    he is corrupt and he himself should be punished.

    "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; mercy and truth go
    before your face" (Psalm 89:14).

    In one ten year period in the United States, 63,000 murderers were never brought to
    justice. These were unsolved crimes. If God turns a blind eye to those murderers,
    then He is corrupt by nature. It makes sense that if He is good and just, He should
    be angry with those who have taken the lives of others, and He should punish
    murderers, rapists, etc.

    This is the teaching of the Bible—that God will "by no means clear the guilty." He
    "will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good
    or whether it is evil," "God is angry with the wicked every day."



    LAW 2:


    THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH

    "...sin is transgression of the Law" (1 John 3:4)

    Do you consider yourself to be a good person? Most people do. However, most of
    us differ as to the definition of "good." The Bible says that God is good, and the Ten
    Commandments are His standard of goodness. So, we will look at God's Law . . .
    With a tender conscience, ask yourself if you have obeyed the following:

    You shall have no other gods before Me
    Does your check book/spending, calendar and topics of conversation show God is
    first in your life? Do you love a hobby, sport, money, job or relationship more than
    God? Do you involve God in all decisions in your life, or are you your own "god"?

    You shall not make for yourself a graven image or any likeness of any thing that is in
    heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
    Do you possess anything that receives more of your time and focus than God?

    You shall not take God's name in vain
    Have you ever used God’s name a curse word or expression of disgust or said "Oh
    my G.d!"?

    Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy
    Do you set aside one day a week to rest from work and worship God?

    Honor your father and mother
    Do you respect your parents by giving them quality time, focused attention and
    regular expressions of love? Have you always obeyed your parents? Have you ever
    cursed them or hit them?

    You shall not murder Have you ever hated someone?
    1 John 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no
    murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

    You shall not commit adultery Have you ever looked at a married person or picture
    of a married person with lust?
    Matthew 5:27-28 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not
    commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust
    after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

    You shall not steal
    Have you ever taken anything, even something small?

    Have you stolen time from your employer by taking a longer lunch hour or not
    working a full day?

    Do you give to the Lord’s work?

    You shall not lie
    Have you ever told a "white" lie or "fib"? Are you allowing others to believe
    something about you that both God and you know are untrue?

    Do you lie to protect your reputation?

    You shall not covet
    Have you ever wanted something that belonged to someone else? A position? A
    relationship? Something they owned?

    Are you obsessed with acquiring things that are not needs?

    The Bible says in James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet
    offend in one point, he is guilty of all . So if we have broken one commandment, we
    are guilty of breaking them all! After death we must face God in judgment. (Hebrews
    9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:) . The
    Bible says that God will punish all murderers, rapists, thieves, liars, adulterers, etc.
    He will even judge our words and thoughts. On Judgment Day, will you be found to
    be guilty or innocent of breaking His commandments?

    Perhaps you think that God is good, and will therefore overlook your sins. But it is
    His goodness that will make sure that murderers, rapists, thieves, liars, etc. receive
    justice. He would be a corrupt Judge if He turned a blind eye to injustice. Have you
    kept the Commandments?

    The Bible says that the Law is perfect. It commands you to be perfect (Matthew 5:
    48). Are you perfect (in thought, word, and deed)? Will you make it to Heaven? You
    may say that you are still good, but God says you're not (see Psalm 14:2-3). So one
    of you is lying, and the Scriptures tell us that it is impossible for God to lie.
    Remember that all liars will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 21:8). God's
    Law demands justice, and the penalty for sinning against Him is death and Hell.
    Listen carefully if you want to live.



    LAW 3:



    GOD IS RICH IN MERCY TO ALL THAT CALL UPON HIM

    "But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us..."
    (Ephesians 2:4).

    A youth once borrowed a fast car, and in a drunken stupor, sped through his home
    town at 120 m.p.h. Since everything was horse-drawn in his country town, there was
    no laws against speeding. So the council passed a law saying that 60 m.p.h. was
    the maximum speed, and that any transgressors would be fined $100 for every m.p.
    h. over the speed limit.

    On his way back through the town, the speedster decided to pull the same prank.
    He was apprehended, tried, and found guilty by his father, who was the town's only
    judge. He was fined $6,000, and because he had no money and no words of
    defense, the youth was led off to prison.

    As he sat in despair in prison, his father appeared at the door, and told him that he
    had sold all is own prized possessions and paid the fine for him. The son couldn't
    believe that he loved him that much. They embraced as they never had before, and
    walked off in a new-found relationship, bounded together with love.

    That's a picture of what God did for us through the Gospel.

    We have all broken the Law a multitude of times, but God came to this earth in the
    person of Jesus Christ, and paid the fine for us?"For God so loved the world that
    He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but
    have everlasting life." The Bible says, "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God
    is eternal life, through Christ Jesus our Lord."

    THE GOODNESS OF GOD

    Jesus satisfied Eternal Justice, then rose from the dead, so that God can grant us
    eternal life. But just as we cannot earn a gift, so we cannot earn eternal life by our
    good works "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
    yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone boast."



    LAW 4:


    ETERNAL LIFE IS IN JESUS CHRIST

    "He who hears My word and believes on Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and
    shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life" (John 5:24).

    Life's greatest mystery, death, was destroyed by the One who said, "I am the way,
    the truth, and the life..." The Bible says, "He who has the Son, has life..."

    To find the way to God, to understand the truth of God's Word, and to received the
    gift of eternal life, begin by repentance and faith in His Word. Next be baptized,
    read your Bible and find a local Bible teaching church to attend so you can worship
    God and have fellowship with other Christians.

    If you have repented and trusted in Jesus, then you can now partake of the
    blessings of "the New Covenant." Here are some God's exceedingly great and
    precious promises:

    You passed from death to life.
    You are cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ—God has removed your sins as far
    as the east is from the west.
    As you read the Bible daily, it will come alive to you and cause you to grown in your
    faith.
    When you pray, God will hear you and answer your prayers.
    God will "keep you from falling, and present you faultless before the presence of His
    glory, with exceeding joy."