If God should ask you, “Why should I let you into My Heaven?” What will your answer be? “I was baptized when I was a baby.” “I was a church member.” “I tried to keep the Ten Commandments.” “I Always tried to be good to everyone.” “I never did anything real bad.” “I always tried to help people.” “I did many good deeds in my lie.” Listen to what God says to you! “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” Ephesians 2:8-9).
I suppose the best way to tell you how to get to heaven is to share what happened to me and millions of others, just like me.
The late Pastor Jim Combs talked with me many years ago…It was on a Thursday in October,1958 in our home in Downey, California. He asked me a series of questions: First, “Are you a Christian?” My response, “I don’t even know if there is a God, and if there is, He doesn’t like me very much!” Second, “Do you think you will go to heaven when you die?” I said, “I don’t know.” Third, “Would you like to know?” ”Yes I would!” Then he asked, “Do you believe you are a sinner?” (The first question I knew I could answer easily!) “Yes!” He said, “The Bible says, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God’” (Romans 3:23). Dr. Combs explained that Jesus Christ, God’s Son died just for me. He quoted, John 3:16, “For God so loved John Sparks (you can put your name here), that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever (put your name here) believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Then Dr. Combs said, “If you want to accept Christ, just take my hand.” I reached out and clasped his hand. Then he helped me to ask God for forgiveness, so I prayed: “Dear God, I know I have sinned, and I know ‘The wages of sin is death’ (Romans 6:23). And I know I am can’t save myself, so I ask You to forgive my sins and come into my life. I believe that your Son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was raised from the dead, He is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”
I got up from my knees, “a new creation in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17). It’s that simple!
Romans 10:13, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” 1 John 5:11-13, “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”
