How to get into Heaven (The Gospel)
Is God real? Is Heaven real? And how do I get into Heaven? Those are good questions, and there is Good News!
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Chapters
- God made this world
- This is God's world, and we misbehaved
- Gods Law, the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20)
- The world is bad, but I'm a good person ...
- Your goodness to the test
- The Good News!
- What do I do?
God made this world
Psalm 19:2 - The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.
Amazing things have a creator, and that's a sensible statement.
Big Bang theory and the Evolution of species
The Big Bang theory is the most widely accepted secular theory of how the universe came to be, there really aren't any alternatives. It states that at one time there was a hot dense point of matter in a vast nothing. No one knows how this hot dense point of matter came to be, or what was before that. This hot dense point went through a rapid expansion also known as the "Big Bang". They say it wasn't really an actual bang, but we call it the Big Bang anyway. And also, if we'd ever witness something similar, it would be the biggest bang since the first Big Bang, so the Big Bang actually is quite a big bang. The universe expanded and cooled down, and after 12 billion years the first multicellular life forms evolved.
In short, what needed for our world was:
- Random chaotic matter
- A chance for random order
- Enough time to turn improbability into probability
- Some survival of the fittest sprinkles on top.
Survival of the fittest actually makes good sense on its own. But it has had a relatively minor impact in this grand scheme. It's good for fitness of function, and gets rid of dysfunction, but it does not directly cause new functions. At the very best survival of the fittest provides additional time, something the evolution lottery can't have enough of. Survival of the fittest doesn't even guarantee preservation of function, in some cases it's even the cause of loss of function.
This boils down to: If you just wait long enough order will eventually happen, which is false.
Lets do an experiment
- We collect a million smartphones
- We disassemble each smartphone
- We put each disassembled smartphone in its own time capsule
- We bury each time capsule for a million years
- We make sure that after this million years they are dug up
- The people in the future count the number of smartphones that somehow got reassembled
I for one, dare to predict the amount of reassembled smartphones: it's zero. And you can't deny that's a fully sensible statement to make. For the smartphones to reassemble you need: intelligence, knowledge, skilful action, and tools.
That's a silly and unfair comparison
Yes it indeed is. Compared to living beings these smartphones had a huge head start, and still nothing positive happened!
Living beings had to evolve their DNA, and survive, in highly unfriendly environments. Living beings are also way more complex than smartphones.
Everything the smartphones needed was there, only assembly was needed. They didn't have to evolve their DNA. The fact that they were whole before they got disassembled gives them a huge advantage.
The probability that one of these smartphones would get fixed in a situation like this, is way bigger than the probability that life evolved as secular science claims it did.
Law of entropy
To state that "if you just wait long enough, order will follow", is not what science teaches. The second law of thermodynamics states that "as one goes forward in time, the net entropy (degree of disorder) of any isolated or closed system will always increase".
In other words: when times passes, and things aren't being taken care of, they deteriorate. You see this everywhere: food rots, cars rust, floors get dirty, houses collapse, and the icons on your computer desktop become cluttered ... if you don't intelligently take care of it.
Whats your point?
When you look at a smartphone, you know it has a creator.
When you look at a building, you know it has a creator.
When you look at a painting, you know it has a creator.
When you look at the universe ... you know it has a creator.
Without a doubt: God created this world.
This is God's world, and we misbehaved
If this world is Gods property, then there are consequences to how we behave. If I was a guest at your house, wouldn't you expect me to behave? You'd expect me to have common sense: no deliberate vandalizing, no standing on the table, no slamming of doors. It's your house, with your set of rules. If I'd misbehave you'd have a finite amount of patience, before you'd kick me out.
Gods Law, the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20)
- You shall have no other gods before me.
- You shall not make for yourself graven images, nor serve them.
- You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
- You shall remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
- You shall honor your father and your mother.
- You shall not kill.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- You shall not covet what is your neighbor's.
Don't these Commandments get us all wound up? They're so obvious and sensical, and having them spelled out to us by some authority, is just treating us as if we're little kids! We're not little, and we can think for ourselves! Surely these rules are easy, we know what is right, don't we?
But by simply looking at the world we can see that they're not obvious. It shows we are unable to abide to these simple rules. If not killing, not lying, not cheating etc. is so easy, then why do we see it everywhere?
Romans 3:23 - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
The world is bad, but I'm a good person ...
"Well, I've never killed anybody, or stolen a car ... I'm a pretty decent person. Surely God is okay with me?"
You're probably a decent person compared to other people. If other people are the standard, then I'm not so bad myself! Some people are murderers. Comparing yourself to such a person will certainly make you look good. But do you get to enter Heaven because there are other people out there who are relatively worse than you? Is that your strategy, pointing at others? That's not how justice works.
"But I did so many good things in my life, don't they count for anything?"
No they don't. Your good things don't make up for your bad things. If a murderer on trial said; "Yes I'm guilty, but I don't deserve punishment, just look at all the good things I did!" That too is just not how justice works, crime demands punishment.
"Hell is so harsh, why can't God just forgive me and let me into Heaven?"
Again, that is not how how justice works either. We as Gods creation long for God to judge righteously all the time, except when it's our turn to be judged? If God would just let you in, then it would only be fair to just let everybody in, including the likes of Hitler, Stalin, Vlad the Impaler, Pol Pot ... Just letting people into Heaven like that would be the epitome of injustice, and it would be on God.
God doesn't judge because He likes to punish, He judges because He is righteous.
The standards of people are all over the place, they're fluid and vague, and they all differ. If God's going to judge me, I'd like to know exactly by what standards He's going to do so.
God sees right through you
Proverbs 21:2 - Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.
People compare each others actions, because that's what we can observe. But God sees our actions and their source; our hearts. God will judge us fully, accurately, and by a well defined just standard.
Your goodness to the test
- Have you ever used the name of Jesus as a cuss word?
- Have you ever stolen anything?
- Have you ever lied?
- Have you ever been jealous about someone else's possessions?
- Jesus said that, if you ever lustfully looked at a woman you already committed adultery with her in your heart (Matthew 5:27). Have you ever looked at a woman/man with lust?
- Jesus said that, if you keep unjust anger in your heart you will be subject to judgment as if it was murder (Matthew 5:22). Ever had unjust anger in your heart?
We all broke Gods Law, we are all sinners.
Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death ...
What would you say, based on the Ten Commandments; Guilty or innocent? Heaven or hell? Would you, on your own merits, be welcome in Gods house?
The Good News!
Gods standards, although reasonable and just, are out of reach for all of us. And the wages of sin is death ... but there is GOOD NEWS! God is perfectly aware of our shortcomings, He knows we need help!
The good news is that God loved us so much, He took care of our predicament!
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
God Himself saved us from unavoidable judgement! God came down to Earth, and He Himself took the punishment of death in our place!
Jesus the Son of God died on a cross for our sins, your debt is paid in full!
In a court of law, if you have a fine to pay, it's perfectly just if someone paid it for you.
Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
What do I do?
To accept this gift of eternal life you have to:
1. Acknowledge that Jesus is The Son of God
John 14:6 - "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
Jesus is the only Way to the Father (Heaven)! You have to accept God for What and Who He is. If you don't He can't be your Saviour either.
2. Accept that you too are a sinner
Thinking that you lived up to God's Law is pure arrogance. A doctor is only able to help those who are willing to admit that they're sick.
3. Acknowledge that Jesus died for your sins, and that He rose again
Acts 2:24 - ...it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him.
By dying on a cross Jesus bore our punishment for us. And after three days He rose from the grave! According to the Law Jesus lived a perfect live, that means He didn't earn the wages of sin, making Jesus' death unjust. Jesus' resurrection was a true and total defeat of death.
4. Repent from your sins
Jesus is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. He wants you heart, your life, your love. You've got to get real. The Law shows what really breaks Gods Heart, and if now, God means anything to you, you'd do your utmost best to better your behaviour and attitude.
Mark 1:15 - "The time has come," He said. "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!"
5. Make Jesus your Lord
Jesus died for you, in turn you can live for Him. God has a plan for your life, and it's infinitely better than what you can come up with. Make Jesus Lord over your life. Life with Jesus won't be without troubles or pain, but it'll be joyful, meaningful, purposeful and supernatural ... this is what it's all about.
Will you futilely try to uphold Gods Law yourself? Or will you receive the free gift of life by believing and accepting the fact that Jesus the Son of God paid the price for your sins?
Romans 10:9 - If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
If you have questions, or if you're looking for further information, I recommend these links:
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