Posts Tagged ‘God’
Do Good People Go To Hell?
You Know, being confined to Hell for all eternity can be a scary thought. I wonder if good people go to Hell. If good people do go to Hell, then how good does one have to be “Not” to go to Hell?
Right now, you are probably thinking that, “I know I am good enough to go to Heaven and not be sent to Hell.” Yeah, I know the feeling.
When I was a teenager I was quite active in the Episcopal Church. I was an acolyte, a Sunday School Teacher, taught in Vacation Bible School, and was leader of the Youth Group – Spy’s it was called, which stood for “St. Peter’s Youth”. Catchy, do you not think?
What I really enjoyed doing was when I was asked to be a Lay Reader during Morning Prayer Service. It got to the point that, except for giving the sermon and the blessings at the end of the service, I got to do everything else. Man, I was King Teen of the Church. I was a pretty big guy on campus, so to speak, and the thoughts of going to Heaven when I died were never in doubt.
After graduating High School my life began to change and church activity began to drift off, especially after I was called to active service in the Navy. I had already joined the Navy Reserves when I was just a Junior in High School and the Navy, in its wisdom, saw fit to bring me up to the big leagues. Actually, I really enjoyed my three years on active service. It is a time of life that I would do over again.
Strangely enough, I never went to church at all while serving in the Navy. Church was the last thing on my mind. I was too busy, well, being a Sailor…
Eventually I was released from active service, got married, had kids and was living life OK. During all of this, I still felt that I would go to Heaven when I died. If someone were to ask me how I knew – this is what I would tell them. “Well, I know that when I get up there God would put all of my good qualities on one side of a scale and all of my bad points on the other side of the scales and the good would out way the bad and for that reason I would be allowed to get into Heaven.” With that kind of thinking about what was there to worry.
To make a long story short, along the way I started going to church, got involved in various activities and actually started reading the Bible; not a good idea for someone with the thinking about going to Heaven that I had. Maybe this would be you as well.
Over a period of time, there were three words that would pop up on occasion; four times in Psalms, once in Romans and twice in the Gospels. What were these three words? There were, “There is none.”
Now, by themselves, the phrase, “There is none,” is really not a bad thing about which to ponder, but when you add three more words to them it becomes a big thing. The other three words are, “That does good.” So, when you put them together you get, “There is none that does good.” Think about that for a moment and then let me add what Jesus said about being good.
In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark there is a story about a person that came up to Jesus and said, “Good Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus answered like this,
“Mark 10:18 – And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”
Man, that was like running into a brick wall. Jesus actually said that, “No one is good except God.” I mean, if no one is good that would mean me! How could Jesus say that I was not a good person? Look at all of the work I did in the church early in my life and being told how I was a good little boy. Look how I was a good father and husband. Look how people liked me and said that I was a good person. Everyone thought that I was a good person except… except Jesus!
Now, how could I doubt Jesus? However, if He was right… then I had nothing good to offer God when I died. If I had nothing good I would not be allowed into Heaven. If we cannot get into Heaven by our good works how do we get into Heaven?
I started reading and studying the Scriptures, especially the New Testament. I learned that the reason we are not considered good is that we have a sin nature, and this sinfulness has separated us from God. In order to come back into a right relationship with God we need to repent of our sinfulness and to seek forgiveness for our sins.
However, our sins require a penalty for which they need to be paid. We need to pay for them – unless – unless someone stands in our place and takes on them the penalty for which we owe God. I learned that Jesus has done this for they who would confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and to believe in their heart that God has raised Him from the grave. In other words, whoever would call upon the name of the Lord would be saved.
If we would just repent of our sins and believe that Jesus is Lord of our life because of what He has done, and have a desire to be obedient to Him, to do His will, then we would be forgiven for our sins based on the fact that Jesus died for sins and paid the penalty for them.
In fact, if you would just call upon Jesus as Lord of your life you will find out that you have been forgiven, saved from paying the penalty for your sins by facing the wrath of God on Judgement Day, and are now in God’s family for all eternity.
Good works will never save you, anyone or me. Only by calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus, will anyone be forgiven, saved and allowed into Heaven.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Surely you do not want to be one of those good people, depending on your good works, who wind up in Hell? Will you not now call upon the Lord Jesus to be saved? It really is that easy. If I, one who was a very religious and good working man can do so – you can as well.
Throw your good works aside and call upon Jesus to be saved. Do so before it is too late.
Could You Forgive As Jesus Asked?
Everything that Jesus taught is to show man that he could not be obedient to God, and was unable to earn his way into heaven. What Jesus said about forgiveness is a good example.
In Matthew 6: 14, 15 Jesus said the following:
Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Let me ask you a question? How easy is it to forgive someone? Is isn’t is it. In fact, depending on the offense, it is not easy and it may be that you do not want to forgive them at all. Am I right? I do speak from experience.
Here, however, Jesus tells us that unless we can forgive others for their sins against us then He will not forgive us for our sins against Him. If you think about it, that is very scary. You think, how can I forgive them for what they did to me? If you only knew what they did, you would understand why I cannot nor do I want to forgive them.
If that is the case then we are stuck. If God will not forgive us because we will not forgive others, how are we going to get into heaven? That is the question, and that is what Jesus is showing us. In simple terms, Jesus is telling us that we just can never do what is needed to earn our way into heaven. There has to be another way, and there is.
In John 14 Jesus tells us what the only way is for us to get into heaven:
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
In everything, Jesus taught that, because of our sinfulness, we cannot be obedient to God the Father and earn our way into heaven. Someone must do that for us and that someone is Jesus.
We do not want to forgive because we cannot forgive; that must be taken out of the way. Jesus did just that for His sheep.
Are you among His sheep? Only until you become a member of God’s family will you ever want or desire to forgive others as God forgave you. Once you have been born again, the change to being able to forgive others could happen quickly or over a period of time, and eventually you will find it easier to forgive as God wants. Especially when you realize what all God has forgiven you.
Forgiving without God will never happen nor completely go away even if you say you do. Only after being forgiven by God and given the gift of forgiveness will you forgive as God intends. Only after being able to forgive others for their sins against you will you be able to appreciate God’s forgiveness of you for your sins against Him. Then, you can truly say that God forgave you as you have forgiven others.
A Most Misunderstood Verse
There are many verses in the Scriptures that a number of well-meaning Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers will take completely out of context when preaching on them. It seems they do this to support their version of theology that they were taught in studying for the ministry.
The one verse we are looking at today is a good example. This verse needs to be read completely in context to understand fully what it is saying.
Here is that verse… John 1:12
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, to them that believe on his name
At first glance, this looks like it means that anyone who believes on the name of Jesus and receives Him into their life then Jesus will give them the power to become sons of God. Well, how can this be when we are all spiritually dead in our sins and are unable to respond to God in this manor?
Here is the answer. When John 1:12 is read in context of verses 11 and 13, we can easily see that it means something completely different.
John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
The first thing we see is that when Jesus came to His own people they did not believe on Him nor did anyone receive Him. However, we know there were many who did believe on Him and receive Him into their life. So, what changed some people who did not at first receive Him?
Easy, the reason they believed on Him and received Him is this. Jesus “first” had to give them the power to become sons of God.
Verse 13 supports this and explains it perfectly.
John 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
We read here that they were “first” born again “before” believing and receiving Jesus. Being born into a believing family did not give them the right, doing good works did not give them the right, nor choosing of their own will to be born again gave them the right. The only thing that gives anyone the right to become sons of God is by God’s own will, and His alone.
When the Spirit of God makes one alive, they have been given the right to become sons of God and once they are born again they then believe on Jesus and receive Him into their life and confess Him to be Lord. So, lets read all three verses together and you should then be able to see what is being said as God opens up your understanding to receive His Word.
John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, to them that believe on his name:
John 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Here is what we see. Jesus came to His own but no one would believe on Him. However, Jesus did give the right to some to believe on Him and to receive Him.
The only reason the “many” believed on Him and received Him into their life was that they were first given the right to become the sons of God. In other words, they were first born again by the Spirit of God and not by anything that man did to deserve that right. Only God gives this right as He chooses.
This is what these verses are saying. Therefore, you can see that when most verses are read out of context they can be made to say one thing, but when read in the context of what was being said you would see that there is a completely different meaning.
Therefore, what should we all be doing? Trust only in the Holy Spirit to teach you as you read the bible instead of letting someone else read the bible and then tell you what they think; and that goes for what I am saying as well.
There is no better teacher than the Great Teacher Himself.
Apostle Describes Meeting With Jesus
Back in the 70’s I had started a newsletter called “The Christian Layman”(Insights from a Layman’s Journal). The following was the first article in that newsletter.
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Apostle Describes Meeting With Jesus
I was soaking wet, having waded ashore from the boat. The others, I had left on board, were guiding its rough underbelly onto the cool sand that had been chilled by the night air.
As I sat down, the damp sand crumpled under my weight, and I became conscious of how cold were my clothes, but I did not care. For there, sitting beside the warm fire that He had just made, was my Master – Jesus.
It had been a few days since we last met, and now we were sharing a breakfast of bread and fish. Where the food had come from I did not know and I did not care. Nothing mattered except that Jesus was alive and He was with us once again. I felt great.
We finished off the last of the fish and I turned toward Jesus; He was looking at me. It was as if He was looking into my very soul, the very heart of my existence.
“….. Do you love me?”
The words stung.
“Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Two more times he asked me the same question; three times in all. Twice I said “yes.” The third time…
“Lord, You know all things; You know that I love you.”
Feed my sheep.”
I had denied Him three times on the night before He was crucified.
Now, three times He made me tell Him that I loved Him, even though He knew I did before saying so. But, more important, He had said,
“Feed my sheep.”
For three years, He had fed us, not just food but something more. He had told us that man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
We are not to worry about what we are going to eat and drink. We are not to worry about whether or not everyone has physical or material comfort.
No, we are to provide His sheep with the bread that gives eternal life – Jesus.
He knows His sheep we do not. So in order for us to follow His command, we must bring the bread of life to everyone we meet. We must present Jesus to everyone, every time, all of the time. Anything else and we fail.
How about you? Have you been placed in the position of feeding His sheep? When you see Him face to face will He be able to say…
“Well done thou good and faithful servant.”
What Is The Primary Purpose Of Prayer?
Everyone prays at some time or another, but not all prayers receive answers or results in the way that the person who prayed wanted.
Let us get this out of the way before we go one-step further. Unless you are a Christian, a true disciple of Jesus, God does not hear your prayer and it will not receive an answer. The bible teaches that God does not hear the prayers of a sinner. That is a topic for another post.
Now, since that is out of the way we can proceed.
Most Christians, who repent of their sins and receive forgiveness, in one way or another, will always worry when they pray. Maybe it is about how they prayed, was it good enough. On the other hand, it could be they will worry that their prayer will not receive an answer or, if it is, the answer is not what they want.
Do you have peace when you pray? If not, why not? It is because you are not sure if the answer to your prayer will be what you are wanting it to be, even if you receive an answer at all.
The secret to having peace when you pray is simple. Read the following verses:
Eph_1:5 (KJV) according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph_1:9 (KJV) Having made known unto us the mystery of his will,
Eph_1:11 (KJV) according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
1Jn_5:14 (KJV) And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
God is in charge. There is nothing done outside His will. We have an imperfect will. God has a perfect will. Unless we realize that “God’s will” will always be done we will always pray for what we want expecting to get our own way, and be upset if we do not. However, in God’s perfect will, what He wants He will always accomplish.
We cannot change God’s will, never could and we will never be able to do so. Imagine an imperfect, sin infested human, telling God what He should do because it was you who asked Him.
You see, the secret to prayer is just telling God about why you are praying and what it is that you would like to see because of your prayer; there is nothing wrong with that, as long as we trust in Him no matter how He responds to your prayers, and accept His will.
God may not answer right away because it is not time to answer. He already knows what the proper time will be to respond. In addition, the answer may not be what you want, but it will be what God wants, and God only wants you to trust in Him for the response that He gives.
We must realize that God’s timing is always the right time. In addition, the answer that He gives is always the right answer. God always knows what is best as He always does according to His will.
When we finally realize that God always works all things according to His will is when we can start having peace in our prayers. God knows why we pray and what we would like, but our will is not always the best response. God wants us to trust in Him fully, completely and lovingly in His answer to our prayer.
No matter what we pray or what we would like for the answer to be, when we trust in the Lord for His response, no matter what it is, then we can have true peace in our prayers for we know that they will “always” be answered according to God’s will.
Just pray and then trust in the Lord for the right answer. For the primary purpose of prayer is just learning to know God’s will in all things and then trusting in Him for the answer that He gives.
Showing You Know God
Do you know God? In 1 John 2: 3, 4 we read the following:
1Jn 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
1Jn 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
If you say that you know God but do not keep His commandments then, basically, you are lying. Giving you the benefit of the doubt it may be that you do not know what are His commandments.
If that is the case then the problem could be that you are in the wrong church or the person who is in the place of leadership and authority does not belong there. Either way you are to blame for what you know or do not know.
Knowing God should make one want to learn more about Him, what He thinks, what He says, what He has done and is still doing. You can only find that out for yourself by taking on the responsibility of reading the bible and studying it.
The importance of obeying God is made known even by what Jesus said to us. In John 14: 21, 23, 24 we read what Jesus says about obeying God:
Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Joh 14:24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
If one truly knows God, they will have the desire to be obedient to Him. We will not be perfect at it because of our sin nature, but we will be trying to be obedient as much as possible, asking for God’s help in doing so and acknowledging our failures and asking for forgiveness.
Our obedience to the commands of God the Father and of our Lord Jesus shows that we know and love God. Anything else proves that we are just lying about our profession of faith.
How about you, are you obedient to the commandments of God? Do you show that you really know God the Father and that you love the Lord Jesus by your being obedient to their commands or, maybe you are just living a lie?
You may be able to fool your friends and family, but you cannot fool God. Remember, without proof of your faith your faith is dead, and so are you.
Good People Do Not Go To Heaven…
If God were to ask, “Why should I allow you into Heaven?” I would imagine that each one of you would give many and varied answers. In the end, however, you would all be saying that it is because you have been a good person.
In saying that, how good is good enough? At what level of being good do you think God would allow you into heaven? What if God were to reply by saying that no one is good, what reason would you then give?
Mar_10:18 (KJV) And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God.
Rom_3:12 (KJV) there is none that doeth good, no not one.
So, God says that no one is good. How then does He perceive all of the good things that we have done?
Isa_64:6 (KJV) But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.
How can that be? What makes God see our good works as “filthy rags”?
Rom_3:23 (KJV) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Isa 59:2 But your iniquities(sin) have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Psa 5:4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
Psa 5:5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity(sin).
When you know how God views you and your sins then you will be able to understand why God hates what you do in committing those sins. I know that is harsh to say and it is not what you hear in Christian circles these days even though God says so in His Word. All you will hear is that God loves you. However, there is a little catch.
1Co_2:14 (KJV) But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
In your sinful state no matter what anyone says, even in reading this, if God does not give you understanding into His Word so that you can receive and believe them, you will never act upon them. Worse you will not enter into the Kingdom of God. In other words, you will not go to Heaven no matter how good you think you are.
There is only one way, and through one person, that anyone will enter into Heaven.
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
You see, in your sinful state you are dead to God. You do not want God nor do you feel that you need Him. Like Jesus said in this quote:
Luk_19:14 (KJV) But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
That is exactly how you feel about Jesus in your dead sinful state. You say it in words and in ways that you do not understand. That is why Jesus tells us that we must be born again. Being born again is God making us alive in the spirit so that we can see Him, hear Him and respond to Him in the way that not only is as He wants but also in a way that we will desire to come to Him as He wills.
When we come to God the Father, it is only by one person through which that can be done.
Joh_14:6 (KJV) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
I hope that now you can see, or soon will be able to see, and understand why good people do not go to Heaven; because in your sinfulness you can never be good enough. The only way to Heaven is by being born again by the Spirit of God and in believing Jesus to be the only true Lord and Savior; the One to whom you must submit your whole being – mind, body and soul(self will).
Act_4:12 (KJV) Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Good people do not go to Heaven. Only they who have been “born again” will God allow into His Kingdom. In His Word God has given you a simple and straightforward explanation of the only way, and through whom, you will be allowed into Heaven. The question you now face is this. Have you been “born again”?
Are You Known Of God?
If someone were to ask you, “Does God know you?” One would imagine that you would say, “of course God knows me. He knows everyone, doesn’t He?” What if one were to answer, “That depends?”
In 1st Corinthians 8: 3 we read:
“But if any man loves God, the same is known of him.”
Being known of God is walking with Him every day, trusting in Him in all areas of your life and being so close to Him that you can talk with Him in a most intimate way. God needs to be first in your life so that everything else plays off that.
So, now the question is this, “Do you love God?” Well of course, “I love God,” you would say, but do you? To say that you love God is one thing but there is only one way that you can prove that you love God.
In the Gospel of John 14: 21 Jesus says the following:
“He that hath my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
If you truly love Jesus then you will be trying your very best to be obedient to Him. However, if you have not been born again, and have become a disciple of Jesus, you will have no desire to be obedient to Him, nor even love Him. You will only have the desire to fulfill the lust of the flesh, savor yourself with the lust of the eyes, and be full of pride as you brag about all of your accomplishments in life.
Think about that. Maybe you are “not” known by God,” especially in that most intimate way.
If that is the case, you will be one of them who will face Jesus on that great day of Judgement when you will hear Jesus say:
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity. Mathew 8: 23
How dreadful that will be. It truly is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
You can make sure that you will not hear Jesus say this to you. To everyone who will confess that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God the Father has raised Him from the dead you will have found yourself to have been born again, and are now a disciple of Jesus. That is the only way that one can truly know that God knows them – loves them.
Do you not think that it is better to be known of God so that if someone asks you, “Does God know you?” you will then be able to say in a most absolute way, “Why yes, yes He does!”
In addition, your smile will say it all.
Do You Have The Right To Call God “Father”?
I do believe that most people would acknowledge that God, specifically Jesus who is God in human form, is the Creator of us all.
Joh_1:3 (KJV) All things were made by him (Jesus); and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Now there came a time in a certain place when Jesus was heard praying by his disciples. They must have marveled at His praying because when he was finished one of them asked Him, “Lord, teach us to pray”.
Jesus said to them, “When you pray say, Our Father.” By this Jesus told them that the first thing you should do when praying is to acknowledge to whom it is that you are praying. Not only is that person God but He also is your Father. However, who has the right to call God “Father” and why?
Throughout the New Testament, whether talking to groups of Christians or to individual Christian, the Apostle Paul would address them in this manor:
Eph_1:2 (KJV) Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul specifically states that God is “our Father”, and he says that only when he was communicating with Christians. So, how do we become a child of God?
Now everyone knows about John 1:12 that says:
John 1:12 But as many as received him (Jesus), to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
It is by receiving Jesus, who is God, that people are given the right to become sons (children) of God.
However, very few people, even Christians themselves know about the next verse that speaks of the “sons of God” and reads:
John 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
People are not born into the family of God because they might belong to a religious family, nor are they born into God’s family because they earn their way into His family, or even will themselves to be born into God’s family.
In John 3: 3 Jesus says the following:
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
One must be “born again” before they not only can see the kingdom of God but also be able to enter into the kingdom of God, and it takes God to decide who will be “born again” and become His children.
In short, when a person is born of God (born again), as God chooses, does one receive the right to call God “our Father”. That is why Paul told the Christians, as he wrote to them, that God is our Father because they have been born into the family of God.
Therefore, only they who are true disciples of Jesus, who have been born again by the power of God, are the only ones who are given the right to call God “Father”. No one else has that right. God has no obligation to listen, or even to respond, to anyone who is not a member of His family. They have no assurance that their prayer will be answered.
How about you? Have you been born again? If so, then you have the right to do as Jesus says to do. When you pray, you can start by saying to God, “Our Father”.
Simplistic Christianity
What does it mean to become a Christian? Simply put, it means to become a disciple of Jesus. So, how does one become a Christian?
That is a good question. Let us see what the Bible says about becoming a Christian in a very simplistic way.
In the Gospel of Mark 1: 14, 15 we read the following quote by Jesus:
Mar 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
Mar 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Here Jesus simply says, “You repent and believe the gospel.” The word repent means “to think differently, that is, reconsider morally to feel compunction.” We are to admit our sinfulness, have a desire to change morally, and to ask for forgiveness for having lived our lives as we want instead of what God wants; to want to live for God and not for ourselves.
The second thing that Jesus said was to believe the gospel. What is the gospel? In First Corinthians chapter one and beginning with the first verse, the Apostle Paul states very clearly what is the gospel:
1Co 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
1Co 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
1Co 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1Co 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
Now we have the simple basics of how to become a Christian; repent and believe the gospel. You have seen what it means to repent and you now know what the gospel is in a very simplistic way. So, how does this all work together?
When God draws someone to Jesus, in doing so, He also gives them the power to repent and to believe the gospel, giving them the ability to do the following as we read in Romans 10: 8 – 10:
8. The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9. That if thou you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
So now, you know what it means to “repent and believe the gospel”. In doing so you will receive forgiveness for your sins, have everlasting life with Jesus in Heaven, and you will know what it is truly like to feel the love of God.
The alternative? Read this from the Gospel of John 3: 36:
Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.
When you compare the two choices, and you have “only two” from which to choose, Simplistic Christianity does not seem like a bad choice after all.
Riff's Christian Journal 