Will You Make Heaven?

 Will You Make Heaven?

"For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:20)

"Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)

The above verses show that the Kingdom of Heaven exists and that there are conditions for entering the Kingdom of Heaven. First of all, the Kingdom of Heaven is a place without sin and therefore no one engaged in sinful behaviour will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. No one who does his or her own will will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. 

In Galatians 5:19-21, the Bible says, "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

Wishful thinking will not get anyone into Heaven; no one can get into Heaven on his or her own terms, only those whose names are written in the Book of Life.

"And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:12-15) 

The Book of Life is the record of all those who have received Jesus as Lord and Saviour and have lived righteously, always seeking to do the will of God. It contains the names of all those who have run the Christian race according to God's will - those who have not compromised, who have not been lukewarm, those who have fought the good fight of faith, those who have endured to the end, those who walked by faith and not by sight and who were disciples of Jesus. Are you doing the will of God? Do you hope for or long to get to Heaven? Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ?

"And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." (Acts 1:10-11) 

Jesus came from Heaven to earth at His conception and incarnation, walked on the surface of the earth, was crucified and buried. On the third day, He rose from the dead. The Bible states very clearly what He accomplished - "Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)

Jesus took our sin upon Himself and died for us on the cross of Calvary, paving the way for our forgiveness, our redemption, justification, sanctification and reconciliation with God. In other words, Jesus came to set us free to worship God in spirit and in truth and live lives that would glorify Him. There is no excuse for anyone who rejects Jesus. The Bible says, "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. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “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. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.2 (John 3:16-19)

God has gone to great lengths to deliver us from the bondage of sin and of the devil. To enter Heaven, you must confess and repent of your sins, surrender to Jesus and live for Him all the days of your life. In other words, one must declare total allegiance to the LORD of lords and the KING of kings. What that means is loving Jesus above anyone else or anything else. In the words of Jesus, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:26-27)

Rejecting Jesus will result in a one-way ticket to hell. Are you prepared to let go and let God? The bottom line is that only disciples of Jesus will enter Heaven. ARE YOU A DISCIPLE OF JESUS? If not, you can take the necessary steps to becoming a disciple of Jesus. You must give up everything and follow Jesus (Luke 14:33). What that means is that everything you have in your possession must be surrendered to Jesus. That is what being a follower of Jesus is all about and that is the standard for entry into Heaven. Only followers/disciples of Jesus will make Heaven. Have a blessed day.