Well, you're about to be offended...because you're headed for hell unless you can get God to forgive your sins.
What's that, you say? That doesn't fit with your idea of God? Are you saying "the God I know would never be that harsh because he looooves us all?"
OK, fair enough. Let me ask you something: who IS the God you know?
If he's not the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, also known as the Jewish God, then you've been taken in, rooked, had a fast one pulled on you. Your "god" is either a figment of a cultist's imagination or something worse...like Satan and you don't know it.
Let me ask you something else...what would you think of a dad who lets his kids run wild, never disciplines them, just smiles and grins when they mess up? Would you even want to be in the same restaurant with that family?
Well then, why on earth would you think that God is only about pure, gentle sweetness, no harsh judgments, no punishments, nothing negative?
Ask a Jew sometime about God's punishments, and he or she will give you an earful.
Yes, God punishes. You wouldn't respect him if He didn't have rules (or laws) and enforce the consequences for breaking them.
Now, this thing called heaven...let's talk about that.
Do you live in a nice neighborhood, or are you trying to move to a better one? What makes a neighborhood nice? Low or no crime is a biggie, right?
Well, that's what heaven's like. There is no sin in heaven. That's WHY it's a nice place, a wonderful place.
What would happen if God let sinners in? Heaven would quit being nice. So God can't allow sin into heaven, unless someone has paid the price for it, or atoned for it.
That's what Jesus did. God sent His only son down to us in human form to bring us the good news that there was a way out, even though every single human created had sinned and was thus kept out of heaven up until that point.
The way out was through Jesus. He sacrificed Himself for us. He could have gotten out of going to the cross, of course. Here's what He said about it:
Matthew 26:53-54: Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?"
Ok, did everyone catch that? Jesus said He could ask God to put 12 LEGIONS (and a Roman Legion was 2,000-3,000 warriors) at his disposal immediately...but then scripture wouldn't be fulfilled.
There is a recurring motif throughout the Old Testament of blood sacrifice to atone for sin, and of lambs being sacrificed. It's the theme of the Passover, a lamb is sacrificed and the blood smeared on the doorposts, oh and by the way, that's the same shape as a cross.
Jesus paid the penalty for all our sins so we could go to heaven, spotless, blameless, and get in.
The only catch is, like with any gift...you have to accept it.
Here's how to skip going to hell for all eternity:
- Pray to God, and confess that you have sinned, and repent of your sins, meaning be sincerely sorry.
- Tell Jesus in prayer that you accept His wonderful gift of his life for your sins.
- Ask Jesus to always live in your heart.
- Go forth, and do good works, which is the fruit of a saved person. You are not saved by good works, but it shows the world what our God and our Jesus is really all about.
If I were not concerned, I'd let it go, or cut you some slack, try not to upset you. But what I've told you is the truth.
Incidentally, according to Father Chuck at St. John's, there were some Jewish scholars, pre-Jesus, who figured out from the scriptures that the coming Messiah WOULD come twice--once to save, and then again to judge.
Know this: Jesus is coming back soon, and though He came as a lamb the first time, He will come as a Lion the second time, to separate His sheep from the goats...and you do NOT want to be a goat and get cast into hell for all eternity!
Don't wait--do it now, while you're thinking about it, I beg you! Pray to God, repent of your sins, and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
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