From: markc@eomer.hw.stratus.com (Mark Christensen)
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc
Subject: Re: This is what the Jehovah's Witnesses do.
Date: 22 Jul 92 20:29:12 GMT
Reply-To: markc@eomer.sw.stratus.com (Mark Christensen)
Organization: Stratus Computer, Hardware Engineering

READING THIS JUST MIGHT SAVE YOUR LIFE!

Will you go to heaven?

Have  you ever thought  about  what happens  to you  once  you die? In
considering this, let me ask you a question that  you might never have
considered before, but one which could affect the rest  of  your life.
If you were to die tomorrow...  or next month...or even  next year, do
you know without any doubt whether or  not you would  go to heaven? If
you find  this question difficult  to answer because you really aren't
sure, you're not alone.

You might be thinking, "How can anyone possibly  know for sure?  I'm a
good person  but sometimes I feel I'm  not quite good  enough to go to
heaven.  There are  other people  I know  who   are better  than I am.
Surely they must have a better chance than I  do. Or maybe I'll commit
some terrible sin and die before I have time to confess it."

There  are many reasons  that people  give  for being unsure and  your
reasons are probably shared by many others. But  did you know that God
has told us that we can know for sure?  That's right! God has revealed
to us  in His  holy word, the  Bible,  that we  can know without doubt
where we will spend eternity.

Let's  look at some passages  from the Bible that  tell us just how we
can be assured of going to heaven when we die. If you have access to a
Bible, feel free to look up these passages as I refer to them.

God loves you.

First of all, God tells us in His word (the  Bible) that he loves each
and every one of us. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that
He gave His only begotten Son, that  whosoever believeth in Him should
not perish but  have everlasting life." I John  4:9-10  says, "In this
was manifested [made known] the  love  of God  toward us, because that
God  sent His only  begotten Son into   the world, that  we might live
through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but  that He loved
us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  " Ephesians
2:4 states,  "But God,   who is rich  in  mercy,  for  His  great love
wherewith He loved  us..." The above verses  are  just a  few that the
Bible gives as examples of God's love for us.

You are a sinner.

The  Bible teaches us  that  God loves us.  That includes you, me, and
everyone.   The  Bible  also teaches us  that God hates   sin and that
everyone is a sinner.  God loves  us  but hates our sin.   Romans 3:23
tells us, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God..."
Likewise,  Galations 3:22 states, "But the  scripture [the Bible] hath
concluded  all under sin..."   Romans 3:10 states, "...There  is  none
righteous,  no,  not one".  Isaiah 64:6 states,  "But we are all as an
unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags..."

Maybe you really don't think you are  a sinner. Some  Pharisees in the
Bible felt this way. But I John 1:8 tells us, "If we say  that we have
no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."

No matter how good  we  might be, we are all  still sinners and though
God still loves us, He hates our sin. Let me give you an example. If a
child is disobedient, a parent still loves the child though hating the
disobedience.

Your sin has a penalty.

When a child does wrong, he is usually punished.  The Bible teaches us
that because we are all sinners, there is a penalty to be paid for our
sins.  "For the wages [penalty] of sin is death;  but  the gift of God
is eternal  life through Jesus  Christ our Lord." (Romans  6:23). This
verse tells  us that spiritual  death (eternal separation from  God in
hell) is our penalty  for sin.  (see  also Mark 9:44,  Matthew  10:28,
Revelation 20:10). Romans  5:12 states, "Wherefore, as by  one man sin
entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all
men, for that all have sinned."

So we see from these  passages  that our sin  has  a penalty, and this
penalty is spiritual death (Revelation 20:15). At this point you might
say, "So you've told me God loves me, I'm a sinner, God  hates my sin,
and because of  my sin I'll  be punished by being  cast into hell  for
eternity...do you have anything encouraging to say or is this all doom
and gloom?"

Jesus Christ paid the penalty for us!

Fortunately, because of God's great mercy and love for us, He does not
want us to be separated from Him for eternity.  He created  us for His
own glory.  But it is our own  sinfulness  that keeps us from spending
eternity with Him in heaven. There is  nothing that  we, by ourselves,
can do to change that.  We deserve to be punished and  we can't change
that. But because God does love us so  much, he has  provided a way in
which our penalty can be paid. God has  accepted the penalty (paid the
price) for us through the sacrifice and shed  blood of His  Son, Jesus
Christ. Jesus  Christ took upon Himself  the form of  man  and came to
earth in order that He could take the  punishment for our sins.  Jesus
Christ suffered, died, was  buried, and rose  from the dead,  just  so
that we could be with Him in heaven for eternity. He did this for you,
for me, and every other person.

Our sins  need  to be punished.  Jesus  took  that  punishment for us.
Romans  5:8 states, "But God commendeth  His love  toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."  Likewise, I John 3:16
states, "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid  down His
life  for us..." I  Peter 3:18 tells  us,  "For Christ  also hath once
suffered for sins,  the just [Christ]   for the unjust [man],  that He
might bring us to God, being put to death  in the flesh  [bodily], but
quickened [made alive] by the Spirit..."

God offers us the free gift of salvation.

God has paid the penalty for our sins. What greater love could He have
for us?  By  dying on the cross for  our  sins, God  has given  us the
opportunity to be  with Him in heaven  for  eternity.  He offers to us
salvation (eternal life with God in heaven) as a free gift.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not  of yourselves:
it  is the gift   of God: Not  of  works, lest  any man should boast."
(Ephesians 2:8-9).  This verse tells us  that  our works cannot get us
to heaven. It is  not good   deeds, going   to church, praying,  being
baptized,   being good, or   anything  else  you do  that  saves  you.
Salvation is a "gift of God" given  to someone by God's  grace because
of their faith. Only our faith in Jesus Christ who freely paid for our
sins can save us from condemnation and an eternity in hell.

You can accept the gift of salvation.

You  might ask,  "Does this mean  then that everyone will  now   go to
heaven?"  No, we do not automatically go to heaven. Jesus  Christ took
the punishment  for our sins  and freely offers  to  us salvation as a
gift. But like any gift that is offered to  you, it is not yours until
you accept that gift.

"So what must I do to accept this  gift?",  you might ask. Romans 10:9
tells us, "That if  thou shalt confess  with thy mouth the Lord  Jesus
and shalt  believe in thine  heart that God  hath raised Him from  the
dead, thou shalt be saved." A  jailor  asked  Saint Paul  and Silas in
Acts 16:30,  "...Sirs,  what  must I do to  be saved?" Paul and  Silas
replied,  "Believe on  the  Lord   Jesus  Christ,  and thou  shalt  be
saved..."  John  3:36 states, "He  that   believeth  on  the  Son hath
everlasting life:  and he  that believeth  not the Son  shall not  see
life..." Jesus Christ himself said, "Verily,  verily, I say  unto you,
He   that heareth my  word, and  believeth on  Him that sent  Me, hath
everlasting life, and shall not  come into condemnation; but is passed
from death unto life." (John 5:24). So you see,  you  can be saved and
know it.

Let's summarize what has been stated up to now. We know that God loves
us and  that God hates sin. We   are  all sinners  and  our sin  has a
penalty associated with  it  which is spiritual death (separation from
God forever).  Jesus Christ paid the  penalty  for us by  dying on the
cross and He now offers us the free gift of salvation.  All we need do
is  to accept the  gift of salvation  by  repenting of  our   sins and
believing that Jesus  Christ is the  Son of God, and that  He died for
our sins,  rose from the dead, and  ascended  into heaven.  Jesus, and
only Jesus, has given us the opportunity for eternal life with God.

Your salvation is eternal!

Once we have accepted this gift, it cannot be taken away. Once  we put
our faith in  Jesus  Christ, our salvation is  assured. Jesus  says in
John 10:28, "And I give  unto them eternal life; and  they shall never
perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."

You can be saved and know it!

Let me  ask  you again what  I   asked in the  beginning. Do  you know
whether  or not you  will go to heaven  when you die?  If not, you can
know. Confess your sins, believe in your  heart  that Jesus is the Son
of God and has died for your sins, and  ask  Jesus Christ to wash away
those sins by becoming your savior. Won't you take  the time right now
to pray for forgiveness and salvation. It doesn't matter where you are
when you read this, Jesus can hear you even when you pray silently.

Once you are saved, then what?

If you have asked Jesus to save you  from your sins, then rejoice, for
your sins are paid for  and forgotten. Once you  are saved, no one can
take away  that salvation. It is  forever.  This doesn't mean  that we
will no longer sin.  It does  mean  that even though  we still sin, we
are assured that we have a place in heaven with God.

You might  be thinking, "If  our salvation is  permanent and our  sins
cannot take that away, then why not just go  out and sin all we want?"
The apostle Paul answered this  question in  Romans 6:14-15, "For  sin
shall not have dominion over  you: for ye  are not  under the law, but
under grace. What  then?  shall we sin, because  we are not under  the
law, but under grace? God forbid."

Once you are one of God's children, it is important to obey  Him. Acts
5:29 tells  us, "...We  ought to obey  God rather than men."  I Samuel
15:22 tells us, "...Behold, to obey is better than  sacrifice..." Once
you have accepted Jesus Christ  as your savior  from eternal death, it
is important to obey Him and to live a life that He would desire.

It is difficult to know how  to be obedient when  you are first saved.
Find a Bible   and start reading the  Gospel  of John.   When you have
finished this, read the book of Romans in the Bible. You will begin to
understand more fully what I discussed in this tract.

The Bible is one way that God teaches us and communicates with us.  II
Timothy  3:16  states,    "All   scripture [the   Bible] is  given  by
inspiration of God, and  is profitable for  doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness..."

It is also  important that you find a  good church,  one that believes
that the Bible is the infallible and inerrant (no errors) word  of God
(II Timothy 3:16 and II Peter 1:21 teach us this). It is my experience
that Baptist churches that are labelled as independent and fundamental
tend to be good.  A church gives you  the  opportunity  to  learn from
others  who are  more familiar with    God's word,   to befriend other
believers, to meet and pray collectively with other Christians, and to
give praise and worship to God.

To  follow  the  example of   Christ, you   should show publicly  your
decision in accepting His gift of salvation by being baptized. Baptism
does not give  you eternal salvation as  some people believe, but is a
public testimony of your new life in Christ.

Prayer is important  since it is  one  way  for us to communicate with
God. If  you   read God's word   (the  Bible), pray, worship   God  by
attending church, and fellowship with  other  believers, you will find
yourself spiritually growing and  understanding more than you possibly
ever imagined.

The title of this pamphlet may have motivated you to read  it. You now
realize that it is not your physical life that I was referring to, but
your spiritual life. If you have made the  decision to accept the gift
of God which is the sacrifice of  His  Son Jesus Christ as payment for
your sins and now wish to live in obedience to Him, you have succeeded
in saving your  spiritual  life  for all eternity.  Jesus said in Luke
17:33, "Whosoever  shall  seek to save  his  life  shall lose  it; and
whosoever shall  lose his life shall  preserve it.   "  Jesus tells us
that if we do not accept Him and choose  to live for  our own desires,
goals,  priorities, and accomplishments  in  life, we  shall  lose our
spiritual life  (eternity in hell).  But if we, through faith, believe
in Jesus and choose  to  follow Him despite our own  personal goals in
life, we may face sacrifices and trials in  our  physical life, but we
will have an eternal life with God. What a tremendous promise that God
has given us!
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc