This is a mini Bible study as well as an outline of the path that led me to the Lord.
We all have a unique personality, or as my Great Aunt always said, “everybody is someway.” In my case the Lord gave me a personality that could never depend on feelings or emotions. I was brought up as a Lutheran and did believe there is a God, but it was only a head knowledge. In my case, it took 29 years for God to reach my heart, the center of my being.
The Bible teaches that when our physical body dies, our soul (our person or essence) and spirit (our spiritual being) pass on to one of two places. The righteous to a place called Heaven, a joyous and wonderful place. The unrighteous to a place called Hell, a terrible and painful place. In Heaven we enjoy a glorious fellowship with God Himself and everlasting peace. In Hell we experience separation from God and everlasting torment.
And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.
Hebrews 9:27
Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.
Ecclesiastes 12:7
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?
1 Corinthians 6:9
Unfortunately, most people today have been led to believe that all roads lead to heaven. They tell themselves, I am as good as the next guy and a loving God would never send me to Hell. That is the greatest lie ever told.
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 14:6
Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
Matthew 7:13
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.
John 3:18
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1:18
The problem
Righteous does not mean doing your best to be a good person. It means what you did with God’s offer to accept Jesus and His sacrifice for your sins.
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.
James 2:10
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23
As it is written: There is none righteous, no, not one.
Romans 3:10
But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.
Isaiah 64:6
The result
Because of our sinful nature, we deserve Hell and not Heaven.
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.
Romans 5:12
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23
The first step on the road to Heaven is to take responsibility and admit that, even if you are better than most people, you are a sinner in God’s eyes and do not deserve heaven.
The answer
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9
You must believe that Jesus is who He said He is, that He paid your sin debt, and that He alone is the way to eternal life.
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.
John 3:16
If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9
For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it (your faith) is the gift of God.
Ephesians 2:8
Then you must believe, repent, accept, and confess Him as Lord and Saviour. If you do that, you are now righteous forever and nothing can take that away from you.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38–39
My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
John 14:2–3
A necessary note
Accepting Jesus as Saviour cannot be just words. It must be heartfelt and more sincere than anything you have done before. If that is true, you are now a member of God’s family forever.
What’s next
When you say yes to Jesus, you become a member of God’s family and a New Person. You will find your life changing, faster for some than for others, but it will change.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.
2Co 5:17 NKJV
having been born again, not of corruptible seed but uncorruptible, through the Word of God which lives and abides forever,
1 Pe 1:23
As a new person in God’s eternal family, you will desire to know more about Him.
as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby,
1Pe 2:2
Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Col 3:16 NKJV
Even though you are saved for eternity, you will continue to have ups and downs in your life and will sin again. It will not take your salvation away, but it will interfere in your relationship to God and must be delt with. As God’s children, we are not better than anyone else, we are just forgiven and righteous forever in God’s eyes.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1Jn 1:9 NKJV
What happened with me
Logic told me that Jesus was either who He said He was, or He was a mentally ill person. In which case, the Bible is worthless. If you can’t believe part of it, then you can’t believe any of it. So I took Him at His word, repented of my sin, got on my knees, asked for His forgiveness, and received His free gift of salvation.
My eternal future now depends on Him and nothing else. My goodness, or my badness, no longer has anything to do with it.
If you have any questions, please email me at vince@hisword4us.com.