Scripture is clear that upon death, every person will either spend eternity in heaven with the Lord or spend eternity in hell apart from Him (Luke 16:19-31). Therefore, it is critical to determine now how to avoid hell and spend forever with God. How can we escape the judgment of hell?
Scripture makes clear that all have sinned and fall short of God's glory (Romans 3:23). This sin separates us from God. Because God is perfect, we cannot exist in His presence in heaven unless our sins are removed. In fact, Romans 6:23 teaches, "the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
The answer to human sin and its resulting separation from God is found only in Jesus Christ. He offers eternal life as a free gift to all people. John 3:16 explains, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
The Bible teaches how we can believe in Jesus and have eternal life instead of eternity in hell. Romans 10:9 shares, "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Here we find that we must believe Jesus is Lord and that He came alive again after His death on the cross. When we do, we receive Him into our lives and become a child of God (John 1:12).
Does this mean we can know for certain we will not go to hell? The Bible teaches, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13). When we believe in Jesus by faith as God's risen Son and Lord, we can trust God's promise that He will keep us with Him forever. Nothing can separate us from God's love (Romans 8:37-39).
Romans 5:8 teaches, "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." This great love brought Jesus from heaven to earth to live, die, and return to life to provide the opportunity for us to have eternal life by believing in Him.
Even better, eternal life is something that starts while we're living on earth! Salvation is not just about avoiding hell; it's about accepting true life in Christ (John 10:10).
No prayer will save you. Only Jesus can save you. However, to accept Jesus as your Savior and receive eternal life, you can respond to God with something similar to this:
"God, I realize I am a sinner and could never reach heaven by my own good deeds. Right now I place my faith in Jesus Christ as God's Son who lived a perfect life, died as a sacrifice for my sins, and rose from the dead to give me eternal life. Please forgive me of my sins and help me to live for you. Thank you for accepting me and giving me eternal life."
Have you made a decision for Christ because of what you have read here? If so, please click on the "I have accepted Christ today" button below.
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