How Many Ways Are There To Go To Heaven?

People say that there are many ways to get to heaven or that all paths lead to God, but what if there is only one way? What if that way is so different than we thought it should be that we miss it?

"Jesus is 'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.'Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved." Acts4:12.

The context of this Bible verse is an apostolic sermon to the Jews explaining to them that the one they rejected was really the one they were seeking.

SALVATION...
To be saved begins with the assumption or awareness that you are lost and need to be saved. We are lost because our sins bring us into condemnation.

God is holy and must condemn sin and all wrongdoing- if God didn't He would be "guilty by association." If He compromised on one sin it would set precedence for all evil to triumph and He would not be the God of Love if He did so.

We have all sinned so we all need salvation.

IS FOUND....
There is hope for the sinner. It is a hope not based on works, effort, self-righteousness, ability or merit. It is not made by man but provided to man.

You cannot find something if you are not looking. If you are looking in only one place you are not really looking. God promises that we will find him if we seek him with all our hearts. Jeremiah 29:13.

NO ONE ELSE...
Salvation is not conferred by being born into a Christian country or household, it is not earned through a ritual or observation of a religious creed or doctrine it is found in a person. But not just any person, this 'no one else' is a phrase that is exclusive, these three words eliminate all others except the one, so we have no doubt that there is only one way.

NO OTHER NAME...
Only through one name is salvation available to mankind. It is not your name or the name of the head of a religious organization.  This is the second time the verse excludes all but the one name. When the Bible repeats something it has the power of the ancient legal requirement that every testimony must be confirmed by a second witness.

JESUS:
Jesus said it himself. "I am the way the truth and the life, No one comes to the Father but by me." John 14:6, I am the door...John 10:9  and "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28.

It is through Jesus that we are saved. He did what no one else could do; since he had no sin he was qualified to pay for our sins and be our substitute before the justice of God. Our judgment was put on him when he died, and his resurrection demonstrates that his death alone satisfied God's requirements. Since he took our sins before God he gives us his righteousness before God.

WE MUST BE SAVED...
It is imperative and a truth taught over and over in scripture that we are lost because of our actions and are in danger of eternal condemnation. The Bible does not teach that there is another chance after this life but we can choose eternal life now by choosing Jesus.

To learn more about how to have eternal life see the tab above for the Gospel.

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Thank you for visiting this blog. I hope these thoughts are helpful for you.

You can find more like this in the most helpful post list on the left sidebar.

You can contact me through comments or the email link. If you live near Columbia MD I would be glad to meet you and discuss how you can know for sure that you may have eternal life.

Adron

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(c) Adron

Am I Too Far From God To Come Back To Him?

Is anyone too far from God to be able to come to him?  The words of The Almighty Himself answer this question.

"Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and I know of no other." Isaiah  45:22.

TURN
When we turn, we are engaging in a choice. Here we see God inviting us to seek him, and he asks us to turn to him.  To turn suggests that you are going one way or looking in one direction, and you redirect yourself either in the way you are going or in the direction you are looking.

We may be going our own way in rebellion against what we know is right or going a way we think is right without knowing it is wrong.  In either case, we can still choose to correct the direction we are going.

God is not asking something hard; He isn't asking us to do some Herculean deed or build some epic monument of repentance.  He only asks us to turn.

TO ME
God presents himself as open and welcoming.  He calls us to Himself, not to some complicated creed or religion, but to a relationship with Him as a person.  This is the word of someone who intends to be knowable; this is not the word of a far-off god.

BE SAVED
Be saved, these two words together state an absolute.  It is not vague or hopeful but concrete.  "Be" is an affirmative word, and saved is the past tense.  This suggests that God is offering something here and now in this life, not just some promise for the afterlife, but something tangible and present.

ALL YOU
No one is left out of the invitation; no matter who you are God is calling you.

ENDS OF THE EARTH
You may feel that you are too far from God, but no matter where you are physically, spiritually, or emotionally, you are not too far away to come to God, even if you are at the utter end of the earth.

No matter where you are in your life or how far you have wandered Your Father in Heaven calls you to turn back to Him.  If He calls you to come back to Him, it means He will accept you; otherwise, He would not call you to Him.  Resolve to turn to God and find the life He wants you to have.

To learn more about coming to God, see the tab above for The Gospel to learn more.

(c)Adron Dozat 1/28/15

Am I Too Bad For God To Save Me?

Is anyone too bad or too far gone to come to God?

"But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life." 1 Timothy 1:16.

THE WORST OF SINNERS
The Apostle Paul wasn't always a follower of Jesus. He was at one time a persecutor of the church and had a hand in having Christians arrested and put in prison. He endorsed the execution of Stephen by holding the coats of those who were stoning him, (Acts 7:58). Scripture says he even went from house to house to arrest Christians, (Acts 8:3).

You would think this would be the last person God would show his grace to, he was God's enemy.

HOPE
The hope we have is not in ourselves but in Jesus. It was Jesus who saved Paul. It was Jesus who had immense patience. It was not because of Paul's goodness that Jesus saved him but in spite of Paul's sinfulness that Jesus saved him.

RECEIVE
We think salvation is something we earn. We think we do some good and it outweighs the bad or that we avoid doing bad and the good comes to the top. The Bible in this verse uses the word "receive," not earn or merit. Eternal life is not earned but given as a gift.

MERCY
We have nothing to bring but come empty and ask for mercy, God is rich in mercy. He has the power to condemn but He has made salvation available to the worst of sinners no matter what you have done or how bad you are you can still find mercy.

To learn more about how to find salvation see the tab above titled The Gospel.

To learn about my books of poems visit my website, A.E. Dozat.com.

 (c)Adron Dozat 8/22/14

What is John 3:16?

People always quote it, it is on billboards, sides of buses and some guy will hold a sign up at the big game that says "John 3:16." What is the big deal?

The John 3:16 reference is to the third chapter of the Gospel of John and the 16th verse. These are some of the words that Christ spoke to a man who was looking for Heaven. The man, Nicodemus, spent his whole life looking to have the approval and blessing of The Lord. Even though he is considered old he had yet to find satisfaction in his search for meaning, purpose, and knowledge of God. It is to this man who is seeking that Jesus says. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."  John 3:16, NIV.

This one statement makes many points.
1. God loves you.
He already loves you, it is not something that will happen after you win or earn his love. He loves you now. In saying Our Father in Heaven loves the world is a measureless love, it implies that The Lord loves the worst human being you can think of because if God loves the world he loves us all no matter how bad we are.

2. God Acts.
His love moves God to act, he is not just sitting on a cloud full of warm feelings of good will toward mankind. He sees our greatest need (salvation from sins and judgment) and acts. If God does something it is done completely, no one can or need to add to it.

3. God Gave
He gives his one and only son, Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins. He gave is a past tense word, we do not need to look forward to a distant hope we have the substance in the cross of Jesus- it is done.

4. "Whoever" is an open invitation
The word whoever does not exclude any. Admittance is not earned by good deeds, payments or services, those who come do so empty handed. It is not the righteous, for none really are righteous but any who is a needy guilty seeker may come.

5. The requirement
We are only required to believe. We believe that God sent his son Jesus to die on the cross to pay for our sins by taking our punishment upon himself and arose the third day victorious over death and judgment.

6. Shall NOT
In some circles the word "Shall" is a soft word and is used in a way that is qualified, it has become synonymous with "possibly" or "likely;" but the way it was used in the ancient language is a definite, it means absolute and with no doubt. It is a certainty that those who believe in Jesus will not face damnation

7. Eternal Life
The Lord offers eternal life to those who believe. Not life for a while but eternal life without the fear of ever ending. Not just eternal existence but eternal life, the implication is a life of activity, service, joy, blessing, peace, love, and all the good things that God built in us to desire will be satisfied.

Summery
God does it all, he loves us, he sees our need, he pays for our sin, and gives eternal life to those who will accept it.

John 3:16 is a promise made by the Holy True God who is all-powerful. He will not make a promise he can't or won't keep. To accept the promise is to accept salvation and Jesus into your life; to reject the promise is an insult to a loving God and very foolish.

To learn more about the plan of salvation click on the tab titled The Gospel above.

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Thank you for visiting this blog. I hope these thoughts are helpful for you.

You can find more like this in the most helpful post list on the left sidebar.

You can contact me through comments or the email link. If you live near Columbia MD I would be glad to meet you and discuss how you can know for sure that you may have eternal life.

Adron

Use the buttons below to share this with your social networks.

Do All Ways Lead To God? What did Jesus Say?

Some people say all religions lead to God, or that God can be found in one of a number of ways. Many say that you can find God your own way and the next person can find God their own way. Still others say all paths lead to God.

Jesus is universally acclaimed as a great if not the greatest teacher. If that is so we should consider what he said on the subject, but we must be ready for a surprise.

"I am the truth, the way and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6, NIV.

The God of Love sent his son, Jesus, to come and be the way we are not able to be ourselves. Jesus lived a perfect and beautiful life that was totally acceptable to the Father. We could not live the life Jesus did because we have guilt and sin; sin not only holds us back but puts a barrier between us and God. The death he died on the cross was as our substitute for we were the ones who deserve punishment for our guilt and sins. Out of love he willingly gave his life to pay for our wrongs. The Father accepted the death of Jesus on our behalf and we see that approval in the resurrection. Christ did what no one else could not do- satisfy the judgment against our sins, so he is the only way.

We come to the Father through Jesus. This is to leave behind all the things that put that barrier between us and God, things for which Christ died on the cross, (this is called repentance), and put your faith in the person and work of Jesus. Faith needs expression; some people express this faith in a prayer. Tell Him that you need forgiveness of your sins and you trust in his promise to accept the substitute of Jesus for your punishment.

When we come to the Father through Jesus we are free from judgment since Jesus took our sins, but we get the life of Jesus in us, the beautiful life he lived is now our life, our death became his death and his eternal life becomes our life.

To learn more about finding forgivness for your sins click on the tab The Gospel above.

Adron

____________________________ 

Thank you for visiting this blog. I hope these thoughts are helpful for you.

You can find more like this in the most helpful post list on the left sidebar.

Adron

Use the buttons below to share this with your social networks.