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Your body may live to be a hundred years or more. Or your body’s life may end, at once, after you read this short message. In either case, when compared with the age of the heavens, your death is imminent. The question becomes, “what then?”

What Then?

Regardless of the stations of life you have been going through and achievements gained or missed; regardless of your reputation, your own perception and/or the perception of others—are you prepared for your soul’s and resurrected body’s eternal life? Will you be in the blessings of God’s righteousness in the new earth and heaven? Or not?

“Waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to His promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:12-13).

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

A short self-exam that you may know for sure

What do you think you should be doing now to ensure you will live eternally with God after you die?   

Keeping the 10 Commandments and obeying the Golden Rule 

Doing my best, leading a good life, and doing good and charitable works

Tithing (giving money to place of worship), attending church, temple, or mosque services, praying, fasting, baptism, holy communion, doing other religious practices or traditions

Other

God Gives the Answers to These Questions in the Bible 

Keeping the 10 Commandments and obeying the Golden Rule

These are good but none of us has ever been able to keep them perfectly. The Bible states, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it” (James 2:10).

Doing my best, leading a good life, doing good and charitable works 

These can’t help eliminate your sin and fated punishment of hell.

The Bible says: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Tithing, attending church, temple, or mosque services, praying, fasting, baptism, communion, other religious practices or traditions 

These are all good things, but they can’t take away our sin. 

The Bible states: “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy” (Titus 3:5).

“A person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16).  

Other — the correct answer

The Bible is very clear that the only way to Heaven is by faith alone in Jesus Christ. Even trying to do our very best to be good does not make us good enough to live forever with God in the new earth and Heaven. Jesus has paid for our sins by dying on the cross. When we change from unbelief to belief, God gives us eternal life as His special gift. 

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

You Can know for sure

When we trust Jesus as our Savior, God sees us in the perfection of Jesus, and we are prepared to enter Heaven. God sent His Son to die as a substitute for you and me. He rose from the dead to prove that He completely paid for our sins and is able to remove our sin nature that we may have never-ending life with the holy God. 

The Bible states: “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures … He was buried … He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

All that is needed is to: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31).

“For God so loved the world _____ [insert your name], that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

By honestly trusting in Jesus Christ alone as your Saviour, you also have eternal life right now. Jesus said: “whoever believes has eternal life” (John 6:47). 

If you trust the things listed in options A, B, or C to get to Heaven, you are not really trusting in Jesus Christ. Let me ask you, which of these statements do you believe and follow? 

__ I am trusting in my “good life and/or religious life” to be deserving of the new earth and heaven with the Holy God.

or __ I trust in Christ PLUS my “good works” to make me more creditable. I don’t really believe that Jesus did enough to pay for my sins. God’s mercy, grace and love aren’t enough. I must help Him. 

or __ I am sure I am trusting in Jesus Christ alone.

“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).

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