What Exactly Must I Do to Go to Heaven? (Part 1)

#1 · April 10, 2005, 3:21 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on April 10, 2005, 3:21 pm
Posted by: biblenotes <biblenotes@...>
What Exactly Must I Do to Go to Heaven?

(Part 1)

".. Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, And saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.'" (Mark 1:14, 15)

(note new contact information at end of this email)

"What exactly must I do to go to Heaven?" This was the question I was asked in a letter from a total stranger in the year 1994. This mini-series of Bible Notes will contain the response letter/sermon that I sent to this man. Since the original response was done by typewriter, I thought it appropriate to use the "typist" font. If any words are in blue (like this), then the reader should be able to left-click (or double left-click) on the words to follow a link to a previous Bible Note dealing with a related subject. In order to do this, the reader must be connected to the Internet at the time. Now, let us read the letter.

I was glad to receive your letter. Perhaps you are aware that very few people bring this very important question to a minister. It should not be this way, but people act like they are going to spend eternity upon this temporary, material world. Few think much and seriously about the only two places to which they could go after this life is over: Heaven or Hell. I feel that this is so important that it is worth my time to write this response, while I ought to be sleeping.

As I answer your question, you could think it's too simple, or even too complicated. Again, you may think it's too demanding, or else too easy. However, if you were trapped in a burning building, I'm sure you would do your best to listen to and obey the instructions of a fireman attempting to save your life. Just think of me as a spiritual "fireman", who is giving you the Instructions (God's Word) for escaping the very jaws of an eternal Hell, where "the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:44).

If indeed I give you God's instructions for escaping Hell, and for entering Heaven, how much more ought you to listen and obey? If you have a Bible, you ought to check all this out for yourself. If you don't have one, you ought to get one for this purpose. If you are inquiring of several different ministers concerning this question, you could become quite confused. This is a sad indictment against the ministry of our day, yet it is true. Many are not preaching the whole counsel of God.

If every person, who is not right with God, would be honest, they too would say that they are haunted by the prospect of what will happen after death. You see, "It is appointed unto men to die, but after this the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27). "For God will bring every work into judgment, .. whether it be good or whether it be evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:14). "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive according to that which he hath done..." (II Corinthians 5:10).

Since we all must be judged by God, and He will not miss a thing, we are in trouble. You are in trouble. "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 6:23); and "The soul that sinneth it shall die." (Ezekiel 18:20). God let the apostle, John, see an awful scene in the future: "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works .. they were judged every man .. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:12-15).

Obviously, some people will have their names written in the book of life; thereby escaping Hell and entering Heaven. Having laid some negative groundwork for answering your question, let us consider some positive groundwork for the same purpose. As stated above, we have all earned a place in Hell, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23). Stated in the simplest terms, in order to go to Heaven, one must receive this "gift" from God. There is much more involved in the reception of this gift, however, than many people are willing to accept. You see, God has stated some conditions which are necessary on the part of the recipient.

First of all, please understand this: no amount of good that you could do can make up for the bad that you have done, because "A man is not justified by the works of the law" (Galatians 2:16). "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works,..." (Ephesians 2:8, 9).

There are some things you must do to go to Heaven, but those things won't save you from your sins or earn you an entrance into Heaven upon their own merit. What you need is a Savior, Who can do for you what you cannot do for yourself. You cannot erase your past sins, but He has promised to forgive you and to blot them out. You cannot make yourself acceptable to God, but He can, if you will let Him. You are caught in a trap of sin, and bound by its chains, but He wants to set you free.

Since you cannot do anything to make up for your sins and to earn your way into Heaven, God Himself has decided to become you Savior. If you will let Him, He will save you. "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16). "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His Son into the world, that we might live through Him." (I John 4:9). How did this help? Well, "God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ" (His Son) "died for us." (Romans 5:8). But, not only did He die for us, He also arose from the dead on the third day thereafter. (see Acts 1:1-3; Matthew 28:1-10; I Corinthians 15:3-8). What could a dead savior do for us? He is alive today, and we shall see Him at the Judgment.

This Savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, gave us a straight-forward answer to your question: "The kingdom of heaven is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." (Mark 1:15). Heaven is near at hand; it is within your reach; it is available for the asking. Jesus told how to reach out and take it for ourselves. He gave us two conditions primarily by which we may receive His gift of salivation and be ready for Heaven when we die. One is to "repent" (Repentance), the other is to "believe the gospel" (see "What Must I Do to Be Saved?"). However, these conditions have been greatly misrepresented and misunderstood in our time. I will do my best to explain the biblical principles found in the true meaning of these terms.

(end of first portion of letter)

The Lord willing, I will be sending out two or three more parts of this letter soon.

Yours In Christ,
Martin Overfield

Please pass this Bible Note to others who may be interested or helped by it. To subscribe to FREE Bible Notes just send an empty e-mail to
[email protected]

To read Bible Notes on the Internet, go to:
http://welovegod.org/groups/bible_notes/

To contact me by e-mail please send to the following address:
[email protected]

New contact information

My new address and phone number are below:

Martin Overfield

RR 1 Box 249

Washington, IN 47501

Phone: (812) 254-0818
  "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without  which no man shall see the Lord:" (Hebrews 12:14)    --To unsubscribe, send ANY message to <[email protected]  

Posted by: biblenotes <biblenotes@...>

What Exactly Must I Do to Go to Heaven?

(Part 1)

".. Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, And saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.'" (Mark 1:14, 15)

(note new contact information at end of this email)

"What exactly must I do to go to Heaven?" This was the question I was asked in a letter from a total stranger in the year 1994. This mini-series of Bible Notes will contain the response letter/sermon that I sent to this man. Since the original response was done by typewriter, I thought it appropriate to use the "typist" font. If any words are in blue (like this), then the reader should be able to left-click (or double left-click) on the words to follow a link to a previous Bible Note dealing with a related subject. In order to do this, the reader must be connected to the Internet at the time. Now, let us read the letter.

I was glad to receive your letter. Perhaps you are aware that very few people bring this very important question to a minister. It should not be this way, but people act like they are going to spend eternity upon this temporary, material world. Few think much and seriously about the only two places to which they could go after this life is over: Heaven or Hell. I feel that this is so important that it is worth my time to write this response, while I ought to be sleeping.

As I answer your question, you could think it's too simple, or even too complicated. Again, you may think it's too demanding, or else too easy. However, if you were trapped in a burning building, I'm sure you would do your best to listen to and obey the instructions of a fireman attempting to save your life. Just think of me as a spiritual "fireman", who is giving you the Instructions (God's Word) for escaping the very jaws of an eternal Hell, where "the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:44).

If indeed I give you God's instructions for escaping Hell, and for entering Heaven, how much more ought you to listen and obey? If you have a Bible, you ought to check all this out for yourself. If you don't have one, you ought to get one for this purpose. If you are inquiring of several different ministers concerning this question, you could become quite confused. This is a sad indictment against the ministry of our day, yet it is true. Many are not preaching the whole counsel of God.

If every person, who is not right with God, would be honest, they too would say that they are haunted by the prospect of what will happen after death. You see, "It is appointed unto men to die, but after this the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27). "For God will bring every work into judgment, .. whether it be good or whether it be evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:14). "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive according to that which he hath done..." (II Corinthians 5:10).

Since we all must be judged by God, and He will not miss a thing, we are in trouble. You are in trouble. "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 6:23); and "The soul that sinneth it shall die." (Ezekiel 18:20). God let the apostle, John, see an awful scene in the future: "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works .. they were judged every man .. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:12-15).

Obviously, some people will have their names written in the book of life; thereby escaping Hell and entering Heaven. Having laid some negative groundwork for answering your question, let us consider some positive groundwork for the same purpose. As stated above, we have all earned a place in Hell, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23). Stated in the simplest terms, in order to go to Heaven, one must receive this "gift" from God. There is much more involved in the reception of this gift, however, than many people are willing to accept. You see, God has stated some conditions which are necessary on the part of the recipient.

First of all, please understand this: no amount of good that you could do can make up for the bad that you have done, because "A man is not justified by the works of the law" (Galatians 2:16). "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works,..." (Ephesians 2:8, 9).

There are some things you must do to go to Heaven, but those things won't save you from your sins or earn you an entrance into Heaven upon their own merit. What you need is a Savior, Who can do for you what you cannot do for yourself. You cannot erase your past sins, but He has promised to forgive you and to blot them out. You cannot make yourself acceptable to God, but He can, if you will let Him. You are caught in a trap of sin, and bound by its chains, but He wants to set you free.

Since you cannot do anything to make up for your sins and to earn your way into Heaven, God Himself has decided to become you Savior. If you will let Him, He will save you. "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16). "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His Son into the world, that we might live through Him." (I John 4:9). How did this help? Well, "God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ" (His Son) "died for us." (Romans 5:8). But, not only did He die for us, He also arose from the dead on the third day thereafter. (see Acts 1:1-3; Matthew 28:1-10; I Corinthians 15:3-8). What could a dead savior do for us? He is alive today, and we shall see Him at the Judgment.

This Savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, gave us a straight-forward answer to your question: "The kingdom of heaven is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." (Mark 1:15). Heaven is near at hand; it is within your reach; it is available for the asking. Jesus told how to reach out and take it for ourselves. He gave us two conditions primarily by which we may receive His gift of salivation and be ready for Heaven when we die. One is to "repent" (Repentance), the other is to "believe the gospel" (see "What Must I Do to Be Saved?"). However, these conditions have been greatly misrepresented and misunderstood in our time. I will do my best to explain the biblical principles found in the true meaning of these terms.

(end of first portion of letter)

The Lord willing, I will be sending out two or three more parts of this letter soon.

Yours In Christ,
Martin Overfield

Please pass this Bible Note to others who may be interested or helped by it. To subscribe to FREE Bible Notes just send an empty e-mail to
[email protected]

To read Bible Notes on the Internet, go to:
http://welovegod.org/groups/bible_notes/

To contact me by e-mail please send to the following address:
[email protected]

New contact information

My new address and phone number are below:

Martin Overfield

RR 1 Box 249

Washington, IN 47501

Phone: (812) 254-0818

  "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without  which no man shall see the Lord:" (Hebrews 12:14)    --To unsubscribe, send ANY message to <[email protected]