What Exactly Must I Do to Go to Heaven? (Part 4 -- Conclusion)

#1 · April 24, 2005, 4:33 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on April 24, 2005, 4:33 pm
Posted by: biblenotes <biblenotes@...>
What Exactly Must I Do to Go to Heaven? (Part 4)

".. 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)

In the last three Bible Notes, we have been looking at the two instructions Jesus gave for people interested in making it into Heaven, "repent" and "believe the gospel". We have been especially looking into the meaning and application of true repentance. Now we will look at the meaning and application of saving faith or of believing the gospel. Links to the three previous Bible Notes will be found at the end of this note.

II. Believe the Gospel

Now that we have thoroughly dealt with what it means to repent, we need to deal with the subject of faith. I want you to understand what the "gospel" is, and how you are to believe it in order to be saved from sin and Hell, and thus become ready to go to Heaven.

A. What the Gospel Is

If you would review the earlier portion of this letter (part 1 of this series), you will find the Gospel in brief. It is the story of how God went about to make a way for you and I to be able to go to Heaven. Of course, His Son, Jesus Christ, played the major part here on earth, when He "offered" Himself as the Sacrifice for our sins.

"By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;" (Hebrews 10:10-12).

He did this by dying a horrible death on a cross, one of the most torturous deaths that has ever been inflicted upon any man. Not only did He die for our sins, but He came back to life on the third day thereafter. If you will read 1 Corinthians chapter 15, you will see how the writer so aptly explains the wonderful fact that, since Jesus was resurrected, you and I can also have a wonderful resurrection in the end, and then live forever with the Lord.

This being the gospel (gospel means "good news"), we are to believe it. You are to believe it in order to receive the benefits of this great salvation, which God has provided at such great cost to Himself.

B. How We Are to Believe It

Now, you have heard the "Good News" of how God wants to save you through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. If you have truly repented (or when you have done so), you must believe that God hears your prayer. Believe with your heart, not just your head. Believing involves at least three things: the assent of the mind (head, or intellectual, faith), the consent of the will, and the reliance of the heart. Furthermore, you must believe with all your heart. "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness." (Romans 10).

Not only should you believe that God hears your prayer, but also, you should believe that He is going to answer. You believe mentally? That's good, but the "devils also believe and tremble" (James 2:19). Have you really repented completely? Then you believe with the consent, or choice, of your will. Still, you cannot be saved, forgiven of your sins, until you rely upon Christ, your Savior, with all of your heart.

To apply this in a more real way is my desire. Oh, that you would believe Him to keep His Word. If you mean it, He takes you at your word. You know He means to give this salvation to you. If you really have confessed and forsaken your sins with all your heart, He knows and will have mercy upon you.

I have no doubt but that God will save you now, if you will trust Him to do it now. "For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured" (or helped) "thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (1 Corinthians 6:2). According to this verse, God says that He hears your prayer now, and He will help you (save you) now. Now is the time acceptable to Him to save you and make you ready for Heaven. Now is the only time that is acceptable. God is not happy with your putting this off any longer; and neither will you be truly happy, until you believe Him to save you now.

You must come to the place in your praying, that you take God's promises for face value. You must, on the bare say-so of God's Word, trust with all your heart that He does now do what He said He would do. Trust in Him, not in feelings, not in circumstances. Trust in your Savior!

If you really do believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior, He will send, not only salvation, but also the "witness of the Spirit" of God. This witness will cause you to know in the depths of your heart that God does save you, that you are now His child, that your name is written in the book of life, and that you are ready to go to Heaven.

"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:" (Romans 8:16)

Once you are able to believe, and you become certain that you are saved, you need to confess your new-found Savior to others. "Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father which is in Heaven." (Matthew 10:32).

(See also, Repentance (Part 8), FAITH)

Concluding Comments:

Few people do all that it takes to cooperate with God, and to receive His wonderful gift of salvation. So many just "accept Christ", supposedly; but, in reality they do not receive Him. You see, He must accept you in order for you to be saved. But, He cannot accept you, until you are in the right frame of mind and attitude of heart to accept His conditions for your salvation.

I trust I have told you "exactly" what you need to do to get ready for Heaven. This may seem to be a long letter, but I did not want to be misunderstood on a matter of such great importance as the salvation of your eternal soul.

Yours In Christ,
Martin Overfield

(Correction: in part 3, I gave a wrong reference. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." [2 Corinthians 5:18]. The reference should have been 1 Corinthians 5:17.)

Left-click/double-click on the following links to read the early parts of this series (must be connected to the Internet to work):

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

What Exactly Must I Do to Go to Heaven? (Part 2)

What Exactly Must I Do to Go to Heaven? (Part 3)

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]
  "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 4)

".. 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)

In the last three Bible Notes, we have been looking at the two instructions Jesus gave for people interested in making it into Heaven, "repent" and "believe the gospel". We have been especially looking into the meaning and application of true repentance. Now we will look at the meaning and application of saving faith or of believing the gospel. Links to the three previous Bible Notes will be found at the end of this note.

II. Believe the Gospel

Now that we have thoroughly dealt with what it means to repent, we need to deal with the subject of faith. I want you to understand what the "gospel" is, and how you are to believe it in order to be saved from sin and Hell, and thus become ready to go to Heaven.

A. What the Gospel Is

If you would review the earlier portion of this letter (part 1 of this series), you will find the Gospel in brief. It is the story of how God went about to make a way for you and I to be able to go to Heaven. Of course, His Son, Jesus Christ, played the major part here on earth, when He "offered" Himself as the Sacrifice for our sins.

"By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;" (Hebrews 10:10-12).

He did this by dying a horrible death on a cross, one of the most torturous deaths that has ever been inflicted upon any man. Not only did He die for our sins, but He came back to life on the third day thereafter. If you will read 1 Corinthians chapter 15, you will see how the writer so aptly explains the wonderful fact that, since Jesus was resurrected, you and I can also have a wonderful resurrection in the end, and then live forever with the Lord.

This being the gospel (gospel means "good news"), we are to believe it. You are to believe it in order to receive the benefits of this great salvation, which God has provided at such great cost to Himself.

B. How We Are to Believe It

Now, you have heard the "Good News" of how God wants to save you through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. If you have truly repented (or when you have done so), you must believe that God hears your prayer. Believe with your heart, not just your head. Believing involves at least three things: the assent of the mind (head, or intellectual, faith), the consent of the will, and the reliance of the heart. Furthermore, you must believe with all your heart. "With the heart man believeth unto righteousness." (Romans 10).

Not only should you believe that God hears your prayer, but also, you should believe that He is going to answer. You believe mentally? That's good, but the "devils also believe and tremble" (James 2:19). Have you really repented completely? Then you believe with the consent, or choice, of your will. Still, you cannot be saved, forgiven of your sins, until you rely upon Christ, your Savior, with all of your heart.

To apply this in a more real way is my desire. Oh, that you would believe Him to keep His Word. If you mean it, He takes you at your word. You know He means to give this salvation to you. If you really have confessed and forsaken your sins with all your heart, He knows and will have mercy upon you.

I have no doubt but that God will save you now, if you will trust Him to do it now. "For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured" (or helped) "thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (1 Corinthians 6:2). According to this verse, God says that He hears your prayer now, and He will help you (save you) now. Now is the time acceptable to Him to save you and make you ready for Heaven. Now is the only time that is acceptable. God is not happy with your putting this off any longer; and neither will you be truly happy, until you believe Him to save you now.

You must come to the place in your praying, that you take God's promises for face value. You must, on the bare say-so of God's Word, trust with all your heart that He does now do what He said He would do. Trust in Him, not in feelings, not in circumstances. Trust in your Savior!

If you really do believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior, He will send, not only salvation, but also the "witness of the Spirit" of God. This witness will cause you to know in the depths of your heart that God does save you, that you are now His child, that your name is written in the book of life, and that you are ready to go to Heaven.

"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:" (Romans 8:16)

Once you are able to believe, and you become certain that you are saved, you need to confess your new-found Savior to others. "Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father which is in Heaven." (Matthew 10:32).

Concluding Comments:

Few people do all that it takes to cooperate with God, and to receive His wonderful gift of salvation. So many just "accept Christ", supposedly; but, in reality they do not receive Him. You see, He must accept you in order for you to be saved. But, He cannot accept you, until you are in the right frame of mind and attitude of heart to accept His conditions for your salvation.

I trust I have told you "exactly" what you need to do to get ready for Heaven. This may seem to be a long letter, but I did not want to be misunderstood on a matter of such great importance as the salvation of your eternal soul.

Yours In Christ,
Martin Overfield

(Correction: in part 3, I gave a wrong reference. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." [2 Corinthians 5:18]. The reference should have been 1 Corinthians 5:17.)

Left-click/double-click on the following links to read the early parts of this series (must be connected to the Internet to work):

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

What Exactly Must I Do to Go to Heaven? (Part 2)

What Exactly Must I Do to Go to Heaven? (Part 3)

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]

  "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]