You Can't Get there From Here

You Can't Get There From Here

Imagine that when you are born, you are connected to God by a very long cord. The first part of the cord is like a chain, which holds the commandments of God. The first time you break any of the commandments (sin willfully), the chain is broken and the cord falls to the ground. Now God is completely out of your reach, and there is NOTHING you can do to remake the connection. No matter how many good works you stack up, you can never stack them high enough to reach God. “For the one who obeys the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” James 2:10 NET

Let's look at it another way. Imagine a child who wants a pet. The parents are reluctant to get it for the child because this pet needs very specific care. The pet needs to be fed a certain amount of food at specific times during the day, or it will die. The parents explained that they could not be home all the time to make sure the pet is fed. Still the child is insistent and promises to do everything the pet needs. Finally, the parents give in and get the pet. At first the child is very diligent, measuring out the food and feeding the pet on time. After a while, the child loses interest and starts neglecting the pet. Eventually the pet dies. The child is very sorry and promises from now on to feed the pet on time. For weeks the proper amount of food is brought at the proper time, but the pet is still dead. No amount of diligence can change that. Ephesians 2:1 says that “we were dead in transgression and sin”. Like the child's pet, once we are dead because of sin, there is NOTHING we can do to get right with God. Our first sin in life has made us irrevocably separated from God. We are hopelessly doomed to HELL, for all eternity.

Most of mankind seems to thing that entrance to Heaven is based on some kind of a balance sheet, that if the good outweighs the bad when we die, we will eventually get into Heaven. That is NOT what the Bible says. There is not a person or institution on earth that can intervene on behalf of someone to gain them entrance into Heaven. The Bible says very clearly “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” [Romans 3:23 NET] The Bible also says “...There is no one righteous, not even one.” [Romans 3:10NET]

Praise be to God! He has a plan to bring the lost sinner back to Himself. We can't buy it, we can't earn it, we are not owed it, and we absolutely do not deserve it. We can, however, receive it. It is a free gift. Ephesians 2:8,9 says: “For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Salvation is a gift we receive through faith in Jesus Christ. The kind of faith necessary for salvation is a lifetime (eternal) commitment to Jesus Christ and His teachings, as spelled out in the Bible. It is not something to be entered into lightly. Once this step is taken, there is no turning back. “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”[ Hebrews 6:4-6 NIV] It requires complete surrender of ever aspect of your life to Christ. As you are thinking about this, keep in mind, that according to the Bible, it is the ONLY way to gain entrance into Heaven!

Confused?! If you are not one of the Faithful in Christ, I hope so. If you want to know more, contact me or any of the devout people on the Bible.org web site. We will be glad to help you along the path to salvation.

To The Glory Of God