How Do I Get to Heaven?

This is probably the most popular question that could ever be asked. It's a question that should not go unanswered, and one that every person should know. Let me tell you what I think is the answer to this question according to what the bible says. I know that there will be people who reads this that don't agree with me but I leave these things up to you to take to the bible and weigh them.

Jesus said, "I am the way the truth and the life, no man can come to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). But what does that look like. How do we come to have a saving relationship with the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit? Well I have to start by saying I believe that from the moment of conception we are created in sin, and therefore have a sin nature (Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:12), and it is because of our very nature that we are separated from God. This means that we can perform all kinds of morally good acts (which are good, don't get me wrong) but they will always be tainted by our nature, which is far from perfect. "Sin" is a word that gets thrown around quite often without knowing what it is and the ramifications of it. Every human being, beginning with Adam, has fallen short of God's holy standard, and have profaned the very character of God himself. The bible calls this "sin" (Romans 3:23), and because of it we are separated from God, and are in need of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:20,21; Colossians 1:22,23). If sin is the very thing that separates us from a Holy God then what is it that needs to be taken care of in order to be adopted into the family of God? SIN! If we do not trust Jesus for our salvation, it means that we are an object of God's justice because of the violation of His character (John 3:18). Think about it like this. If someone were to commit some completely horrible crime against you (theft, abuse, rape, assault), would you not call the police and seek justice? Or would you forgive that person? No matter what your choice is someone has to pay the penalty. If you seek justice (which isn't a bad thing), the person who committed the crime pays. If you choose to forgive that person, you must pay the penalty emotionally. To forgive no matter what the crime or offense, it requires sacrifice. It's kind of interesting to me that so many people will seek justice if the crime is against them, but the moment we talk about God's justice for the crime against him we say, "No way God wouldn't do that!" Well trust me he would and he will.

Our culture teaches us that if we do we get. This is one principle that does not apply to God in the area of salvation. Because God is an infinite being, our debt is infinite. We only deceive ourselves if we think that we can repay the debt of sin that is owed to God (Romans 4:4,5). And it is this very thing that Jesus came to set us free from, the weight of thinking that we have to pay our debt ourselves. This is one of the many things that Jesus accomplished on the cross, OUR SALVATION! He who did not know any sin, became sin on the cross so that in him any one who believes and trusts in Jesus for their salvation becomes the righteousness of Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21) Our faith in the work of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection is what saves us, not our good works (Ephesians 2:8,9). If we think that our good works earn us a ticket to heaven then Jesus died for no reason (Galatians 2:21). The moment we place our faith in what Jesus did we are cleansed from our sin that has separated us from God, sealed with His Holy Spirit as a guarantee of the inheritance that we will attain, and God looks at us as if we lived the righteous life of Jesus himself(Ephesians 1:13,14; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 5:18). The works that we do after we are saved are wrought in the finished work of Jesus on the cross, performed in gratitude for what Christ did, not in hopes to earn his love. I will say it like this, if you have children this may hit you harder. Do your children have to earn your love? NO! But they do have to embrace it. God so loved the world that he sent his only Son to die on a cross in the place of sinful people like us. That is how the love of God was made manifest. We cannot earn the love of God, it is something that is freely offered, it is something that we must embrace, and it is yours for the taking. So embrace it by faith, not by works! I hope and pray that anyone who reads this will one day know the confidence (not arogance) of knowing for certain that when you die you will be with Jesus in his Kingdom. Not because of anything that we've done in righteousness, but because of what He did in love.

"...God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him, In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

-1 John 4:8-10

Science does not explain away God, it point to Him

         So I'm not an expert when it comes to the realm of science (or anything remotely smart for that matter), but I think it's safe to say that as humans we haven't known scientific fact in history the way that we do now. For example "smart" people back in the day thought that the world was flat etc. Here are a few thing for people to chew on that think that science has explained away God.

         In 1492 "when Columbus sailed the ocean blue" they thought that if you traveled far enough out to sea you would fall off the face of the earth. But We see in the Old Testament book of Isaiah which was written app. 700 years before the birth of Jesus, which was about 2,100 years before Columbus it says this, "It is He who sits above the CIRCLE of the earth, and it's inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, who spreads them like a tent to dwell in." (Isaiah 40:22) Also we see in Proverbs, "When he established the heavens .... when he drew a CIRCLE on the face of the deep." (Proverbs 8:27) One of the oldest writings in the history of the world is the book of Job in the Old Testament, and it says, "He has inscribed a CIRCLE on the face of the waters." All of these prophets were writing as if they had the correct perspective of the earth, which they did, GOD'S.

         Another verse that gets me is Job 26:7 which says, "He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing." CRAZY!! We weren't even able to measure gravity until Albert Einstein's huge brain showed up on the scene. Yet Job, the oldest writer in the book tells us quite accurately that the earth is floating in space hanging on nothing! Here's how I would describe gravity, "[Jesus] Who being the brightness of His [God's] glory and the express image of His person, upholding all things by the Word of His power." (Hebrews 1:3)

         And about Meteorology Job says this, "For He draws up drops of water, which distill as rain from the mist, which the clouds drop down and pour abundantly on man. Indeed can anyone understand the spreading of clouds, the thunder from His canopy?" (Job 36:27-29) These writers had God's perspective on the way that things work. The only way that they could've done this in their time was to know the God of the universe. "Well maybe they were just smart guys who knew the way that things work," you might say, "That doesn't mean that they had God's perspective on things." Well then to that I reply like this. 1) If "smart" people say that science has explained away the God of the bible or, that people in the bible simply explained things as "God" that really had scientific explanation, you don't give the human authors of the bible enough credit. They were wise. And they were wise enough to give credit where credit is due. 2)It would be one thing if science had proven these verses false, but they haven't. In fact they have proven that these writers were correct. It's because of these verses that we see that God does not go against science and science does not go against God. God created science and I'm sure that he delights in the fact that we are using our God given brains to figure out why stuff is the way it is, but I'm sure he doesn't delight in the fact that we try to take credit for it, as if we had anything to do with why it is the way it is. When we have some grand scientific breakthrough to some truth, know that it is the fingerprint of the God of the universe, the one who spoke it into existence. He was the one who gave you the ability to find truth, to reason, to think. So when you come across these discoveries don't think that it leads to a denial of the existence of God, but the opposite. It should point us toward Him. I leave these verses to you. The God of the bible is the Creator of science and the ultimate Scientist. He was around long before the foundations of the world. It's amazing what you can learn about the God of the universe when you take His word for what it is. True!

You can't have the Father without the Son

        So I've had quite a few conversations with people who say that they believe in God, or a "higher power" but yet reject Jesus. Well it's one thing to believe in God, and  a completely different thing to know God. Let me tell you why I think that it is impossible to base a faith on God that rejects Jesus. I've already talked about the historical reliability of the New Testament (Historical Reliability of the New Testament) and so I trust that the people who wrote in it genuinely believed what they were writing (eye witness accounts of the life of Jesus and the things that he taught).

        In the New Testament we see things like Jesus was the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His (the Father's) nature, and that anything that was created was created by Jesus (Hebrews 1:2,3; John 1:3). But what did Jesus say about Himself? Well in John 14 we see one such instance. Jesus has been with his disciples for almost 3 years and they've grown quite fond of Him. Who wouldn't after seeing and benefiting from some of the miracles that He performed. Not only that but they were beginning to understand who Jesus was and what it was that he came to do (save people from their sin and reconcile sinful people to a holy and righteous God [John 3:16-18; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 5:23-27]). But something that Jesus is saying here can be directly applied to people who say they believe in God but not Jesus. 1)Jesus is not discouraging people's faith in God, he is simply trying to point it in the right direction. Verse 1 says. "You believe in God; believe also in me." Don't get me wrong, it's good to believe in God, but I think that it's very important to be sure that what you believe is true. There are a lot of people out there saying some pretty crazy things about God and Jesus. 

         He then goes on to tell them that He is going to be leaving, referring to His ascension to heaven (Acts 1:9). Now Thomas who had placed his faith in this Messiah was confused. He didn't know where he was going and wether or not he could follow Him. 2) We see here the way to know the Father. Jesus tells Thomas that he is the way to the Father and that no one can come to the Father except through the door, that is Jesus. Jesus also says that if you know Him then you will know the Father. Well Thomas, like most people of every time and culture, wanted to see God but he is still confused. He asked Jesus, "Show us the Father and that is enough for us." Jesus' response to Thomas is one that all people need to let sink deep into their brains, He says, "Have I been among you all this time without you knowing Me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father."

        Here we see Jesus' equality with God. He says that if you see him you see the Father. You can't accept the Father and not accept Jesus and vise versa. You may accept a god that rejects Jesus but all you are doing is accepting your own idea of God, and not the true God. John, the author of this Gospel goes into greater detail in his epistle, 1 John. One of the reasons that John wrote this epistle is so that people could have fellowship with the Father and Jesus (1:3). He also wrote it to remind people that if you have placed your faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven (2:1,2,12). But something that he makes very clear is that you cannot have the Father without Jesus Christ. In 2:21,22,23 John is writing to people who have placed their faith in the true God says, "I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie comes from the truth....No one who confesses the son has the Father; he who confesses the Son has the Father as well." Also 5:12 tells us that, "The one who has the Son has life. The one who doesn't have the Son of God does not have life."

        To the one that says they can believe in God without accepting Christ I leave these things to your conscience. But I can say what John says in 1 John 5:20, "...we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true One. We are in the true One-that is, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life."

        Jesus is the true God and faith in Him leads to eternal life. Think about it!

Verbal salt shakers

        How often do we hurt people's feelings with out even realizing it? Sometimes I wonder if the filter between our brains and our mouths is working, or if some people even have one. 

        Colossians 4:6 says, "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." The immediate context for this verse is for people who have accepted Christ as their Savior.  So many times people are turned away from Jesus because of a poor representation of who Jesus is on the part of the Christian. I think that we forget who it is that we represent, Jesus. The way that we act towards unbelievers effects their view of who Christ is. 

        In bible times salt was used as a preservative. We dump it on our food now mostly to clog our artories, but back then it was used to preserve meat (they didn't have refridgeraters ). What Paul is saying to the believer in Christ is that if what you are about to say does not lead to the preservation of the individual listening, we should probably keep our mouths shut. All that we speak should point to Jesus, and be consistent with the new nature that He has given us (Ephesians 4:22-24). 

2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, the old things have passed away, and new things have come. If we would live consistently with the fact that that has happened to us I think that we would be more prone to be verbal salt shakers, preserving the people that hear us speak.

Lastly we see in James 3:8-12 that the tongue of man next to impossible to tame. With it we bless our Lord and curse our brother. He tells us in verse 10 that it should not be this way. He gives a natural spring as an example, it can't produce spring water and salt water at the same time. You are either one or the other. The funny thing about salt water is that it is in no way refreshing, like spring water is. Jesus said that what comes out of a man stems from the heart (Matthew 15:18-20). What makes up the majority of your speech? How do you talk to people? I think that the heart of the issue is that we all have a problem with the heart, it is corrupted by sin and it needs to be transformed by the power of Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:15-21).

Historical Reliability of The New Testament

        So I was thinking about the name of my blog and it struck me that anything that we know about Jesus comes from the New and Old Testament. But how do we know that it is historically reliable? Well I thought that I'd share a couple thoughts on the historically reliability of the New Testament, and maybe focus on the Old some other time.

       Well in my first blog I said that I believe that the New (and Old) Testament is one of the most historically accurate pieces of antiquity that we have today. I'm no scholar but I've looked into it deep enough to be convinced that this is the case, and if you are to deny this fact then you either haven't looked into it enough or your not being honest. For instance the New Testament has far better support for it than any of Plato or Aristotle's writings, which no one seriously questions. The oldest copies of  these writers are dated between 900 and 1300 years ago, which we only have 7 copies of Plato's Tetrologies. We have over 24,000 copies of ancient manuscripts of the New Testament. This blows any other article of antiquity out of the water. So if you can be honest with yourself you should read this article that I found on the historical reliability of the New Testament. It's a bit lengthy but in it the author supplies a lot of references for his findings.

http://www.leaderu.com/offices/rusty_wright/newtestament.html

       So if we can say that the New Testament is historically reliable then don't you think that maybe we should see what it has to say (specifically as it relates to the person and work of Jesus)? I hope that we will and that we will take it seriously. 

Who is Jesus, really?

       So I was given the opportunity to share some verses that I studied with Ogden Valley Community Church on Sunday July 27th and I wanted to share some of the key points. The verses we looked at were Mark 8:27-9:1. In this section Jesus is less than a year away from the cross and he's preparing his disciples for what it is that he is going to face (torture and death on the cross), and what it is that they are going to have to face (11 out of the 12 disciples died for their faith). He asks his disciples, "who do people say that I am?" They give him a few different answers on who people thought that Jesus was, all of which were false. This is so true about our culture as well. There are so many different ideas of who Jesus is that it's hard to tell who he really is. First let me say that a statement or belief about someone is only as true as the object that that statement is about. For example someone could believe with all their heart that I am a 4' 5" little person, but the fact of the matter is that I am not. So a statement or belief is true or false depending on the object of that statement. 

       Well how do we know who Jesus was? I believe that the Bible is one of the most historically accurate  pieces of antiquity that we have in the world today. In it we see the record of who Jesus was and the fact that his disciples were genuine enough in their faith of who Jesus was to die for that faith. That's better than any lie detector test. So we can say things about Jesus that are true as long as they are consistent with the record of who he actually was as we see in the bible. For instance we can say that Jesus is God in the flesh (John 1:1-3,14), he is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature (Hebrews 1:13), and that the fullness of deity dwells in him bodily (Colossians 2:9). This is what Peter confessed genuinely to Jesus when Jesus asked them, "Who do you say that I am?" This is the most important question that you could ask yourself. If you are going to insert your name into the bible somewhere, I thing that it would be safe to insert it here. Who do you (insert your name here) say that I am? 

Also their was a false view of what it is that Jesus would come and do amongst the Jewish leaders at the time. They thought that Jesus would come and save them from the tyranny of Rome. They thought that Jesus was going to be a political savior. That is why Peter rebukes Jesus for telling them that he is going to suffer and die. Peter couldn't have that. He was supposed to save them from the tyranny of Rome. But is that what it was that Jesus was sent to do. No. The word gospel means "good news" and this is the good news of the gospel. Jesus came to free us not from the tyranny of Rome, or any governmental institution. He came to save us from the tyranny of Satan. He came to pay the price for the sin that we have committed against a holy God. He came to remove the wrath that hangs over our heads (John 3:18) and absorb it so that we might be declared just before the same God that we have offended so deeply (Romans 3:23,24). The good news of the gospel is the fact that he offers it to us freely. There is nothing you can do to earn it. It is just hanging out there for anyone to grasp. It is a gift (Romans 3:20;Ephesians 2:8,9). The moment you place your faith in what Jesus did on the cross you are sealed with his Holy Spirit and guaranteed heaven (Ephesians 1:13,14). 

Religion is man's unsuccessful attempt to reach a holy God on man's own terms. The good news of the gospel is God's successful attempt to reach man on his terms. The most important question you could ever ask yourself is the question that Jesus asked his disciples 2000 years ago, "Who do you say that I am?" It's a question that has eternal consequence. Who do you say Jesus is and how will you respond to what he has done? And remember a statement or belief is only as true as the object it points to so filter your response through the bible to make sure that whatever your answer is is the correct one.