The only way to eternal life.
The Bible is very clear about people's goodness.
It is not based on your good deeds.
Most people think that if they fill their whole life with good deeds,
they will reach eternity and earn their redemption.
The Bible is very clear about this,
and says in Romans 3 verse 3 after the following one,
"For all are healthy, and it breaks them from the honor of God."
There is also in Romans 3 verse 10,
that there is no one righteous, even not one.
In other words, not me or you are righteous,
and we do not deserve salvation.
Our righteousness is insufficient,
and can only be filled by the righteousness of Jesus,
which is assigned to us.
We can not succeed in our own righteousness,
to earn eternal life.
With this in mind is the first step,
to recognize that you are a sinner.
In Revelation 21 verse 8 it is written,
"But which is like fear,
and which is unbelieving,
and which is terrible,
and murderers,
and robbers,
and sorcerers,
and devils,
and all the lepers,
they are part of the pool that burns with fire and sweat."
This is the second death.
Let's be honest,
all of us have already Sunday,
and deserve the pool that burns with fire and sweat.
Further says Jesus for us in Matthew 5 verse 22,
"But I say to you, that every one who is without reason evil for his brother,
has to be held responsible for the law;
and every one who is against his brother,
has to be held responsible for the great law;
and every one who is against you,
has to be held responsible in hell."
This means that we all deserve the second death,
and we can not take the reality of it lightly.
But there is hope in Christ.
God proved His love to us in that Christ died for us,
when we were still Sunday.
Remain in verse 5 verse 8,
"By God's love Jesus Christ was the fullness of God in flesh."
God became a human.
He led a worthless life,
on the path that I and you can not fulfill through our own righteousness.
Even though He made this life complete,
humankind still hated,
rejected,
humiliated,
cursed and beaten,
and eventually took hold of the cross with nails.
The path to God,
that was filled with hate, humiliation, rejection, pain and suffering,
the path that we all deserve,
He has come to step into our place in His fullness.
In 1 Peter 2 verses 21-24 we see the following,
"For to this you have been called,
because Christ has also been led by you,
and you have left an example,
so that you can follow His footsteps.
He who has not done any sin,
and in whose mouth no betrayal has been found,
that when he has been pardoned, has not been pardoned again,
when he has been led, has not been threatened,
but has been given over to him who has been judged."
What our son has done in his life,
remains to be understood,
so that we can die of sin,
and live for righteousness,
through whose wounds we are healed.
So, all our sins that we have ever done,
and will do,
was as if Jesus did it himself.
He took the punishment of our sins on His own,
died, went down to hell,
and rose again from the dead on the third day.
He then appeared to His disciples,
and He lived by their side.
The Bible is very clear about who He died for.
Not just for us,
but also for the sins of the whole world.
1 John 2.2
This brings us back to the question,
what do we have to do to be saved?
Acts 16, verses 30-31 answer this question.
And He brought them out and said,
"Mans, what do we have to do to be saved?"
Then they said,
"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved,
you and your family."
That's all.
He didn't say,
"Slow down at a church and you will be saved."
"Be dead and you will be saved."
"Live a good life and you will be saved."
or "Believe in your son and you will be saved."
No.
He said,
"Believe that Jesus died,
that He was buried and that He stood up for you."
One of the most famous verses in the Bible says for us,
"For so dear was God to the world,
that He gave His only begotten son,
so that everyone who believes in Him
may not be lost,
but he can live the eternal life."
John 3 verse 16.
Again,
if you believe once,
you cannot be lost or be taken away.
Because it is a gift and a promise from God.
In John 6 verse 47,
we read the following,
"For wherefore I say to you,
who believes in me,
has the eternal life."
Further in John 10 verse 28,
"And I give them the eternal life,
and they shall never be lost,
until they are eternal,
and no one shall pull them out of My hand."
We climb on the word 'eternal',
which means 'forever'.
What God promises us here is the eternal life.
Not in time or in the limits of time.
You cannot lose it,
and it cannot be taken away from you.
It is eternal,
it is never-ending.
We can rest in the knowledge that God is not a human,
that He would lie.
Would He say something and not do it?
Would He promise something and not execute it?
Numbers 23, verse 19
'Resolution' does not mean that I can lead a life full of sin,
but if we do sin,
it cannot be taken away from us.
Would you go on without saving yourself on Sunday?
Could you not lose your piety?
But there are consequences,
and you will be punished in that life,
as the father would punish his son.
Hebrews 12, verse 6
'For the Lord punishes him that he loves,
and he punishes every sin he commits.'
We find many examples in the Bible of people
who have committed very bad deeds,
but still have received their forgiveness.
Because they believed in the promise of God and His mercy.
There are also people who live today,
and who live in the eyes of the world justly.
Yet they will die in their sins,
and will be judged according to their deeds,
and will not attain righteousness.
Come, I will listen to you now with another thought.
Are there many or less people who have been saved?
A question that Jesus also asked,
in Matthew 7, verse 13, reads the following.
"Go in through the narrow gate, and wide is the gate,
and wide is the way that leads to the land."
And there are many who go there.
Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.
Further in verse 21 we read that not everyone who says to Him,
"Jere Jere" will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of his Father who is in heaven.
What is the will of the Father?
Only that, believe, believe in the Son of God, John 6 verse 40.
In Matthew 7 verse 22 he says, "Many shall on that day say to me,
Jere Jere, have we not profited in the name of God, and driven out devils in the name of God,
and done in the name of God many powers?
And then I shall say to them, I have never known you,
go away from me, you who do injustice, work."
Why did God never know them?
I claim to never.
These people have tried to earn their salvation through their deeds,
and have established their own justice,
and have not done their work on Christ.
So if you then establish your good deeds,
or as many people say,
"You have to obey the laws,
you have to be baptized,
you have to go to church,
or you have to lead a sinless life,"
then you follow the people who are on the wide road,
and you believe in your own righteousness,
and Jesus will tell you,
"Go away from Me,
I have never known you."
This is the most dangerous path to be on,
because you think you are right with God,
but on the contrary,
you are far from God,
just like the Pharisees.
At home, as we used to call it,
if God recognizes you once,
it is eternity,
and you are saved for eternity,
and Word is one of God.
We become part of God's eternal family
when we are reborn.
You may always be the black sheep of the family,
or be tamed by God,
or even destroy your life
on earth in ignorance
or on purpose.
Even if you make such a mess of your life,
it cannot take you out of the hand of God
and your good deeds will not be lost.
Believe in Jesus Christ
and be saved for eternity.
We end with the next prayer
because we read in Romans 10,
because with the heart believe us to righteousness
and with the mouth guide us to salvation.
Dear Jesus,
I know that I am a sinner
and deserve eternal death,
but I believe today
that You died on the cross for me
and rose again.
Please save me at this moment
and give me eternal life.
I trust only in You, Jesus. Amen.