There Are Two Ways

2005-12-10

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36)

St. Peter will not be at the gate of heaven; Jesus will be. Hypothetically, if He were to ask you why you should be in His kingdom, and you start talking about your own merit, you would not be granted entrance. Nobody is good enough to get to heaven, and nobody is even close. That is why Jesus, in His love for the people of the world, voluntarily suffered and died in our place, that by believing and trusting in Him, we can enter heaven. He rose from the grave in victory over death. It’s all about Him, not us, as to why we can go to heaven and have eternal life.

Every woman and every man on every continent of the world has a choice: to choose Christ or not choose Christ. Choosing Christ is choosing eternal life, fellowship and peace with God. Not choosing Christ means choosing death, self-sufficiency, enmity with God, and hopelessness. Since Christ is King of kings, heaven and earth, submitting to something else is submission to a false god and the enemy.

It has been said there are two types of people in this world. The first type says to God, “Thy will be done.” The second type is where God says to them, “Thy will be done.” Not choosing Christ is choosing hell, the lake of fire.

Now consider John 3:36, especially the verbs: He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, meaning right now, not just in the future. He that believeth not the Son shall not see life (not even in the future), but the wrath of God abideth on him, meaning right now, not just in the future. Christ did everything for you by dying for you; if you trust in Jesus, you will be in heaven. You can be sure of it because you can see His empty tomb in the Holy Land today.