Heaven is a Prepared Place For a Prepared People

No one just stumbles into heaven accidentally. You have to make preparations if you want to go there. The people who go to heaven are the people who know they are going to heaven because they know they have put all their trust in Jesus to forgive their sins and save their soul for all eternity. I John 3:15: These things have I written onto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. If you don't know if you will go to heaven when you die, then that means you are not saved and not ready or prepared to go there. Now is the day to  prepare. II Corinthians 6:2: (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) The reason it is important to get saved today is because you are not promised another tomorrow. Sadly, there will be many people in hell who intended to get saved some day, but they kept putting it off, until one day it was too late.

The bible says that Jesus is preparing a place in Heaven for all those who put there trust in him, and it is a place where there are many mansions and in a country where God is preparing a city. Heaven is a real place with a real location. Jesus is already there and waiting for the people he saved by grace to go there and be with him forever. It is not just floating on clouds somewhere.

John 14:1: Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2: In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

In the book of Hebrews is a verse that tells us how saved people are looking for a better country where God has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11:16: But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.  Revelation 21:2: And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

So you can see then how God has prepared a place, which is heaven, for anyone who puts their complete trust in Jesus. Now it is up to you to make preparation to go to the place God has prepared. There is only one thing you must do to be prepared to go to heaven and that is to believe on Jesus as your personal savior, trust him, put all your faith upon him. He longs to save you. He has purchased your salvation in full with his own shed blood. All you have to do is receive him.  John 1:12: But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.

Heaven is also described as an inheritance. Once you put your faith in Jesus to save you, you will receive an inheritance that will never vanish or fade away.  I Peter 1:4: To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you. Many times people will receive an earthly inheritance that seems wonderful at the time, but a few years later it seems that it is all gone somehow. But that is not the case with the inheritance from God because the bible says it will never fade away. That means it will last forever because it is called eternal life and eternal means forever.  Matthew 25:34: Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. An inheritance is something you receive freely, something you did not work for. That is why heaven is called an inheritance, because it is a free gift. Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. 9: Not of works lest any man should boast.

In Matthew chapter 25 is the story about ten virgins. Five of them were wise and were prepared to go to heaven, and five of them were foolish and were not prepared to go to heaven. 

Matthew 25:1: Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and and went forth to meet the bridegroom. (referring to Jesus).  

2: And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 

3: They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

4: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 

5: While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

6: And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

7: Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

8: And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

9: But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

10: And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

11: Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

12: But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

13: Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

The oil in the wise virgins lamps is the picture of salvation and thus the wise virgins were prepared to go to be with Jesus and were ready because they were saved by trusting in him, but the foolish virgins had no oil in their lamps and so they were unprepared to go to heaven with Jesus. They tried to get oil in their lamps at the end, but it was too late and the door was shut. Jesus said to them that he knew them not. That is why it is important to be saved today before it becomes too late for you also, like the foolish virgins. If you do not accept Jesus as your savior, some day it will be too late and the door will be shut.

A person who has trusted Jesus as their savior knows they are on their way to heaven. That is the reason why the bible says to lay up treasures in heaven. Matthew 6:20: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. This proves that heaven is a real prepared place where saved people can lay up treasures. You have to know you are going there to be able to lay up treasures there.

If you have not made preparation to go to heaven when you die, there is another place that is prepared for all the unbelievers in Christ. Matthew 25:41: Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: To go to this prepared place you need not to make any preparations because the bible says anyone who has not put their trust in Jesus is condemned already. John 3:18: He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. If you have never put your faith in Jesus, the only thing you need to do to go to this horrible place of everlasting fire is just to keep on not accepting Christ as your savior and wait til you take your last breath on earth. Hell is not a place for bad people, it is a place for unsaved people. We are all sinners. Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God: We all deserve hell, but Jesus doesn't want us to go there. That is why he paid for our sins, so we wouldn't have to pay for them ourselves and go to hell forever. He took our punishment for us so we could receive the free gift of salvation by putting all our trust in him and what he did for us.

In conclusion, if you are not prepared or ready to go to heaven when you die, please make that decision today by calling upon the name of the Lord in faith to save you, believing in your heart that he died to pay for your sins and rose again the third day. Romans 10:9: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Romans 10:13: For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

The Bible Way to Heaven Video

Poetry About Jesus And Salvation

Jesus is Enough

If you ever hear a preacher or anyone else say you have to believe on Jesus AND this, that, or the other to be saved that is a false teacher that is sending people to hell. Putting all your faith in Jesus ALONE is ALL that is necessary to be saved. There is nothing more additionally needed. There is no "and do other things" after believe on the Lord Jesus Christ in Acts 16:31b: ....Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Jesus paid it all and he is enough. If you think you have to add anything to that to be saved, you are saying Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was insufficient to purchase our salvation, but it was sufficient. Jesus lived a perfect sinless life that none of us could ever live so that he could be a perfect sacrifice to die in our place to pay for our sins so he could save us from the penalty of our sins, which is to spend an eternity in the horrible place of hell. Galatians 2:21: I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ be dead in vain. That means if we had to do any kind of work whatsoever to get saved, then Jesus died for nothing. But he didn't die for nothing. He paid for our salvation in full. It is all by grace through faith. 

Here are some examples of what false teachers say you have to believe on Jesus AND do this, that, or the other:

1. You have to believe on Jesus and be baptized in order to be saved. 

Baptism is for people who are already saved in order to confess Jesus before men and to be a testimony of their salvation. It is not part of salvation. Many people who have never been baptized will be in Heaven because even though they were not baptized they were saved by putting their trust in Jesus alone to save them. The thief on the cross who got saved was never baptized, but he is in heaven today.  Luke 23:42: And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 43: And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.  He just looked to Christ and was saved instantly. You SHOULD be baptized because the bible says we are to get baptized AFTER we get saved, but it is not necessary in order to get saved. The only thing you MUST do is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 16:30: And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31: And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. It doesn't say you must be baptized; it just says you must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

2. You have to believe on Jesus and repent of all your sins, or forsake your sins, to be saved. 

That would be like turning over a new leaf. Salvation is not by turning over a new leaf, it is being saved and forgiven of all our sins and washed in the blood of Jesus, and made a born again child of God purely by God’s mercy and grace. It is by receiving the free gift of eternal life. It is when you look to Jesus and say “I know I’m a sinner and I deserve to go to hell, but I believe you paid for my sins and rose again the third day, and I am now putting all my faith and trust in you to save me and take me to heaven when I die.” That is how you get saved, not by turning over a new leaf or trying to forsake your sins, which is impossible anyway because no one can stop sinning. That is why we need a savior in the first place.  Jesus bore our sins in his own body on the cross. I Peter 2:24: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. You only need to acknowledge you're a sinner and trust Christ. If we had to forsake our sins to be saved, no one would be saved. We don’t even know what our sins are when we get saved, much less forsake them, and we will never know all of our sins. We just know we are a sinner and need God’s mercy. If anyone claims they know they are saved because they have forsaken their sins or sinful lifestyle, they are proud and boastful and are unsaved because they are trusting in what they do instead of putting full trust in what Jesus has done for them.

Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Luke 18:13: And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, "God be merciful to me a sinner.

3. You have to believe on Jesus and make him Lord of your life and surrender everything you have to him and make a commitment to follow him and serve him for the rest of your life. 

That would be like you have to earn your salvation by serving and following. That would make heaven a reward instead of a gift. Heaven is a gift that was paid for by Jesus. A gift is something you didn't earn or work for, it is free and entirely paid for by the giver, not the receiver. We are not saved by making a commitment to Jesus, but rather he made a commitment to us to save and keep for all eternity anyone who would trust him.  John 10:28: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29: My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. The moment you put your trust in Christ to save you, you are eternally secure and nothing can ever pluck you out of the Father's hand. You can never lose your salvation because it is God keeping ahold of us, not us striving to cling to him to keep our salvation. That is what the bible says and God cannot lie. It is not about us and what we do; it is all about Jesus and what he did for us.

4. You have to believe on Jesus and persevere to the end. 

Salvation is not obtained by running a race and enduring to the end. If that were the case, you would never know if you were saved or not because you don't yet know if you will finish the race. No, salvation is a one time instantaneous event the moment someone puts all their trust in Jesus. Once you receive salvation it is a done deal, your eternal destiny is forever sealed and you can rest assure that you are saved forever no matter what, no matter if you sin a little or sin greatly, it doesn't matter. Some of the best saved people in the bible did some pretty bad things, but they still went to heaven because they trusted Christ so their sins were forgiven.

5. You have to believe on Jesus and also have a sincere willingness to radically change your behavior.

No where in the Bible does it say you have to change your behavior to be saved. On the contrary, the bible says when we trust Jesus he washes our sins away in his own blood. God is the one who changes our heart when we put our trust in Jesus. Revelation 1:5: And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. The only thing a sinner can do is just to come to Jesus as he is, admit he is a sinner, and let him save you. He changes our heart when we trust him. It has nothing to do with our behavior. That would be like saying if you're good then you get to go to heaven. The bible says no one is good. Romans 3:10: As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one. Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Some will say, but if you really got saved, there would be a change in your behavior, but that is false too. Just because a saved person has a new heart, doesn't mean they still can't have some bad behavior.

6. You have to believe on Jesus and do good works. 

People like to think they need to help God to save them and do good works, so this is the question they asked Jesus. John 6:28: Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God: 29: Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.  So the only work that can save you is to BELIEVE on Jesus, not doing good deeds. John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

In conclusion, the bottom line is this: Jesus does all the saving. Jesus paid our sin debt when he shed his blood on the cross. Jesus is not part of the plan of salvation, he is all of the plan salvation; he is enough. It is not partly him and partly what we do ourselves to be saved and keep our salvation.  No, it is all Jesus period.  As one hymn goes: Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow. 

If you have never put your full trust in Jesus alone to save you please listen to the video below.

The Bible Way To Heaven

Are There Few Saved

By Cindy Wyatt

Are there few people in the world that are saved or are there many saved ? The bible is very clear that there are few people in the world that will be saved.  Luke 13:23: Then said one unto him, Lord are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I  know you not whence ye are:

It's not that God doesn't want everyone to be saved. The bible even says that God is not willing that any should perish.  II Peter 3:9: The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.  Repentance means when you agree with God that you are a sinner that needs a savior, who is Jesus. It doesn't mean to clean up your life, forsake your sins, or turn over a new life.

Most people in the world are on their way to hell because they have not yet entered through the narrow gate which is the way to eternal life, but instead they are on the broad way which leads to hell.

Matthew 7:13: Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Don't confuse the strait way to mean a difficult way to enter in. It is easy to get saved; all you have to do is believe on Jesus and trust him as your savior. The strait way means it is the only way to heaven, not religion, not good works, not living a good life, etc. Putting all your trust in Jesus and what he did for you is the only way to heaven and that is the strait way. John 14:6: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

One reason most people will not get saved is because they love darkness instead of the light. John 3:18: He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19: And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 5:40: And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

Another reason most people are on the broad way to hell is because they are too proud to admit they are a sinner that needs Jesus' shed blood to save them and cleanse their heart from sin. They like to think that their good life or good deeds will get them to heaven, but it won't because everyone is a sinner who needs Jesus.  No matter how good you may be in the eyes of the world, the bible says all people are sinners. Romans 3:10: As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one. Romans 3:23: For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You don't need to forsake all your sins to get saved; that would be impossible because we can't stop sinning. Just come to Jesus as a poor lost sinner and let him save you by his mercy. Jesus does all the work in your heart when you simply trust him. It is not turning over a new leaf or anything like that. We are saved by grace through faith.  Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works lest any man should boast.

The bible even says you have to  humble yourself to admit you're a sinner that needs Jesus to save you.  Luke 18:17: "Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.  Just as a child depends upon their parents to take care of them, so when you receive Jesus as your savior, you are trusting in him to do everything for you that you cannot in any way do yourself. You cannot save yourselves with good works, a good life, etc., your only hope of heaven is by faith in Jesus alone and what he did for you and nothing else.  John 1:12: But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.

Another reason most people will not go to heaven is because they are blinded by their religion. Religion is one of Satan's greatest tools that sends so many people to hell. It is not about going to church that gets you saved. You could go to church every Sunday for your entire life and still end up in hell one day if you have never put your trust in Jesus alone.  It's not about doing church work or following the rules of your religion.  Please put away everything your religion says and just put your trust in Jesus. Religion is the way to hell, Jesus alone is the way to heaven. Satan uses religion to blind people's eyes. II Corinthians 4:4: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. Satan is the god of this world and wants to damn as many souls to hell as he possibly can; that is his goal. Satan doesn't care how much you go to church or how much religion you have, as long as you have never put all your trust in Jesus to have mercy on you and save your soul.

Another reason people will not get saved is because they think they have nothing to worry about because most of the people in the world are unsaved. It is true that most people are unsaved. That is why the bible calls it the broad way, but regardless, you should never want to go to hell just because most people are going there. Hell will not be any less hot just because most people are going there, and you won't be partying with your friends because you'll be torment with weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. That is how the bible describes hell. The people that are in hell already do not want you to go there. If you have loved ones that died unsaved, they do not want you to go there. In the book of Luke chapter 16 is the story of a rich man who went to hell, but he didn't want his five brothers to go there. Lazarus was a poor beggar who went to heaven because he was saved. This is what the rich man said in Luke 16:23: And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24: And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. Luke 16:27: Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house. 28: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

Many people are not worried about going to hell because they think that a loving God would never send anyone to hell. The truth is that God IS a great God of love and he did everything he could do to keep you out of hell.  John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God loves you so much he sent his son Jesus into the world to die a horrible death on the cross and shed his blood to pay for all our sin and also raised him from the dead the third day. After he was raised from the dead, he went back to heaven and is preparing a place for all the people that put their trust in him.  John 14:1-3: Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2: In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. God is a great God of love, but he is also a God of justice and he cannot allow sin into heaven. That is why he sent Jesus to die for our sins. Jesus took our punishment for us, so we could go to heaven on a free pass. What great love is that. God doesn't want anyone to go to hell, but everyone must make the decision for themselves personally, whether to receive the free gift of eternal life or to reject it. The choice is yours.

 In Acts 16 the question was asked about how to be saved. Acts 16:30: And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved: 31: And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. The word "believe" doesn't mean to just believe all the facts about Jesus, that he was the son of God and that he died on a cross, etc., it means to go one step further and actually put all your faith upon him, trust him, depend upon him and rely upon him to save you, forgive your sins, wash your heart with his shed blood, and take you to heaven when you die. 

 If you have never put all your trust in Jesus to save your soul and apply his shed blood to your very own heart, I pray you will make that decision today before it is too late. No one is promised another tomorrow. If you would like to be saved, just call upon the name of the Lord and tell him you are now fully trusting in Jesus' payment for your sin and you believe that God has raised him from the dead, to give you eternal life. If you go to hell, it is not God's fault; he did everything he could to keep you from going there, but you have to make a personal decision to trust Jesus with all your heart. 

Romans 10:9: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10: For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10:13: For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Poetry About Jesus And Salvation

What Will You Do With Jesus - You Must Decide

What will you do with Jesus? Will you accept him or reject him? The choice is yours. You cannot be neutral about Jesus; you must decide. The gift is already wrapped and ready for you to open it and receive the gift of salvation. It costs you nothing. Jesus has paid for it in full when he died on the cross for your sins and rose again the third day. The gift of salvation is offered to "whosoever will". That means anyone can be saved right now if they want to be. All you have to do is call upon the name of Jesus and tell him you know you are a sinner and that you deserve to go to hell, but you are now putting all your trust in what He did for you to save you from the penalty of your sin. The penalty of sin is an eternity in hell, the lake of fire, for all eternity. If it wasn't for Jesus, we would all be spending an eternity in hell, where there is fire and brimstone, weeping and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. We are all sinners. Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 10:13: For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Matthew 13:42: And shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 25:30: And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Revelation 21:8: But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Revelation 20:15: And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Jesus loves you so much that he doesn't want you to go to hell. He loves you so much that he suffered immensely, with much more pain and agony then we could ever imagine. No one ever suffered like Jesus. What a great love that is. Jesus didn't deserve to die on a cruel cross because he was the sinless lamb of God who never ever sinned, but he was taking our place and had all our sins placed upon him so he could pay for them. His salvation is a free gift to us because he paid for it and he offers this gift to anyone and everyone. All you have to do is accept it and receive it. Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

When Jesus was dying on the cross, he was taking upon himself all of our sins and the sins of the whole world. I Peter 2:24: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. All of our sins were placed upon Jesus as if he did it. He was taking our place, paying for our sins, and taking our punishment for us, so we wouldn't have to pay for our sins ourselves and go to hell forever. That is why salvation is a free gift to all who will receive it, because Jesus purchased it with his own shed blood on the cross and the sufferings he went through. He was beaten, whipped, mocked, and spit upon, and he endured it all because of his great love for us sinners, so that whoever trusts in him could go to heaven instead of hell. After that he was buried and arose from the grave three days later, proving that He was the Son of God and is preparing a place in heaven for all those who will receive his free gift of salvation. That is how much He loves us.  I John 2:2: And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world. Jesus died for everyone, so anyone can be saved if they want to be. The free gift is there waiting for you to receive it.  Jesus longs for you to receive it, but he won't force you to. It must be your own decision from your own heart. It is just like you can't force someone to love you; it has to come from their own heart and be their own decision whether to love you or not. Just imagine how you would feel if you offered someone a gift for Christmas that you purchased for them, and you put so much love into it, and they wouldn't receive it, they wouldn't open it, and said "I don't want it." That would make you feel very sad, but you can't force them to receive it. That is how Jesus feels when you reject his gift of salvation, after he loved you so much that he shed his blood and suffered for you. When Jesus was hanging on the cross he had you in mind and every other person ever born in the world too. Since Jesus died for all the sins of the whole world, that means that salvation is available to anyone, not forced upon anyone, because you must receive the gift yourself for it to become yours. You must apply Jesus' shed blood to your own heart as his payment for your very own sins. Jesus has paid for all your past, present, and future sins. All your sins were future when he was dying on the cross. Salvation is a personal decision that you must decide by yourself whether to accept it or reject it. John 1:12: But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Notice how it says you have to receive Jesus to become a child of God. It is not that since Jesus paid for all the sins of the world that everyone gets to go to heaven. No, it means that it is available to everyone, but you have to receive it by believing on Jesus. 

To sum it all up is a famous verse in the bible, John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The word "believe" means not to just believe the facts about Jesus, it means to put all your trust in him and rely on him totally to forgive your sins and take you to heaven when you die (his wonderful gift of salvation) because of the price he paid. When you receive Jesus, you are believing on him (putting your total 100% trust in what he did for you and 0% trust in anything you could ever do yourself).

God's Simple Plan Of Salvation

Heaven is a Gift, Not a Reward

Salvation is a gift freely offered to whosoever will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, with no strings attached.  Acts 16:30: And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31: And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved .... A gift is something that is paid for by the giver, not the receiver.  The free gift of salvation was purchased by the sufferings and the shed blood of Jesus when he died on the cross to pay for our sins and then rose from the grace in three days. We cannot in any way at all earn or deserve to go to heaven. Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Romans 5:15: But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.  This means many were made sinners because Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden when he ate the forbidden fruit. We have now inherited a sin nature and everyone in the world ever born is a sinner, as the bible says in Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.  The bible says sin must be punished, so if we had to pay for our own sins we would have to go to hell forever because God is a just God and cannot allow sin to go into heaven.  But God loves us so much that he didn't want us to pay for our own sins and go to hell, so he sent his only begotten son, Jesus, to earth to live a perfect sinless life and pay for our sins through much mocking, scourging, and enduring the cruel cross in torture and agony.  No one ever suffered like Jesus. He didn't deserve the sufferings he went through because he never sinned, but he did it for us. He was taking our punishment for us.  Jesus paid the full price for our salvation. That is why salvation is a free gift to us because he paid for it.  A gift is paid for by the giver, not the receiver.  A person only needs to put their full trust in Jesus' sacrifice and what he did for us on the cross, and how he rose from the grave, to receive this free gift.  John 1:12: But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.  Jesus wants to save you, but he will not force you to receive this free gift of salvation.  God loves you and has already done everything he can do to save you. There is nothing else he can do. You have to decide for yourself whether you will receive salvation or reject it. It has to be one or the other;. There is no other way to have your sins forgiven and washed and to spend eternity in heaven.  John 14:6: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Being saved by grace means we receive something we didn't earn or deserve, but was given to us freely as a gift, and mercy means we don't receive what we do deserve, which is an eternity in hell.  Titus 3:5a: Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us ....  Titus 3:7: That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

You may think that just believing on Christ is too easy and there must be something else a person needs to do to go to heaven, but it truly is easy to get saved because Jesus did the hard part for us. To clarify what believing on Jesus means, it doesn't mean to just believe about him or believe he was the Son of God and that he died on the cross.  To believe on him means you put all your faith in him and what he did for you. You must trust in him alone completely and rely and depend on his sacrifice and shed blood as your only hope of redemption and going to heaven when you die.  Jesus paid it all. You have to apply Jesus' payment to your own heart personally and have zero faith in anything you do.  All our own self righteousnesses are as filthy rags.  Isaiah 64:6: But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.  When you put your total faith and trust in Jesus to give you the free gift of eternal life, that is when you become born again, because no one is just born believing on Jesus as savior.  Some people will say "I've always believed in Jesus", but that is not true.  There has to be a time in your life when you realize you are a sinner that deserves to go to hell and that Jesus loves you and paid for your sins and you put your faith in everything Jesus did for you to keep you out of hell.  John 3:3: Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 

There are many people and false prophets in the world today, who say well, sure you have to believe in Jesus, but you also have to do good works for Jesus too; that is so false.  You cannot be saved if you are trusting in yourself one iota. It has to be 100% total faith in Christ, and 0% yourself. It's a free gift. If you had to pay one dime for it, then it wouldn't be free.  Galatians 2:21: I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.  That means if there was anything we could do to help save ourselves, then Christ died for nothing.  Why would Jesus go through all the suffering he went through if we could be saved by doing anything additional to get saved, like good works, etc.  If you think you have to do something else other than only fully trusting Christ, that is like saying Christ's payment was not enough and was not sufficient, but it IS sufficient. There is absolutely nothing to be added to it or subtracted from it.  Jesus is enough period, he paid it all. 

Some will say you have to serve Christ faithfully and make him lord of your life in order to go to heaven, but that is not true either. If that was the case, then going to heaven would be a reward instead of a gift.  After you get saved you can choose to serve Jesus with your life if you want to try to get other people saved and to receive the free gift that you have received, and the bible says there will be rewards in heaven for that, but actually getting saved is an unearned, undeserved merciful gift, by the grace of God. 

All you have to do to receive the free gift of salvation is to admit you're a sinner who deserves to go to hell, but you will now put all your faith and trust in what Jesus did for you when he paid for your sins on the cross and rose from the grave in three days.

God's Simple Plan Of Salvation