The Gift of Heaven
Romans 6:23
August 31, 2003
Introduction
This morning, I am very cognizant of the fact that this is probably our last time together for quite a while, and let me tell you I have been blessed to no end by you.
I also realize that I am at a church that believes in the Bible, and in the need to put your trust in Christ in order to go to heaven.
But I also realize that there is a huge possibility that there might be some here who don¡¦t yet have Christ as their Savior, and may not know what that even means.
That¡¦s okay, because terms like ¡§trusting Christ as their Savior,¡¨ isn¡¦t exactly something you hear all the time, like ¡§Would you like ketchup with that?¡¨
So today I want to take this opportunity to explain just as clearly as I can, how you can be assured of heaven when you die.
Because you see, you will die, unless Jesus comes back first. The mortality rate for humans is 100%. And my intention today is to help you be ready.
I¡¦m not here to convince you to become a Baptist or a Wesleyan. That¡¦s secondary to the issue. God¡¦s not going to ask you about which church you went to.
He is concerned with where you put your trust.
Today we are going to look at your basic ¡§good news/bad news¡¨ scenario. That scenario is outlined throughout the Bible, but is illustrated probably best illustrated by one verse in Romans.
Romans 6:23 ¡V
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I want to look at each phrase of this verse in my attempt to explain what we call the gospel, or good news.
1. The wages of sin is death¡K
I mentioned earlier that the mortality rate for humans is 100%. And the Bible is also clear that our physical death is not the end of the story. There is something beyond that, and it¡¦s called hell.
People don¡¦t like to talk about hell much, and my intention this morning is not to get all ¡§fire and brimstone¡¨ ¡V but I also have to be honest with you and tell you that physical death is not the end.
We earn death and hell with our sin. It¡¦s what we deserve. And we have all sinned.
Romans 3:23 ¡V
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
That¡¦s me, you, Billy Graham, and Mother Teresa. We have all sinned, and our sin separates us from God.
Even preachers aren¡¦t perfect. Four preachers met for a friendly gathering. During the conversation one preacher said, ¡§Our people come to us and pour out their hears, confess certain sins and needs. Let¡¦s do the same. Confession is good for the soul.¡¨
In due time all agreed. One of them said that he had a problem with losing his temper on occasion. The second confessed to liking to smoke cigars and the third one confessed to liking golf so much that he would fake being sick so he could play on weekends. When it came to the fourth one, he wouldn¡¦t confess.
The others pressed him saying, ¡§Come now, we confessed ours. What is your secret vice?¡¨ Finally he answered, ¡§It is gossiping and I can hardly wait to get out of here.¡¨
Contributed by: Bruce Howell (SermonCentral.com)
You might be thinking that you¡¦re not really so bad ¡V after all, you¡¦ve never taken a life, or committed a major crime.
The problem is that the standard for perfection is not our criminal code, nor is it society in general. The standard is God Himself.
We face an eternity away from God, in eternal torment in hell.
You might think that God is too good to put people in hell. But Jesus talked more about hell than He did about heaven. It¡¦s a real place that people will go to.
Not a pretty picture, huh? The Bible says that the wages of sin is death.
But then we come to one of my favorite words in the Bible ¡V BUT.
BUT...
2. The gift of God is eternal life¡K
You see, the good news is that death is not the end. We will spend eternity somewhere, and God gives us a choice where we¡¦re going to spend it.
God wants us to have eternal life.
One of the biggest misconceptions about Christianity is that God is up there just looking for an excuse to throw you into hell.
But that could not be further from the truth. In fact, God wants nothing more than to see everyone in heaven.
You see, we deserve hell. And we¡¦ll get what we deserve, unless God steps in. And that¡¦s what He did.
He sent Jesus to give us the opportunity to go to heaven.
John 5:24 ¡V
"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
God¡¦s ready to offer you eternal life, beginning now.
So how do we get it?
3. Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Let¡¦s read our passage again, shall we?
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We¡¦ve established that we are all sinners, and that we deserve death and hell for our sins. And we have also established that this is not God¡¦s desire for us.
So how do we get to heaven? Through Jesus.
Most people think like this: maybe if I give enough to charity, God will let me in. Or maybe if I help enough old ladies across the street, God will let me in. Or maybe if I just go to church more, God will let me in.
All of these are good things ¡V we should give to charity, we should do good works, and we should go to church.
But none of these, nor all of them, will get you to heaven. The Bible says that no one earns their way to heaven.
You see, we¡¦re sinners. And sinners, no matter how ¡§good¡¨ they might seem, don¡¦t get into heaven.
So the only way anyone gets into heaven is if God Himself made a way. He did that by sending Jesus.
John 14:6 ¡V
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.¡¨
This is very crucial to understand. Jesus didn¡¦t say, ¡§I¡¦m a way, a truth, and a life, and that some people come to the Father through me.¡¨
He was very exclusive here. That¡¦s not very popular in our society, where we are told that all paths lead to God.
The plain truth of the matter is that there is no way to heaven outside of Jesus. He said so. And He was either a liar, or a madman, or He was who He said He was. I¡¦m counting on Him to be who He said He was.
Jesus died so you and I could be forgiven. He laid down His life willingly, because He loves you so much that He would rather die than see you suffer for eternity. He died so you and I might be saved.
Saved from the penalty of our sins, and from its power in our lives, and saved to a wonderful life lived in the love and presence of God.
I mentioned a moment ago that church involvement doesn¡¦t get a person into heaven.
A little boy just given his life to Jesus and sat on a bench next to old man who looked upset. The little boy said to the man, "Sir, do you need to get saved?"
The man startled said abruptly, "I¡¦ll tell you I¡¦ve been a Deacon in this church for over 30 years and Chairman of Deacons for 15 years."
The little boy responded, "Sir, it don¡¦t matter what you done, Jesus loves you and He¡¦ll still save you!"
Contributed by: Mike Richardson (SermonCentral.com)
The gift of eternal life is available through Jesus. God wants us to have it and He provided it.
SO WHAT???
So, receive the gift.
John 1:12 ¡V
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
My birthday is in a couple weeks, on September 11. No kidding. I have a feeling that one day my birthday will be a national holiday!
If you¡¦re like most parents with children at home, you will probably get gifts from your family.
Well, let¡¦s say that my loving family does just that ¡V they give me some gifts.
My little girls come up, giggling because they just know I¡¦m going to enjoy their gift. So I look at them, give them a huge smile, and tell them to put the gift on the front steps.
They kind of look at me with confusion spreading all over their little faces, and tell me they want me to open their gift now.
I say, ¡§No thank you. Just put it on the steps.¡¨ So they do. And I do this with all the gifts I am offered that day.
The gifts never become mine until I take them. If they stay on the steps, then get ruined or stolen, they were never mine.
Here¡¦s my point. God has offered you the gift of eternal life. But you have to take it. The gift doesn¡¦t become yours until you receive it. God doesn¡¦t force His gifts on people. He offers them, and you have the freedom to accept or reject them.
So take the gift. How do I do that, you ask. It¡¦s simply by trusting Christ to save you.
We put our trust in Christ by admitting our need for Him, believing that He did all that was necessary for my salvation, and calling on Him for that salvation. The Bible says that all who call on Jesus will be saved.
No matter who you are. No matter what you¡¦ve done. No matter what your social or economic status. No matter your race. No matter your family background. No matter your age. No matter what.
He loves you and takes you just as you are. And in coming to Him, He takes you and makes you a new person. The Bible says that everyone who comes to Christ is a new creation. Because now you are no longer dead, but alive. And He begins His work in your life to become more like Him in attitudes, actions, lifestyle, love, etc.
Benefits of coming to Christ:
„Ï Forgiveness of sins
„Ï A home in heaven
„Ï A full life on earth
„Ï A new life
„Ï Hope for now and eternity
„Ï Access to God through prayer
Now folks, call me simple, but I look at that list, and I think of what life has to offer me without Christ, and wonder what¡¦s not to like about that deal!
But let me be very clear about something. Jesus said that we are to count the cost before deciding to follow Him.
If you give your life to Christ, there may be those in your current circle of influence who don¡¦t understand why you have chosen to follow Christ. Some may be angry.
Some of these might even be in your family. Been there, done that. I know what it¡¦s like.
You will find God asking you to alter your lifestyle to conform to Biblical guidelines, but He gives us the strength and desire for those changes.
I can tell you from personal experience that I am better off for Jesus¡¦ involvement in my life.
I used to get drunk and stoned, tried to chase women, and all that stuff. I say ¡§tried¡¨ to chase women, because, in spite of the fact that I look like a cross between Tom Cruise and Ben Affleck, only better looking, I had little success in the lady-killing dept. I still haven¡¦t figured out why, except, and I mean this, that God was protecting me from some of the consequences of my sin, so I could come to Him.
So I don¡¦t look at it like I¡¦m giving up a bunch of stuff I used to do for fun. I look at it like I¡¦m finally free to live the life God intended for me in the first place.
Jesus said He came to bring us a full and abundant life.
God is waiting for you, just as you are. Don¡¦t wait until you think you¡¦re clean enough to come to God. You¡¦ll never be clean enough. But the good news is that God does the cleaning when we come to Him through Jesus.
Trust Him today to come into your life, and to give you the gift of eternal life,
Conclusion
I¡¦m going to pray a prayer right now. And if you feel a tugging at your heart take Christ as your Savior, don¡¦t ignore it. That¡¦s God. He¡¦s reminding you of His love for you and His desire to spend eternity with you, beginning right now.
This is a prayer that you can pray in your heart, to ask Jesus to save you from the penalty we all deserve for our sins.
I want every head bowed, and every eye closed while I pray. After I¡¦ve prayed, I want you to keep you heads bowed and eyes closed for a bit longer.
And then I will close our time together with another word of prayer.
Let¡¦s pray.
