"But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed." - Galatians 1:8-9
What do you think it takes to get to Heaven? Does it involve being good enough? Maybe it just matters whether or not your good outweighs your bad? Maybe it doesn't matter at all because a loving God would never send anyone to hell, right? Well, not exactly.
It's not possible to be "good enough" to get to Heaven. We are all sinners, we were born that way, and whether you try to live a good life or not, if you have never let the blood of Jesus wash away that sin, there is no way you (with that sin) can enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
What makes us sinners? When the first sin was committed and sin entered the world, we were all cursed with a sin-nature. Sin is a desire to do things that are not Godly. In Exodus, God gave Moses ten specific commandments of things that should not be done. They are:
1) "You shall have no other gods before Me." - Exodus 20:3. This includes anything we spend our time with more than God.
2) "You shall not make for yourself a carved image." - Exodus 20:4. We should not be worshipping anything other than God, no images, no pictures, no items, nothing.
3) "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." - Exodus 20:7. Every time someone uses His name as a curse word, it is taking His name in vain.
4) "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." - Exodus 20:8. When God created the world and rested on the seventh day, it wasn't because He was tired. He did it as an example that we are supposed to follow. We can work six days, but we need to take a day out of the week to rest - it works to both recharge us and to keep us humble.
5) "Honor your father and your mother." - Exodus 20:12. - You may not always see eye to eye on things, but God appointed the adults in your life for a reason. If your parents don't honor God and you find it difficult to honor the things they do, then perhaps He placed them in your life for YOU to be a witness to them.
6) "You shall not murder." - Exodus 20:13. Even hatred toward someone is unacceptable.
7) "You shall not commit adultery." - Exodus 20:14. - Literally, don't even think about it. If you followed God's guidance for a spouse, then you should not even be thinking about looking elsewhere. This includes pornography - God is not pleased with such activity.
8) "You shall not steal." - Exodus 20:15. - It doesn't matter how small something is, if it does not belong to you, it does not belong in your possession without the consent of the owner.
9) "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." - Exodus 20:16. God wants us all to be honest. Even little white lies, while we make think they are innocent, can always have the potential to hurt somebody.
10) "You shall not covet." - Exodus 20:17. Don't ever be jealous for anything someone else has. You can be happy for them, but when you let the selfish desires of jealousy cloud your judgment, that is putting your wants before God's, and that is not where your priorities need to be.
Breaking any of these commandments is what makes us a sinner. If God is not in your life, you're already breaking the first three, and therefore have absolutely no chance of gaining access into Heaven. As I said before, you cannot possibly be "good enough" as long as your soul is still stained with sin. Heaven is perfect and, as such, it is impossible for sin to enter, and there are no exceptions to that.
Now, what about the statement that God is a loving God and would never send anyone to hell. While it's true that God loves us, there is still that little problem about sin not being allowed to enter into Heaven. God may love us, but He is still a judge, and He is a good judge, at that. No sin, no matter how great or small, can pass the gates into the Kingdom of Heaven. When we sin, we are giving in to the temptations of the devil. One day, Satan will be locked in hell, and he wants to take as many people with him as he can. Satan wants you to fail. Some people may even find it fun to sin, after all, when you go against God, there are no responsibilities, no rules to uphold, but that attitude is what makes Satan very happy and he knows he can trust that those people will be right next to him in the fiery pit. Are the eternal consequences worth it to you?
Some people are under the illusions that hell will be a place to just have a big party. Why don't we research what hell will be like? Revelation 21:8 calls it a "lake which burns with fire and brimstone" and a "second death." Matthew 13:50 says, "There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth." Jude 1:7 call it an "eternal fire." Have you ever burnt yourself? Imagine the way that felt, except it's all over your body. There is no water, the fire never goes out, it's extremely hot and you might feel thirsty, but that thirst can never be quenched. Hell is a real place, but it is not a place for a party. Hell is a place of eternal (yes, I mean eternal, as in never-ending, and once you're there, there are no second chances) torment.
Many churches today don't like to preach about the reality of hell because it scares people away. The truth is, we need to be scared of it. What encourages us to live for God if we're not afraid of the alternative? How can we appreciate the gift of God if we don't understand the horrific details of what Jesus died to save us from? Jesus gave His life as a sacrifice so we wouldn't have to go to hell, so we could choose to accept Him and go to Heaven. Yes, we have to choose Him. His death wasn't a free pass that would save everyone. It created the POTENTIAL for everyone to be saved, but if you don't accept Him and live for Him, if you choose to still live in your sin, then that sin will prevent you from having access to Heaven.
The opportunity for salvation was a gift, but if you don't open it, you won't have it. Accepting the gift, accepting Jesus, and letting Him be ruler of your life, is the one and only way to Heaven.
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