A Christian wants to do and should do many things for the
Lord. Keeping the Ten Commandments, gifts of charity, doing
one's best, etc.; are all good things that a Christian should
do for the Lord out of love and gratitude. But, these things
should not be relied upon for salvation. Salvation is the
work of God, given to us as a gift and should never be degraded
by our attempts to purchase it with some type of work.
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not
of yourselves: it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8)
The following is a test to see what you might be basing
your salvation on,
INSTRUCTIONS
Check below the item or items upon which you are basing
your hopes for reaching Heaven after you die.
1) Trying to keep the Ten Commandments
2) Gifts to charity
3) Doing one's best.
4) Leading a good life.
5) Good works.
6) Trying to obey the Golden Rule.
7) Tithing, or giving money to the church.
8) Church membership.
9) Regular church attendance.
10) Prayers
11) Fasting
12) Baptism
13) Holy communion
14) Born of Christian parents
15) Confirmation
16) Penances
17) Extreme unction
18) Membership in a lodge or fraternity.
Now proceed to find out whether you are on the way to Heaven.
EXPLANATION
If you have checked:
No. 1 - you are definitely NOT on the way to Heaven. The
Bible states unmistakably:
"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh
be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge
of sin. (Romans 3:20)
"But that no man is justified by the law in the sight
of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
(Galatians 3:11)
No. 2, 3, or 4 - you are basing your hope on something,
which, according to God's Word, will never save you.
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration,
and renewing of the Holy Ghost; (Titus 3:5)
No. 5, 6 or 7 - you will never see Heaven's golden streets,
for the Bible states unmistakably:
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not
of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest
any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
No. 8, 9 10 or 11 - these things will NOT get you into Heaven
either. Although these things are all good in themselves,
and although they might seem to you to be sufficient to save
you, yet God declares in His sacred Word:
"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness'
are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our
iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." (Isaiah
64:6)
No. 12 or 13 - you are being misled. Baptism and communion
are for those who are already saved, for those who are true
believers (Acts 2:41; 1 Corinthians 11:2, 23-32). These ordinances
cannot save anyone and were never intended to do so.
No. 14 - you are resting your soul on a false hope. Children
born into Christian homes need to be saved like anyone else.
This is stated plainly in John 1:12, 13:
"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: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of
the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12,
13)
No. 15, 16, 17 or 18 - you need to learn the truth before
it is too late. None of these things are even mentioned in
the Bible. They are merely inventions of men and it is nothing
short of ridiculous to hope to reach Heaven by any of these
means.
Therefore, the inescapable conclusion is that the way to
Heaven is not found in any one or in any combination of the
items listed above. Even if you did all of these things, you
would still fail in your attempt to enter Heaven's gates at
last.
What, then, is the divinely ordained way of salvation? The
bible gives a very definite answer. The one and the only means
of spending eternity with God in Heaven is FAITH IN THE LORD
JESUS CHRIST ALONE.
It was because man could not save himself by any means that
God sent His only begotten Son to die as a substitute for
sinners. If man could have achieved righteousness in some
other way, then obviously the Savior need not have died.
When the Lord Jesus died on Calvary and rose again on the
third day, He finished the work necessary for salvation. Now
all that God requires is that we should feel our need of Him
and receive Him as our Lord and Savior.
Thus we read over and over in the Bible that the way to
Heaven is by believing on the Son of God.
"And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
the shalt be saved, and thy house." (Acts 16:31)
"He that believeth on the Son of God 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)
"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." (John
3:18)
Now the question is, "Will you accept God's way of salvation?"
Will you renounce the "dead works" in which you are now trusting
and base your hopes for Heaven from this time forward upon
the finished work of Christ, God's Son?
The choice is yours. You may continue to trust in those
things listed above. If so, you will go to a Christless grave
and wake up in a lost eternity, destined to be separated from
God in Heaven for all eternity. Or you may believe in the
Lord, Jesus Christ and be saved.
"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." (John
3:18)
To accept God's gift of eternal life today, see The Answer
The above survey was taken from a track,
"Am I Going to Heaven?" published by Elzinga Tract and Bible
Ministry, P.O. Box 386, Galesburg, Mich. 49053-0386
