what if you died today?

According to the bible, we need to acknowledge that we are sinners. Romans 3:23 says, "for ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". When I ask, "why do you think you'll go to heaven" a lot of people have responded by saying, "I'm a good person" or "I do a lot of good things." Those are good qualities to have, but it doesn't matter if you are a "GOOD" person. No one is WITHOUT sin, and sin separates us from God. Isaiah 59:2 states, "But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear." Also, Exodus 32:33 says, "The LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book." Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." You can't buy or work your way into heaven. It only comes through Jesus!  There's ONLY way to heaven and that's through Jesus. John 14:6, "Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

From the bible we read that God doesn't want anything to do with sin, and because of sin everyone will die one day, Romans 6:23 tells us, "for the wages of sin is death...". God's original plan for mankind was to live with Him in harmony, but Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden of Eden, and from there death was destined to all humans. The second part of Romans 6:23 gives us the way out of hell, "but the GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." The only way to get to heaven is to be without sin. This is where John 3:16 comes in. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Why is Jesus so important? Because 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 

Jesus left heaven to come to Earth as a sinless man (Christmas) to freely sacrifice Himself on the cross so that our sins may be forgiven, if we ask, and after being crucified on a cross, He was placed in a tomb where He arose three days later. (Easter)  He proved to His followers He was the Son of God and gave them instructions to go and tell others as He ascended back to heaven. As Christians, this is what we are looking forward to. John 14:1-3 tells us, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. Jesus will one day welcome us into heaven!

Putting our faith in Jesus and asking Him to forgive us of our sins is the two most important decision we will ever make. That's what separates us from someone who goes to church, like I used to do, to someone being saved and a child of God. At some point you MUST make a decision to ask Jesus to come into your heart as your Lord and Savior.