I have always believed in God. I mean, ever since I can remember I have believed in God. When I was just a little child my family: Grandparents and mom (I don't know my dad. I was what society used to term an illegitimate child) believed in God. They always taught me that He existed, that He knows everything and that He can do anything. There was never a question in my mind as to whether or not He existed.
When I was a small child I used to go to church with my cousin and aunt. I liked going to church. I remember the pastor. He was a kind man and I liked him very much. However, as I look back on it, as much as I liked going to church and liked the pastor, going to church did nothing to change my life.
My family never lived like they believed in God and neither did I. Oh, like I said we believed in Him but He was not a part of our life. We just lived like everyone else lived, or so I thought. Many years later I was to find out differently.
As I got into my late teens people used to come up to me on the street and try to tell me about God's love. They tried to witness to me about my relationship to God, or lack of it. There was a lot about it I didn't understand and a lot I didn't want to hear. Then, I met a couple who shared with me many times about Who God is and what He is like and how much He loved me. We talked a lot about Him and, again, some of it I didn't want to hear. People from this couple's church started praying for me and sometimes some of them would come to my house and try to tell me I needed to be saved. I didn't want to hear that either. Even the pastor of the church used to come by every now and then and witness to me. I hated him. I would insult him and try to argue with him and didn't want to hear what he had to say. But no matter how much I insulted him or hurt him, and there were times when I did because he told me so, he always responded to me in love. I knew there was something different about him. I did not know what it was at the time but I found out what it was much later.
It got to the place where God was working in my heart and I visited his church a couple of times. Little did I know at the time that the people in the church were praying for me. One Sunday I visited his church and he was not there, the associate pastor was preaching. He preached a sermon on the rapture and gave an invitation for anyone who didn't know Jesus Christ as his Savior to come forward and have someone take them into a private room and show them from the Bible how to be saved. I raised my hand to be saved but didn't go forward. The pastor asked if the man that raised his hand would look at him. I did. He asked me if I meant what I indicated by my raised hand, that I wanted to be saved. I nodded that I did. He said, "Why don't you come forward right now?" I left my seat and went to the front of the church. Everyone else had their head bowed. They had a man take me into a private room and show me from the Bible how to be saved. On March 18th 1979 I got down on my knees and asked the Lord Jesus Christ to come into my heart, forgive my sin, and make me a real Christian. He did! When I got up off my knees I felt so light, like a burden had been lifted, and it had. The burden of sin had been lifted off of me and placed upon Christ. He took my sin that day. Have I been perfect since? Definitely not! I have made many mistakes over the years, too many to mention. I have committed many sins since then but God, in His love and mercy, has forgiven me every time I sincerely asked Him. That is what I John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Here is the question I want to ask. Is believing in God enough? I don't mean do you believe God exists. Many, many people believe there is a God, but is believing in God enough to get one to Heaven? Is believing in God enough to cause one to be a better person? Is it enough to transform one's life? Is it enough to turn a drunkard sober? Is it enough to change a thief into an honest person? Is it enough to change a liar into a truthful person? Yes, many, many people believe in God, but is it enough?
There are many people out there who are good people. They are good fathers or mothers to their children. They are good neighbors. They are good employees. They pay their bills on time. They pay their taxes. They help the poor. They are good to their spouses. They would give you the proverbial "shirt off their backs. " They are moral people but is it enough?
Let's find out if any or all of these things is enough to get one to Heaven. If we were to ask God Himself the answers to these questions what would He say? Can we even know what His answer would be? Doesn't the Bible say we should love our neighbor? Doesn't It say, "As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise?" Doesn't It say we should love one another? Doesn't It say, "Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness?" Does that mean, then, that if one were to do these things, to live their life doing these things, to make a "practice" of it, if you will, that it would warrant them being able to make it to Heaven? Let's see!
In the Bible in the book of Romans Chapter 3 verse 10 says, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one." Verse 23 of the same chapter says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." In Chapter 6 and verse 23 of the same book it says, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." That's right friend, we have earned wages because of our sin and those wages are death, physical and spiritual death. Do we have any hope then? Yes, God has given us hope. The Bible goes on to say in Romans 10:9 and 10, "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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation."
That means, friend, there is hope for you as there was for me. If we realize and really believe in our hearts that we have sinned against the Holy God of the universe, the Creator, and sincerely in our heart ask Him to forgive us and save us, believing that He can, then He will. The Bible says in Titus 1:2 that God cannot lie so when He says that He will save us if we ask believing that He will, then He will.
You may be the most moral person anyone knows but according to the Bible we are all sinners and our sin has separated us from God. If we were to die in that state we would remain separated from Him for all eternity in a place called Hell. But if we ask God, meaning it sincerely from the heart, to forgive us and come into our heart and save us, He has promised He will. Then, when the time comes to leave this earth He will take us to Heaven to be with Him for all of eternity.
I trusted Christ as my Savior in 1979. You can trust Christ as your Savior, too. I urge you, don't wait like I did. People witnessed to me for six years before I accepted Christ as my Savior. If I had died during that time I would be in Hell for all eternity. None of us know how long we have on this earth. Friend, do not take a chance on spending eternity separated from God in Hell. Take Him at His Word and, sincerely, ask Him to forgive you and save you today.
I wrote this because many people believe in God and they think it is enough to get them to Heaven but it is not. Jesus said,"Ye must be born again." That happens when we ask Jesus to save us. Right now, bow your head and ask Jesus to forgive and save you. I sure would rejoice to meet you in Heaven one day.
