God's Word says:
Hebrews 9:27
(27) And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
2 Corinthians 5:8-10
( 8 ) we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
(9) Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.
(10) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
John 11:25-26
(25) Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,
(26) and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?"
John 14:6
(6) Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."
Jesus said:
Matthew 5:20
(20) "For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
The scribes and the Pharisees lived as moral a life as possible. But, Jesus said your righteousness had to surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees. That was impossible, they were a "good" as a man could be.
Matthew 5:21-22
(21) "You have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.'
(22) "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
WOW... Jesus said if you are angry with someone you will be found guilty in God's court of law for Murder and would be cast into Hell. This shows that God will not only judge us by our actions but, also by our thought life.
Have you ever told a lie?? Even a little one?? What does that make you?? I'd say it'd make me a liar.
Revelation 21:8
( 8 ) "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
(9) Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,
(10) nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
The standard we have to live up to is God's standard and that is perfection. None of us can live up to that. Scripture says:
Romans 3:23
(23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
So if none of us qualify to get into Heaven, then you may ask, how do we get there? The Bible has the answer.
John 3:16
(16) "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
Romans 5:8-9
( 8 ) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
(9) Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
You see, we have broke God's law. And just like when we break man's law, we go before a judge and have to pay the fine. Well, we are all going to have to go before God to account for the sin we have done. And just like the courts on earth, God's court will have to render a verdict. And the Bible says we are all guilty and should be cast into Hell. But, in the case of an earthly court, what if someone came in and paid your fine for you? What if they said, "Judge I'll pay their fine if you let them go"? Then the court would be satisfied and the accused would be released. Jesus did that very thing about 2000 years ago. God became flesh and was crucified on the cross and died for our sins. And was resurrected on the 3rd day.
Romans 3:24-25
(24) being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
(25) whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;
Being "justified" (or justice having been done, the fee paid) as a gift from God through the blood of Jesus. But, how do you receive this gift? It isn't automatic.
Acts 2:38
( 38 ) Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 3:19
(19) "Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;
Acts 8:22
(22) "Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.
Acts 16:31
(31) They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."
Romans 10:9
(9) that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
Notice "repent" shows up a lot. That literally means to "turn away from", not just asking for forgiveness of sin, but acknowledging that your a sinner and changing direction. Turning away from sin. And notice prayer is in there a lot. Pray that God does forgive you of your sin and changes you heart. And to "believe" in Jesus is more than just believing that He existed. It means to "put him on". To strive to be more like Him. To turn your life over to Him.
Get yourself reconciled with God, get down on your knees and admit to Him that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness. Find yourself a Bible Believing Church, get baptized (to show the world you are Jesus'), read/study scripture and pray. Grow in His Word
