| In your opinion, what do you understand it takes for a person to go to heaven?
That really is a deep question. Bare with me for a few minutes and I'll show you what the Bible says about it. Ephesians 2:8 says For by grace are ye saved through FAITH; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God (emphasis is my own) so lets dig a little deeper. If we use FAITH as an acronym that can help us... Forgiveness is something we must have to go to heaven. We cannot go to heaven with out it. Romans 6:23 says For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. We must be forgiven of our sins. Otherwise we have death not eternal life in heaven. Forgiveness isn't like being found not guilty its like being pardoned. God knows we did it but he lets us off the hook. Jesus is the one in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to Ephesians 1:7. Available. Forgiveness is available to ALL. One of the best known passages says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." - John 3:16 When it says world and whosoever that means me, Adam, and you. That verse says For God so loved you and I that he gave his one and only son that if youor I believed in him you or I would not perish but we would have eternal life. But this forgiveness is not AUTOMATIC. The verse above says you have to first believe in him. But simply believing that God exists isn't enough. Jesus said, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven" Well why not? Impossible. Although God is a loving God as we saw in John 3:16, he is a just God. God knows sin has a price that must be paid. The price of sin from Romans 6:23 is death. That's being away from God, the source of all good, for all of eternity. James 2:13 says For he [God] shall have judgment without mercy. We know from the first part of Romans 3:23 that all have sinned. Think of it this way, growing up our parents never once taught us how to sneak into the cookie jar or sneak out of the house as we got older but they had to teach us how not to do those things. Something insde us (our sinful nature) instinctively tells us how to do wrong but we must learn what is right. So how does it become possible? Turning. Turning means changing direction. If you're driving and turn right you have changed directions. But you also have turned away from the left. Turning away means repenting. So we must spiritually turn away from something - sin and self (our sinful nature). Again in the Bible (Luke 13:3), Jesus says, "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish". But in turning away from something we are also turning to someone - Jesus Christ and only Jesus. The Bible tells us that "Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) Also it says in Romans 10:9 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. Salvation is the key to... Heaven. We can experience heaven here and now. John 10:10 records Jesus saying, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." That is present tense, we can have this abundant life now, right now. But that's just a small part of it because there's also the heaven of the hereafter. When our physical body dies our soul will live in heaven. John 14:3 tells us that Jesus also said, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." So how is this possible? Think of FAITH also as standing for Forsaking All I Trust Him meaning Jesus. Romans 10:9 says "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." Breaking it down we have to do some simple ABC's: Acknowledge our sins, Believe that Jesus died for those sins and rose again, Call on him or tell him. We call on him by prayer. I know this is a lot of information but understanding this, if you would like to receive this forgiveness by trusting in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, you can say this little prayer. You can say these exact words or you can say your own words. God listens to the heart more than the mouth. Dear Jesus, I am a sinner. I believe that you died for me and that you rose from the grave. I ask you now to forgive me of my sins and to save me. Amen If you prayed that prayer I would love to hear from you. You can email me if you'd like | 
