HEY!  WHERE ARE YOU GOING?

 

     That is a question I had to face back when I was in my teens.  Some neighborhood friends and I frequently played ball together.  One of those friends was suddenly killed in a car wreck.  I was shocked!  I was stunned by his sudden death!  One day we were together playing ball.  By the week-end he was dead. 

     I attended his funeral and heard the preacher talk about my friend being in heaven.  I wondered if my friend really had gone to heaven or whether he, instead, had gone to hell.  I had no answer to that question. 

     Then it dawned on me:  What if I were to be suddenly killed in a wreck or if I should die some other way?  Where would I go?  Would I go to heaven?  Or would I go down into the pits of hell?  Frankly, it scared me.  It shook me up plenty.  I had no definite answer to that question either, but I strongly suspected that I would not make it to heaven.   

     Not long after that another good friend invited me to go to church with him.  I went.  In fact, I started  going regularly.  One Sunday at the close of the evening services when the congregation left the auditorium I just sat there.  I had my arms folded on the pew in front of me and my head lay on my arms.  The pastor came and read some Scripture to me.  I cannot remember what Scripture he read, but he gently explained to me that if I would acknowledge my sin and call upon Jesus to save me from the penalty of my sin that Jesus would save my soul.  He said that Jesus would keep from going to hell and would make sure that I would go to heaven when I die.   

     That was what I wanted.  Right then and there I did call on Jesus.  I asked Him to cleanse me of my sin and save my soul.  A great burden was lifted from me.  My cheeks were flooded with tears and it must have appeared that I was greatly disturbed.  But I was not disturbed. ---- not any longer.  I had been disturbed, but now I was relieved.  I was greatly relieved!   I was happy.!.  Now I no longer wonder where I am going when I die.  I am sure that Jesus is my Savior and that I will go to heaven.

     But what about you?  As it stands right now, where are you going?  Where would you go if you were to die right now? 

 

     Here is what the Bible has to say about our need of salvation and about our need to call on Jesus and be saved::

 

     “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,  Romans 3:23. 

 

     “... except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.,” Luke 13:3 and 5.  Jesus said that you need to acknowledge that you are a sinner and repent.  Unless you do, you will not make it to heaven. 

 

     For God so loved the world that whosoever believeth in him should not perish , but have everlasting life,”  John 3:16.  God loves you in spite of your sin and has sent Jesus to the world and to the cross to provide a way whereby you can stay out of hell and go to heaven .

 

     For by grace are ye saved through faith...,” Ephesians 2:8.  Grace is unmerited favor --- undeserved, unearned favor.  Salvation is by grace.  It is undeserved by the guilty sinner.  It is unearned.  You can get saved.  You can go to heaven, but you cannot deserve to go there.  You cannot earn the right to go there.  You can only go there by the grace of God --- by the undeserved unearned favor of God.       

 

     Listen further to what God says:  “Not of works, lest any man should boast,  Ephesians 2:9.  You cannot ever deserve to go to heaven.  You simply cannot live that good.  No matter how many good works you  may do, you cannot earn your ticket to heaven by your good works. 

 

     But you can call upon Jesus and ask Him to save you.  “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,  Romans 3:10.  This verse is talking about your need to call on the Lord Jesus Christ for one specific thing.  You need to confess that you are a sinner and call on Him to save you from your sin.    You need to call on Him to keep you out of hell and to carry you to heaven when you die.  You do not have to pray out loud to Him, but you do have to call upon Him and ask Him to save your if you are going to make it to heaven.  

 

     “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 he only begotten Son of God,”  John 3:18.  If one has called on Jesus trusting Him to be his Savior, he is no longer condemned to hell.  He is saved and he will go to heaven.  But everyone is condemned until he calls on Jesus and trusts Jesus to be his (or her) Savior.  If you have called on Jesus trusting Him to save you, then you are no longer condemned.  You are saved.  But if you have not trusted Jesus to save you then you are still condemned and need to put your faith in Jesus. 

 

     “...behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation,  II Corinthians 6:2.  Now is the only time that you can be certain that you have opportunity to call on Jesus and be saved.  It is dangerous to put it off.  “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.  For what is your life?  It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away,” James 4:14.  You could die today.  Don’t take chances.  Call on Jesus now and ask Him to save your soul.