Apicontent

You answered:

You believe in God and His moral standards. You don’t measure up to them and cannot go to heaven on your own merit. But you don’t believe that Jesus is the solution.

Jesus, the Cross, Forgiveness, Sin

“Jesus died on the cross so I can have forgiveness for my sins.”

This statement covers a lot. Let’s break it down.

Maybe, you don’t believe that Jesus is a real person. If so, “Was Jesus a Real Person?” is the starting point of your continued journey, exploring the person of Jesus.

You accept that Jesus is a historical figure but doubt that He died and rose again. If so, the next leg of your journey starts with “Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?“.

Or, you disagree about sin. What is sin anyway? You may be saying, “I am not a sinner even though I am not morally perfect.” Take this route on your journey to examine what’s so evil about sin: “Sin That Has Destroyed Humanity“.

Forgiveness? You may be thinking that you don’t need it. Or you may be feeling that what you have done is beyond forgiveness. “Certainly, God will not forgive me for what I have done.” If so, we invite you to continue to read the next section.

Jesus Is God’s Way to Heaven

Jesus said about Himself: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

If we agree that Jesus was a real person in history, we are faced with the astonishing claim of Jesus that He is the only way to God (heaven).

God sent His Son to die on the cross for you. Jesus freely offered His perfect life in exchange for yours. He took all of your sins and paid their penalty in full with His own life.

No matter what you have done to yourself, to your family and loved ones, to others, or even to your community and society, the wrongs you have done are ultimately sins against God. The Judge of all creation, who is true and holy, guarantees forgiveness of your sins in Jesus His Son.

The death of Jesus on the cross was for the forgiveness of our sins (offenses against God our Father and Creator), and His resurrection made it possible for us to be spiritually born again as a new creation in Christ.

God has given you a path to life and freedom because He loves you.

Learn more about God’s love for you to “Accept God’s Love.”

You answered:

You know that God forgives your sins (rebellion and disobedience against God) because Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins. But you have never invited Jesus into your life as your Lord and Savior.

Your Decision

If you want to submit yourself under the rule and authority of Jesus as your Lord and to believe in Him that He alone is your Savior from all of your sins, we invite you to make that decision now.

God already knows your heart, but it is good to voice your decision and express your commitment to Jesus as if to declare it to heaven and earth. You can say to Him something like this:

“Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying for all my sins—past, present, and future. Thank you for giving me eternal life, which you made possible by your death and resurrection. I receive you as my Savior by faith, and desire you to be Lord of my life.”

But remember, it’s not the words you say but the attitude of your heart that is important.

When you trust Jesus as your Lord and Savior and turn over the control of your life into His hands, God forgives all of your sins and gives you new life in the Holy Spirit who will dwell in you as a seal of this new covenant.

I am not ready

You acknowledge that Jesus is the only way back to God. You also believe that Jesus died for your sins and that you can experience God’s love and forgiveness through Jesus.

But you feel you are not ready to turn your life over to Jesus.

If so, we encourage you to find out why you feel you are not ready. What is holding you back from trusting Jesus with your life?

Remember, God is love. God is absolutely good. He is life and also light. Those who are in fellowship with God have everything!

Jesus wants to be your Lord and desires you to be in fellowship (relationship of love and trust) with God because He loves you.

To learn more about God’s unconditional love for you, read “Accept God’s Love.”

Also, we recommend Daily Inspiration. Select “Glimpses of Jesus” (blue panel on the dashboard) and learn more about Jesus.

You answered:

Yes, you believe that God exists, and
Yes, you believe you have broken God’s moral standards… But
No, you believe you can be good enough to earn my way into Heaven.

Heaven

Our good deeds and efforts should count for something, shouldn’t they?

If our good deeds outweigh all of our bad deeds, we should be good enough to earn our way into heaven.

It sounds reasonable, even fair, but…

Let’s first define heaven.

There are many versions and ideas of heaven. According to the Bible, heaven is God’s domain, a kingdom over which God rules and reigns as King. Since God is love, life, and life, the domain of His Kingdom is indeed a beautiful and wonderful place to be.

Because heaven is under God’s rule, He alone has the authority to decide who can enter it. We cannot choose how we enter His domain any more than we can enter someone else’s house and behave like it’s our own home.

If God had said, “You can enter my Kingdom if your good deeds outweigh your bad ones,” that would be the way to enter heaven. But Jesus tells us a very different story.

“Now this is eternal life —that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.” (John 17:3)

Jesus defines eternal life—life in heaven—as knowing God and Jesus.

Being good or good enough is not the way to heaven.

To enter heaven or God’s domain, we need to have a relationship with Him. But there is a problem—our sins.

What the Bible calls sin is far more than doing bad things. If you are not familiar with it, we recommend the article, “Sin That Has Destroyed Humanity” to continue your spiritual journey.

Because of our sins, our relationship with God is severed. We have turned our backs on God. We have disrespected our loving heavenly Father. We have rebelled against our King. We have made God our enemy!

As long as we remain God’s enemy, we will not be welcomed into His domain no matter how good we are.

Because God loves us, He has provided us with His solution in Jesus for this human dilemma. We invite you to start your day with Daily Inspiration on the dashboard. In Daily Inspiration, select “Glimpses of Jesus” (blue panel) and read more about Jesus.

You answered:

Yes, you believe that God exists, but…
No, you don’t think you have broken God’s moral standards.

For Our Well-being

God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things visible and invisible. He reigns over all of His creation.

God created physical laws that govern our universe so that our physical world would function as designed. He also gave us rules for life to live by so that humanity might flourish and enjoy all that God provided for us.

His moral standards are like rules for sports. When people play a sport, they don’t insist on playing it by their own (different) rules. Nobody would be able to enjoy the game. In the same way, in life, the rules are set by the One who knows us the best — God who created us.

Upholding God’s moral standards is for both our individual and societal well-being.

God’s Love

God is the Good King and Lord who is to be revered, but at the same time, He is our loving Heavenly Father.

God loves us. God loves you.

Another reason why God has given us His moral standards is that we may get to know Him through His ways.

In other words, the purpose of keeping His moral standards is to know God.

Do you have a personal relationship with God? Do you know Him as a child knows his father and as a husband and a wife know each other?

If not, that may be the starting point of your spiritual journey. You may be interested in starting with this article, “Know God Personally.”

This JO App is about helping people grow in their relationships with God. We invite you to start your day with Daily Inspiration on the dashboard and explore various sections to learn more about God who loves you.

To learn more about God’s love, we recommend the following series:

Where are you on your spiritual journey?

A spiritual journey is perhaps one of the most important life-long journeys we take. It defines our worldviews and perspective on life. It gives us meaning and significance to what we do daily. It sets the direction for our life.

We want to assist you in your spiritual journey, more specifically, your journey with the God of the Bible.

We will take you to a starting point in this JO App.

Please Select the highest number statement to which you can answer “YES”

YES   1.   I believe there is a God.

YES   2.   I believe I have broken some of God’s moral standards.

YES   3.   I believe I cannot be good enough to earn my way into Heaven.

YES   4.   I believe Jesus died on the cross so I can have forgiveness for my sins.

YES   5.   I have invited Jesus into my life as my Savior and Lord.

YES   6.   I know how to be filled (empowered) by the Holy Spirit

YES   7.   I am growing in my relationship with Jesus.

YES   8.   I am helping others grow in their journey with God.

YES   9.   I regularly introduce others to Jesus.

YES  10.   I am a disciple-maker.