Did you know there’s such a thing as a Lifetime Pass into any baseball stadium for any regular season game? There is! The first was given to President Theodore Roosevelt. But the thing about these passes is this, they are issued by the Commissioner of Baseball and they are Non-Transferable. They can only be used by the person to whom they were issued. They cannot be inherited.
The same is true for those of us who are Jesus-followers. Yes! We can tell others about how to enter into the family of God, but we cannot give anyone else access into heaven.
If you are not already a Jesus-follower, you cannot inherit your salvation from any of the Jesus-followers you know. It doesn’t matter how many you know.
Heaven is God’s home. His Kingdom. God is the only One who issues access, and the only way He gives us access is through Jesus Christ. Jesus is our Lifetime Pass and Holy Spirit is given as our identification.
What does that mean exactly? Well, it’s simple and yet not easy. It’s free and yet there is a cost.
Simple because all we do is accept the gift of access. We do that by admitting we cannot get into heaven apart from Jesus. There is no way we can earn our way in or fight our way in. Heaven is closed to all sinners.
Who’s a sinner, you ask? Well, we all are! That’s right. All have sinned and fall short of God’s standard (Romans 3:23). How come God gets to set the standard? He’s the Creator of heaven and earth. In fact, He’s Creator of the entire universe along with everything and everyone in it. That’s why!
So, we’re all sinners and the payment for sin is death. But God’s free gift to us is eternal life through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23).
That’s right! God wants us in heaven with Him. So, God created a Lifetime Pass for each of us. All we have to do is take it. How? By believing what God did for us.
What did He do for us? He came to earth, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life in the flesh, died a sinner’s death, and was resurrected back to life for us. Yes! He left heaven, subjected Himself to the confines of a human body beginning with conception and extending all the way through until that body died thirty-three years later. Then He raised that dead human body and transformed it into an eternal body.
How do we get this free gift? We ask. Yep! That’s it!
We call on the name of the LORD Jesus Christ and we are saved. Saved from the penalty of our sin which is eternal separation from God.
How do we call on the name of the LORD?
By confessing with our mouths that Jesus is LORD and believe in our hearts that He is alive.
Okay, here’s the thing. Believing is not just having a knowledge of something. Believing creates change. So, there’s the cost. Yes, it was free, but when we take what comes to us freely, we are agreeing to live our lives loving Him and following Him (and His ways). No more doing what we want because we want to do it. Nope! Now we are choosing to consider Jesus Christ and what would please Him in every area of our lives.
So now you know why it’s not easy. There are times we want and even plan to do something, and then we don’t. There are other times we don’t want to do something and plan never to do it again, and yet we do it.
So, what happens after we accept the free gift of access into heaven and we still sin?
Well, there are two things going on here. One is called justification which is just a fancy word for Jesus covers our sins with His righteousness. The other is called sanctification which is another fancy word that means He is also removing the sinful desires of our old selves and replacing them with pure desires. Justification happens in an instant. Sanctification happens over a lifetime and begins the day we receive the justification of Jesus.
Sanctification is done by the work of Holy Spirit in us. Not all who say they are believers have Holy Spirit in their lives. Holy Spirit knows those who are believers. He knows those who have received the justification of Jesus.
Holy Spirit comes to live in us the moment justification takes place and He never leaves us.
Holy Spirit is our Helper. That’s right! Our Teacher, Counselor, and the One who reminds us of what we need to remember, when we need to remember it. Holy Spirit does not make us obey Jesus, but Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to live obedient to the ways of Jesus.
That’s why Jesus said anyone who wants to be His follower must give up their own way, take up their cross daily, and follow Him (Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23). It’s a choice we must continually make. Not something we’re forced to choose but are free to choose by our own will.
Please, please, please get this…
We become new creatures at the moment of justification, but we will not give up every old way except through the sanctifying work of us cooperating with the Holy Spirit. The evidence of our choices will be in our lives. We (and others) can measure our own progress by the evidence of Holy Spirit fruit in the choices we make. Nope! Not by the number of rules we keep but by the amount of fruit in our lives. Holy Spirit fruit is easily identifiable; love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
One more thing before we go. You are going to mess up!
That’s right…you are going to mess up! You are going make sinful choices while learning to make Holy Spirit, Jesus pleasing choices. Don’t fret over them. Holy Spirit does not teach us with condemnation or shame (Romans 8:1). Yes, He’ll point out your sin and you will need to admit you’ve sinned, but don’t get stuck there. Quickly apply 1st John 1:9; admit your sinful choice, accept the forgiveness that is given, forgive yourself, and be wise moving forward. Make your choices proactively and don’t put yourself into situations of temptation. When you do get into those situations, look for the way of escape that is promised (1 Corinthians 10:112-13).
If you have not yet accepted God’s gift of a Lifetime Pass into heaven, you can do that right now. Don’t wait!
If you have questions or concerns you want answered first, start a conversation with me in the comments section below or at (5) Deep Thoughts and Little Happenings | Facebook I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I will come alongside you as we find them together. Which leads to another wonderful thing about being a Jesus-follower.
Jesus-followers are not alone in this world. Not only do we have the Spirit of Jesus living in us, but we have each other. We’ll talk more about it next week.
Between Then and Now…
1 Read your Bible. Maybe read 2nd John and 3rd John. And remember to ask Holy Spirit to help you understand and apply what He teaches you as you read.
2 Exercise. Don’t forget your armor! Put it on every day. Go through the motions and name each piece as you put it on, hold it up, and take it.
3 Be intentional. Pray for yourself and for other Jesus-followers everywhere. We’re all learning, but we’re also doing the hard work of practicing what we learn.
LORD, give us the ability to let go of our old ways and make new Holy Spirit choices. Give us boldness in sharing with others about the Lifetime Pass You have for them. Help them to believe and take all You have for them. And Holy Spirit, we want to overflow with Your fruit. We invite You to remove all that hinders the maturing of Your fruit in our lives. Teach us to embrace Your pruning work in our lives. Teach us to take, enjoy, and share the fruit of Your presence in us. Amen.
If you have not yet met Jesus, you can meet Him today. He created you. He loves you. He wants you to be a part of His family. I encourage you to step into the life He created you to live. You will still have the troubles of this world, but you will no longer be facing them alone. I’m praying for you! https://peacewithgod.net/mobile/?utm_source=Microsoft&utm_medium=CPC&utm_term=HowToGoToHeaven&utm_campaign=USPWGMobileSearchMic
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Dear Robin, I’m celebrating with you over the encouragement you received through this week’s message. Thank you for letting me know, and thank you for sharing with others who need to hear God’s message of hope and healing. May the joy of our LORD be your strength as you persevere. May we diligently throw off everything that hinders our ability to run with diligence the race set before us!
Thank you for this! It has given me clarity on something i question at times. And that is why do we still sin after we are saved and sometimes continue to do so. With some sins it takes a while to be healed and changed from doing them. I am going to print this and share it others as the Lord leads. I will also finish writing down so i can memorize the armor so that i can say it each morning.