Does that thought ever puzzle you or even give you fear?

Well you don’t have to fear death! You can know for sure that you will go to heaven when you die!

Let me tell you how. It will only take a few minutes.

Did you know that God’s purpose in making you was so that you could have fellowship with Him? He truly wants you to be close to Him.

Yet, in Apollo 13 language: “Heaven, we have a problem!” You see, naturally speaking humanity is not close to Him.

In fact, God’s book the Bible says: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way...” (Isaiah 53:6a) “…there is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20) and “…all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

That’s a pretty strong charge and God is the one who makes it.

This means that all of our evil actions, bad attitudes and hurtful words are SIN.

Sin, in fact, is any violation of God’s laws. Things like idolatry, using God’s name as a curse word, disobedience, murder, adultery, lying, cheating and jealousy are all SINS.

So, in summary to this problem, “…the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin…” Galatians 3:22

“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5 ) “The soul that sins shall die” (Ecclesiastes 18:20)

The Bible teaches that we not only sin but that we were born in sin. We were born estranged from God, who is the source of life. Being separated from God can be compared to a flower that is cut from a plant. Once it is removed from the source of life it starts to wither and eventually dies. That’s how we were born. We were born spiritually dead and thus detached from God. That implies that you are heading toward physical death followed by an inescapable eternal death in a terrible place called hell. No rational person would want that to happen if it is preventable.

Because of this problem people often try to figure out how to get to heaven on their own.

Some try to get to heaven by their own hard work but the Bible states: “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.” Titus 3:5a

Some seek entrance into heaven by going to church or being religious, but again the Bible says “I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you.” Isaiah 57:12

Some may ask, “What if I try really hard to quit sinning?” Well, as noble as that may seem the Bible states: “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” James 2:10

What can you do with this PROBLEM of sin? It sounds hopeless.

Well, because of God’s great love for you He has a great SOLUTION. God wants to resolve this problem for you.

In fact, He already resolved this problem long ago. He did so by means of a substitute.

God the Father sent His Son, Jesus, to take your punishment for you. He did that by dying on the Cross for your sins as your substitute.

"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven." (Hebrews 1:3)

Jesus could take your punishment for you because He is God and therefore He could serve as a perfect substitute. Only His sacrifice in your place could solve your problem.

The really Good News is He took YOUR place and died for YOU. Even though he died and was buried he rose again three days later. Now, because Jesus did that for you, you do not have to die and spend forever in the terrible place called hell.

It would be like this. Let’s say you and I were in a burning airplane heading straight toward the ground and I had the only parachute. If I give you my parachute and you jump to safety my kindness would mean you live and I die. That’s the kind of thing that Jesus did for you. He took your punishment and died for you so that you would live!

As a result of His horrifying death and His incredible resurrection He now offers to everyone the free gift of eternal life.

"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life." 1 John 5:13

Jesus did everything that was necessary to bring you close to God and to forgive your sins. You simply need to believe in Him alone for salvation!

To believe in Jesus is really quite simple. It’s like the faith of a small child when carried in the arms of her parent. She doesn’t need to do anything except trust in her parent’s ability to hold her and protect her. She just relaxes in what her parent can do for her. That’s how basic faith is.

In a like manner, you don’t need to do anything for salvation. Just trust in Jesus. He has already done everything to solve your problem and bring you close to himself. He promises to give eternal life to anyone who believes in Him. "I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life." John 6:47

You don’t have to be afraid of death. You don’t have to worry about what will happen one minute after you die.

Listen to what a prophet once said… “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst.” (1 Timothy 1:15) He sure understood why Jesus came to earth.

Jesus came to save people and did so by dying for them. But, a dead Savior cannot save anyone. Jesus, on the third day after he died, arose. Jesus, the Savior, is alive today.

Now for the big question! Who are you going to trust in? Are you going to trust in Jesus as your own personal Savior?

The Bible says: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) If you believe in Jesus Christ you are guaranteed to have eternal life. That means that among other things you will have forgiveness for your sins, peace with God, freedom from hell, unending life and from this day forward you will be God’s child. “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:26

Will you trust in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior right now? Will you rely on Him alone for your salvation?

If you do you will receive the free gift of eternal life because the Bible says: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…" Acts 16:31

Once you have received eternal life you can never lose it. Otherwise, eternal life would be a terrible misstatement. If eternal life could be lost God would have called it temporary life or tentative life. As one who believes in Jesus Christ as your Savior you are not on probation. When you trust in Jesus Christ and receive the free gift of eternal life, it is guaranteed that you will go to Heaven.

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." John 3:36