Are you going to heaven?
There's just two types of people...
John 3:16-18 – 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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 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 the only begotten Son of God.
This passage is one of the most well-known passages in the Bible. It talks about God’s love, it talks about Jesus’ sacrifice. It tells us of salvation and the hope of eternal life. But when I read this passage I see a simple truth.
In this world there are only two types of people. The people that are condemned to spend eternity in a real place called Hell, and the people who will spend eternity with God in heaven.
The difference between these two types of people isn’t in their skin color. The difference isn’t in their weight or height. The difference isn’t in their social status or prestige. The difference isn’t in their wealth. The difference isn’t in their job title. The difference isn’t in their stature. The difference isn’t in their behavior. The difference isn’t in their intelligence. The difference isn’t in their character.
The difference between these two types of people is not a visible difference. It is not a difference that’s on the outside at all. The difference is in the condition of their heart.
Now I don’t mean their physical heart. I don’t mean the organ whose rhythm keeps us all alive. I’m talking about their spiritual heart. I am talking about their soul.
The unfortunate truth is that the human race suffers from a terrible plague. It is a dreadful disease for which doctors have no cure. Every person has it. Every child is born with it. And the sad truth today is that this disease is always terminal. You see, the human race suffers with a spiritual heart disease called Sin.
Sin is anything we think, anything we say, and anything we do that breaks God’s law. The Bible makes it abundantly clear, we are all sinners. The Bible says, “There is none righteous, no not one,” and again it says, “for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” It doesn’t matter who you are, we all sin.
You may say, “now wait a minute, I’m not as bad as the next guy.” Maybe not, but you are a little bad, aren’t you?
The Bible tells us “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” You may have never robbed a bank, you may have never killed anybody. You may be a model citizen. But we all lie more often than we’d like to admit. We all get selfish, we all have thoughts we don’t want others to know about. The fact of the matter is, we all are infected with this plague, this heart-disease called sin. And if we are left untreated, if the disease is allowed to run its course, we will find ourselves in Hell.
But God doesn’t leave us hopeless. He is not unaware of the condition of this world. He is not apathetic to our situation. No, the Bible says here in John 3:16 that God looked down on this world and saw the diagnosis. And because He loved this world He decided to develop the cure. The Bible says that God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, into this world with the intention of saving us.
Because Jesus is the Son of God and not of man, He cannot contract this disease of Sin. He came to our earth and lived a perfect life. For thirty-three years He lived here and never once did anything wrong. He had no reason to die, for death is caused by sin.
Yet in order for us to be cured He would have to take this disease upon Himself on behalf of the whole world. And that’s exactly what He did. The Bible says that God “made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
On that cross, and on that day, Jesus Christ bore “our sins in his own body on the tree.” He died in our place. He allowed Himself to succumb to the disease.
Yet He didn’t stay dead. Three days later, by His own power, He rose again from the grave. Once and for all He conquered sin and death. Finally, the disease was no longer terminal. Finally the cure has been provided.
But how then do we receive this cure for ourselves? There is no amount of money that can buy it. No church can give it to you. Baptism or communion does not impart it to you. Your name and your family cannot win it for you. It cannot be passed down by parents to their children. It cannot be earned by doing good things.
You see the Bible says here in our verse today that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
It’s not a matter of works, it’s a matter of faith. To receive this cure, you must simply believe in the saving power of Jesus’ work on the cross. You must believe that He is the Son of God, and that by taking your place in the deathbed of sin, and by conquering that death by rising again, He can cure your plague-ridden heart.
You see when a man puts His trust in Christ to cure his heart disease, the Bible says that God gives that man a new heart all together. As it says in this book, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” When you take that step of faith, and trust Christ to cleanse your heart from sin, God lifts up the chart that once said “terminal” and stamps on it “Cured!”
So my question for you is this, “Which type of man are you?” Are you the man who refuses to believe, the man the Bible says is already condemned to die in your sin and spend eternity in a real place of torment called Hell? Or are you on your way to an eternity with God in Heaven, because you have placed your trust in Jesus Christ to save you from this disease of sin.
It does not matter who you are, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done, the Bible says, “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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
So I’ll ask you again, why type of man are you? There are only two. Which one are you?