God’s Trophy Room

God considers each of us as his ultimate trophies and wants us to be in his trophy room (heaven) for eternity!  Here’s how you can be with him in heaven after you die:

1. Admit you need God to save you from an eternity in hell.

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

Romans 6:23 states, “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

There is just one thing that separates us from God.  That one thing is sin.  Any sin separates us from God.  We are all sinful and have rebelled from God’s standard.  The death that Romans 6:23 speaks of is spiritual separation from God for eternity.  A wage is something that we earn or deserve.  We have all earned an eternal separation from God in hell.

2. Believe Jesus is God’s son and that he died to save you.

John 3:16-18 states, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

John 11:25-26a states, “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”

Romans 5:8 states, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

God loves each and every one of us!  Though we deserve to spend eternity in hell, God loves us so much that he made it possible for us to have eternal life with him in heaven.  He sent his one and only son Jesus into the world to receive the punishment for our sins by dying a cruel death on a cross.  Jesus rose from the dead and paved the way for us to have a personal relationship with God through him.  Jesus’ voluntary sacrificial death enabled God to forgive our sins, if we ask him to.  Through Jesus, we can know and experience God’s love.

3.  In prayer (talking to God), receive (accept) Jesus as your Savior by asking for forgiveness and repenting (turning from your sin) and surrender your life to him.

John 1:12-13 states, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

Romans 10:9-10 states, “That if you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.”

Romans 10:13 states, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Acts 3:19 (NLT) states, “Now turn from your sins and turn to God, so you can be cleansed of your sins.”

1 John 1:9 states, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

We can’t go to heaven by doing good deeds.  It’s God’s grace (giving us something that we do not deserve) that allows us to come to him – not our efforts to clean up our lives or work our way into heaven.  We can’t earn it.  It’s a free gift.  Ephesians 2:8-9 states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Our response is to individually accept Jesus’ gift of salvation (spending eternity in heaven with him instead of in hell).  Receiving Christ involves asking him to forgive us of our sins (confession), turning control of our lives to him (surrender), and trusting him to come into our lives to make us what he wants us to be.  We must receive Jesus through an act of the will.  We can belong to him from now on if we ask him to save us with all our hearts through prayer.  Prayer is simply talking to Jesus and God.  Our salvation prayer should be personal (from our own hearts).  However, if you have never prayed before here is an example:

Dear God, I realize that I am a sinner.  I believe that your son died to pay the penalty for my sins.  Jesus, I ask you to forgive my sins.  I accept your free gift of eternal life.  I ask you to come into my life as my personal Savior and Lord.  Thank you for saving me.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.

If you prayed this prayer or one like it Jesus came into your life, as he promised.  If you have trusted Jesus as your Savior and Lord, please let us know at randywrowley@gmail.com.  We want to rejoice with you!  We’re also here to help you understand the love that Jesus is offering you for free, no matter who or where you are.

Now that you are one of God’s trophies, we encourage you to do the following:

• Follow Jesus’ example and be baptized
• Connect with a local body of believers that teaches the Bible
• Read the Bible frequently and memorize key passages
• Talk to God frequently through prayer
• Tell the good news to others of salvation through Jesus and what he did for you
• Get involved in giving and serving others through ministries inside and outside your local body of Christians