Hello,
I hope you have heard the Gospel, which is the good news about Jesus, but I want to share it with you, along with a bit of my story. Please read the whole thing. I also encourage you to look at the Bible verses I reference.
God, the one and only God who created the universe (Genesis 1:1, Hebrews 11:3), has laws that establish His moral standards. You have probably heard of some of them, the Ten Commandments, found in the Bible (Exodus 20:1-17). The Bible is the inerrant word of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Timothy 3:16), written by men inspired by the Holy Spirit. All humans have broken God's laws and fall short of His expectations (Romans 3:23). Breaking God's laws is sinful (1 John 3:4) and death entered the world because of sin (Romans 5:12), starting with Adam and Eve. God did not create sin, He created humans with free will who chose to sin (Genesis 3:1-19, Ecclesiastes 7:29). As such, we all commit sins and are sinners (1 John 1:8) because we descended from Adam. For example, three of the Ten Commandments tell us not to steal (Exodus 20:15), lie (Exodus 20:16), or misuse God's name (Exodus 20:7). All people have broken these three laws of God. Jesus took the Commandments to another level; He said that if you have looked at a woman (person) in lust, then you have committed adultery (Exodus 20:14) in your heart (Matthew 5:27-28), or if you have looked at someone in anger, then you have committed murder (Exodus 20:13) in your heart (Matthew 5:21-22). The Bible tells us that God searches the heart and mind (Jeremiah 17:10, Hebrews 4:12-13). According to God's moral standards as spoken by Jesus, I am a liar, thief, blasphemer, adulterer, and murderer and I am confident you are as well.
Because of sin, all of mankind was legally indebted to God. Just like when laws are broken on Earth, sin has consequences, and the consequence of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and eternal punishment in a place called Hell (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9). Hell is a very real place with suffering beyond our comprehension, and it lasts forever (Matthew 25:46). I deserve to be in Hell and so do you, along with every single other person because of sin. Again, the consequence of sin is death. God's justice requires that someone had to be punished for the sins of mankind.
However, the good news is that someone has already been given the penalty of death that we rightly deserve. Rather than us having to suffer death and punishment, God put our sins on His Son, Jesus, and He was put to death on a cross (Colossians 2:13-14) as a sacrifice to forgive us of our sins (1 John 4:9-10) because there is no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22). Jesus was fully human and fully God, or rather God in the flesh (John 1:14), and He lived a perfect life, free from sin, to perfectly pay the debt owed by all of mankind. He perfectly satisfied the wrath of our Almighty God, canceling the charge of mankind's legal indebtedness. Three days after He was crucified, He rose from the dead (Luke 24:6-7) to defeat death and prove He is who He said He was, the Son of God. He now sits at the right hand of God the Father (Romans 8:34). All who believe in Him are given eternal life (John 3:16) with Him in paradise, Heaven, which lasts forever.
To believe in Him is not merely to believe that He exists (Romans 10:9-10). In the Bible we are told that even demons believe in God, and know who Jesus is (James 2:19, Luke 4:33-34); they definitely are not going to Heaven. To truly believe in Jesus is to recognize your sins as transgressions against your Creator and to have recognition that Jesus is your Lord and Savior, your only path to God the Father in Heaven (John 14:6). Salvation cannot be earned, it is a gift of God. We are saved from our sins and Hell by God's free grace through our faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9). Faith comes from hearing and reading the Bible, especially the Gospel (Romans 10:17).
The Bible teaches that unless you are born again, you will not inherit God's kingdom (go to Heaven) (John 3:3). To be born again means you have been regenerated by God in thought and mind, you hate sin and want to read and obey God's word (the Bible) out of love for Him. Jesus calls everyone to repent of their sins (Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:14-15, Luke 5:31-32), which means we confess them to God through prayer and have a God-given desire to turn away from our sinfulness (1 John 1:9, 1 John 3:9). God leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). Real repentance involves mourning and being sorrowful over sin in our lives (2 Corinthians 7:9-10). God wants everyone to repent, come to the knowledge of His word found in the Bible, and be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4). It is His will that no one should perish (2 Peter 3:9).
However, because of unrepentant sin and failure to truly believe in Jesus, the Bible tells us that few people will be saved (go to Heaven) and many will perish in Hell (Matthew 7:13-14 & 21-23, Luke 13:23-24). This includes many self-proclaimed "Christians" and Catholics who believe they are saved but in actuality are horribly deceived, like I was. Attending church is not a ticket to Heaven. Intellectual belief in a higher power is not the same as belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Baptism does not provide saving faith. Reciting a prayer does not save you.
I want to share a bit of my story. I am 35 and have regularly been in church my whole life. I was diagnosed with ALS four years ago, which is when I started reading the Bible. At first I thought it would bring me physical healing and had to make myself read it, but eventually I could not put it down and all I wanted to do was read the Bible. Around 18 months later I was led to repent; I mourned over my sins and was disgusted by how I used to live. The Gospel finally made sense to me and had immense meaning. God opened my eyes to see my sin and His grace. Church had so much more meaning. Around that time I was saved and was given the gift of God's Holy Spirit.
I now realize that I spent the first 32 years of my life completely deceived, I was not saved and would have gone to Hell if I would have died. Prior to ALS, I had hardly read the Bible and had no relationship with God. I can clearly see now how things I used to hold dear, like alcohol, money, and attention, are completely meaningless. God totally transformed my heart and mind, He healed me the best way possible, my soul. This has inspired me to read and obey The Word of God and to deepen my knowledge of Him and develop a relationship with Him. I want to tell people the incredible news about Jesus and how my life has been amazingly changed despite my challenging circumstances. I am thankful for ALS and know that my suffering has been meaningful. Anything that humbles us, leads us to God, and forces us to realize our true dependence on Him is a wonderful thing, no matter how painful or uncomfortable it is.
I tell you this because I care about you and do not want you to be deceived like I was. Please take heed of this message. Please read the Bible and pray for understanding. Please repent. Life on earth is less than a drop in the ocean compared to eternity. Live for eternity. We do not know when it is our time to die. It could be tomorrow. What would happen to your soul if you died today? Have you repented? Are you born again? Are you saved? Are your loved ones saved? Being saved is more than just saying you believe in God, reciting a prayer, or going to church.
I want you to meditate on whether or not you are Born Again. The Bible tells us to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. Remember, Jesus said few people will make it to heaven.
"Jesus responded and said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" — John 3:3 NASB2020
"Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test?" — 2 Corinthians 13:5 NASB2020
"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.'" — Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23 NASB2020
My error was thinking only 'bad' people go to Hell, and I determined what 'good' and 'bad' meant. I lacked the Truth, which can only be found in God's Word. Otherwise, morality is completely subjective, or rather open to the interpretation of each individual. That is an abundantly frightening proposition, to rely upon one's own understanding of right and wrong, rather than He who created us.
Please take this message to heart and examine yourself. I am not judging you or making a determination of whether you possess saving faith. I simply care about you and do not want anyone deceived like I was most of my life, despite regularly attending church.
— Frank
