Since many people I meet show little interest in heaven and express little desire to go there, I thought I’d provide a few instructions on how to go to hell instead. Following are just a few surefire courses of action to be damned and arrive in eternal hellfire and brimstone:

• Ignore the whole issue of heaven and hell and put off all thoughts of God and eternity for another day.
• Avoid, as much as possible, reading the Bible or attending churches where the Bible is read and taught. After all, the Bible is so narrow in its views regarding life, God’s judgment, and the age to come.
• Hope that God grades on a curve and will not condemn you if you have lived as well as the next guy.
• Believe that you can escape the fires of hell and obtain eternal life in heaven by doing good deeds.
• Live for now and indulge in all your desires because life is short.
• Give no heed to preachers who call upon all to repent and look to Christ Jesus for mercy and forgiveness.
• Treat the blood of Jesus shed for the sins of all as a worthless thing by continuing on in your sinful ways.
• Ignore Jesus and His pleas for you to repent and trust in Him for pardon, forgiveness and life everlasting in heaven.

Yes, I could go on listing ways to be sure of hell; but wouldn’t you rather be sure of heaven?

It’s simple: Acknowledge and repent of your sinfulness and shortcomings and place your faith and hope in Christ Jesus and His innocent sufferings and death for all sins.

In Jesus, heaven is sure! Why? Because Jesus kept all of God’s commandments perfectly in your stead and then suffered and died on the cross for your sins (and the sins of all), rose again, and ascended into the glories of heaven to prepare a place for all who repent of their sinful ways and believe God’s offer and promise of forgiveness and life through faith in Christ Jesus! All who look to Jesus in faith will be spared the fires of hell and receive, instead, the eternal glories of heaven!

God’s Word says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31 NKJV).

Some Bible proof passages: Romans 3:9-26; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; John 3:14-18, 36; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-47; John 14:1-6; Acts 1:9-11; 2:37-40; 3:19; 4:12; Ephesians 1 and 2; 1 John 1:8-9; 2:1-2.

1 So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. 2 Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” 3 And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!” 4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 7 And he arose and departed to his house. 8 Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men. Matthew 9:1-8

In private confession and absolution, and each Sunday in corporate worship, sinners confess their sins to the Lord God and look to Christ Jesus and His cross in faith for the forgiveness of sins; and, the pastor announces unto them the grace of God and, in the stead and by the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, forgives the sins of penitent sinners. “But who can forgive sins but God alone?” some may ask.

This is what the scribes asked within themselves when Jesus forgave the sins of a man, sick of the palsy. They thought Jesus was guilty of blasphemy because He, seeing the faith of this paralyzed man and his friends, said to the man, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”

Of course, anyone can say the words, but if they lack the authority to forgive sins, those words are but a deception, a lie, a sham. But Jesus proved His authority to forgive sins. He said, “For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

And, what happened? The paralyzed man “arose and departed to his house.” Jesus’ proved His authority to forgive sins, and He proved that His words to this man were indeed true. This man’s sins were forgiven! He could depart in peace.

And what about the words of your pastor when he hears your confession and points you to Christ Jesus and His innocent sufferings and death on the cross for the sins of the world and tells you to “go in peace; your sins are forgiven you”?

He may not be able to heal the sick or raise the dead, but Jesus did and it is Jesus who commands him to preach “repentance and remission of sins” in Christ’s name (Luke 24:47). It is Jesus who commands His disciples and His pastors to forgive the sins of penitent sinners and to retain the sins of the impenitent as long as they do not repent (John 20:22-23). It is Jesus who said, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 18:18).

And notice that pastors do not forgive — or baptize, or administer the Lord’s Supper, or preach — in their own name and by their own authority. Rather, it is “in the stead and by the command” of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus healed the paralyzed man, proving His authority to forgive sins. Jesus even rose from the dead, proving the sufficiency of His sacrifice on the cross to satisfy God’s just wrath against all sins (cf. Rom. 4:23-25; 1 Cor. 15:1ff.; John 1:29). Certainly, He who paid for our sins with His blood and then rose again from the dead on the third day has the authority to forgive the sins of all who look to Him in faith.

So, when you confess your sins to God — whether in corporate worship or in private confession — and the pastor, based on your confession and your profession of faith in Christ Jesus, announces unto you the grace of God and proclaims to you that your sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake, you can depart in peace, in good cheer, for indeed your sins are forgiven by the Lord Jesus Himself — He has the authority to forgive sins! (Cf. Luther’s Small Catechism on Confession.)

O gracious and merciful God, forgive our sins for Jesus’ sake and grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may believe and rejoice in the pardon and forgiveness won for us by our Lord Jesus Christ and promised and assured to us in Your absolution spoken by the pastor. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

[Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

“But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:14-17

Some may wonder: “Why the emphasis on teaching, studying and learning the Scriptures? Why did the Apostle Paul command Timothy to preach the Word, to use the Word to reprove, rebuke and exhort? Why are ministers today commanded to preach the Word and nothing but the Word?”

The answer is quite simple. It is through the Holy Scriptures that we are made “wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” The Scriptures reveal our utter sinfulness and the judgment of God upon our sins; and the Scriptures reveal our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the salvation God provided for us when He sent His only-begotten Son into the world to suffer and to die for our sins and then rise again.

And the Scriptures, given by inspiration of God, are His Word, not man’s. They are useful and profitable for teaching, for reproving, for correcting our erring ways and for instruction in righteous living. They provide us with all we need to know to be thoroughly furnished to do those works God created us to do (cf. Eph. 2:8-10).

God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path (Ps. 119:105), and God desires and commands that we study and learn His Word (cf. Matt. 28:19-20; John 8:31-32; Col. 3:16; 2 Tim. 2:15; 1 Pet. 2:2; 2 Pet. 1:19-21; Rom. 10:17).

Of course, the day has come when people don’t wish to hear the Word (cf. 2 Tim. 4:3-4; John 3:19-21). They hire preachers who do not preach the Word or who explain it away and water it down. And, as a result, they do not see their sinfulness and do not look to Christ for their salvation.

But, that we might be saved, we need to continue in the Word and hold fast to the truth we have learned from the Word that we would be made “wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

Move us, O Lord, to continue in Your Word that we might know Christ and salvation through faith in His name. Amen.

[Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:19-26

Can anyone be saved by doing good works? by living a good life? by obeying God’s commandments? What does God say in His Word?

Consider the Scriptures quoted by the Apostle Paul in Romans 3:10-18:

“There is none righteous, no, not one;
There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.”
“Their throat is an open tomb;
With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
“Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
Destruction and misery are in their ways;
And the way of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

The Bible makes clear the fact that all people have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God (v.23). Not a single one of us can be saved on the basis of our own life or works.

It is as the Bible tells us: “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

How then can we be saved? God, in His Word, gives us the answer: “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe” (v.21-22).

There is a way to be counted righteous in God’s eyes for those who have sinned and do not measure up to God’s perfect law. It is a way to be saved apart from our own perfect obedience to all of God’s holy commandments. It is a way described in the Old Testament Scriptures, as well as the New. It is “the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.” It is righteousness imputed to those who trust in Christ Jesus and His holy life and in His innocent sufferings and death on the cross in our stead.

And it is a way of salvation available to all people. “For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus …” All have sinned and have come short, and Christ died and made atonement for all — that God might be just in forgiving the sins of those who trusted in Christ before He came into this world and also in forgiving the sins of those who now look to Him in faith for pardon and forgiveness (cf. v.23-26).

The only way to be justified, forgiven and accepted by God is through faith in Christ Jesus “whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Are we righteous before God on the basis of God’s law? No, we’ve all come short and stand guilty and condemned by God’s law! Can we still be righteous in God’s sight? Yes, through faith in Christ’s perfect obedience to God’s law in our stead and in His blood shed for us on the cross!

God, grant us such faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:34-40

Which commandment is the great commandment in the law? Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

And, indeed, this is in accord with God’s law, which commands us: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deut. 6:4-5).

Jesus also said (Matt. 22:39-40), “And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.’”

St. Paul wrote in Romans 13:8-10: “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (cf. Lev. 19:18).

If we did love the LORD God with all our heart, soul and mind, would we worship or serve any other God but the true God? Would we abuse His name and neglect to use it rightly, in ways which give God glory? Would we despise or neglect His Word and the services of His house?

And if we did genuinely love our neighbors as ourselves, would we disobey parents and others in authority over us? Would we do anything to hurt or harm our neighbor? Would we seek to use our neighbor or his or her spouse to fulfill our own selfish and sinful desires? Would we speak evil of our neighbor or gossip about him? Would we covet or take our neighbor’s property or goods?

Therefore, obedience to God’s commandments requires true love for God and our neighbor and, without such love, our obedience is nothing but a sham (cf. 1 Cor. 13:1ff.)!

The question is: Do we love God with all our heart, soul and mind? And, do we love our neighbor as ourselves?

We might claim to love God and neighbor, but have we truly kept all of God’s commandments in our thoughts, desires, words and deeds? Our failures to keep God’s commandments are proof of our failure to love God with all our being and to truly love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves! And without perfect love for God and neighbor, God’s law curses and condemns us as guilty sinners, deserving of the eternal punishments of hell (cf. Gal. 3:10; Rom. 3:19-20).

And that, of course, is why we need Christ Jesus. He “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). He loved and honored His Father in all His thoughts, desires, words and deeds. He prayed and gave thanks even when it appeared that there was not enough. He loved God’s Word so much that, at the age of 12, He stayed behind in Jerusalem to learn more of it from the teachers of God’s Law. Praying “not My will, but Yours, be done (Luke 22:42),” “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:8). And Jesus certainly loved His neighbor – each and every one of us – because “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).

And, our Lord Jesus Christ paid the price and made atonement for our sins that we might have pardon and forgiveness through faith in His name. The Bible tells us that “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:2; cf. Gal. 3:13). Therefore, when we confess our sins and look to Him and His cross in faith, He forgives our sins and cleanses us from the guilt of our unrighteousness (cf. 1 John 1:8-9; John 3:14-18).

So, when we consider the commandments of God to love Him with all our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves, we see by His commandments our sins, our shortcomings and the just wrath of God upon our sins. But when we see Jesus’ perfect obedience, His genuine love for God and neighbor, and His great love for us – a love which moved Him to take the guilt and punishment for our sins and make full atonement, rising again on the third day, we look to Him and His sacrifice on the cross in faith, trusting that in Him we have forgiveness and in Him we have life.

God grant that we repent of our self-centeredness and lack of love for God and neighbor and that we look in faith to Christ Jesus and His holy life in our stead and His bitter sufferings and death for our sins and the sins of the world. And God grant that we, as a fruit of our faith in Christ Jesus, begin to truly love God and our neighbor. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]