Rainbow Hills Baptist Church

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HOW DOES SOMEONE GET TO HEAVEN AND HAVE A RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD?

There could be no more important question! Are you struggling to find purpose and meaning in life? Does it seem the things that you thought would bring happiness are not really doing that? The Bible gives us the answer to our questions about life. At Rainbow Hills Baptist Church we would love to talk with you about this issue. You can email our pastor at dwall@rainbowhills.net or call the church office at 674-5613 and set up an appointment to talk with the pastor or one of our other ministers. Here is what the Bible says about how you can get to heaven and be in right standing with God.

NOTE: Click on the verses to read what the the actually Bible says.

EVERYONE HAS DONE WRONG

According to the Bible, we all make decisions in life and those decisions can be either good or bad. We use the Bible to determine what good decisions are and what bad decisions are. It is God’s standard that we must evaluate our life against. For example, God tells us in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17 )  that lying, stealing, taking God’s name in vain, being disrespectful to parents, committing adultery, and loving things more than God are some of the things God says is wrong. Jesus went on to say that even our thoughts and attitudes can be wrong (Matthew 5:21-28). Can you think of anyone who has never done even one wrong thing? We all have to admit we have done many wrong things in life. The Bible calls those wrong things sin.

GOD HOLDS US ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE WRONG WE DO

You need to understand that God is a good judge. When it comes to evaluating your life, He cannot simply overlook your wrong actions or sins against Him. When a wrong is done, there is a price that must be paid. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). It also says that it is our wrong actions (iniquities) that have separated us from God (Isaiah 59:2). The Bible never says that God will compare your good and bad actions and judge if your life is generally good or generally bad. It would be like a judge telling a person convicted of murder that he is going to excuse the penalty for the crime since the person is generally a good person. After all, he just committed one murder. We would say that is wrong of the judge to do, and that is the same way it is with God. He is a good judge and must hold us accountable for each wrong action or sin we commit. Therefore, if we have sinned, even telling one lie, when facing God in judgment, we will be found guilty and will not be allowed into heaven (Revelation 21:8).

JESUS PAID THE PENALTY FOR OUR SINS BY DYING ON THE CROSS

God cannot simply overlook our sins. We are all guilty and God knew we could not earn our way to heaven by never sinning. The good news is that God loves us and sent Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins (John 3:16). Only Jesus could do that because only he lived a perfect life. This was a great expression of God’s love for us (Romans 5:8). Jesus’ gift for you is that when he died on the cross he paid the penalty for your sins.

THE GIFT FROM JESUS IS RECEIVED BY FAITH

This is an amazing gift from God. Jesus will stand in the courtroom and pay the penalty for all our sins! We could never stand before God in judgment and be found innocent on our own. Jesus stands in our place and we can have a right relationship with God and enter into heaven after we die. This is an incredible gift, but like any gift, it must be accepted before it is ours. The Bible says we must truly believe in God and what Jesus did for us by dying on the cross. The Bible calls that faith, believing God is real and that what he says in the Bible is true (Hebrews 11:1-6). So if you would like to receive God’s gift of forgiveness of sins and spend eternity in heaven, you must receive it by faith. This is critical to your understanding, you cannot earn your way into good favor with God (Ephesians 2:8-9)! Your only hope is to cry out to God by faith and ask him to forgive you of your sins. If you don’t feel you understand or have the faith to do that, explain that to God and ask him to give you faith. Here at Rainbow Hills Baptist Church, we would be glad to help you understand what the Bible says about eternal life.

THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE IS FOR NOW AND ALSO FOR LATER

Your new life with God is not simply a way to get into heaven; it is an amazing relationship with God that we enjoy now. We receive the gift of eternal life by simply believing God and his promises and that is the same way we live our lives now. Believing God and his promises for daily life is what allows us to have a significant and purposeful life now. The gift is not just a future home in heaven; it’s a meaningful life with God now.

CHURCH IS WHAT HELPS US GROW AND UNDERSTAND OUR NEW RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

It is very important that you allow God to lead you to a church that truly believes the Bible and teaches you how to live this new life with him. It’s also where you should find great encouragement and great friends who will walk with you on this journey. The Bible says church is important and is not to be neglected (Hebrews 10:24-25). At Rainbow Hills Baptist Church, we would love to walk with you on this journey and together allow our lives to bring glory to God.

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