What Will Save You from Hell?

Having written on how to avoid the unforgivable sin, what must we do to be saved from an eternity of agony and separation from God? We must surrender to the rule of Christ in our lives.

The first step is to beg the Lord for his forgiveness. This is called repentance. As Peter said in Acts 2:38 (KJV), "Then Peter said unto them, 'Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.'"

Baptism is an outward display to the world that you have died to your old life and are now following Christ. As Paul pointed out in Romans 6:4 (KJV), "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

The next step is to be witnesses for Christ. This means that we proclaim the good news of salvation to all who will listen to us. This is called by Christians The Great Commission. As Christ told his disciples in Acts 1:8 (KJV), "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

As we live and obey our Lord, we become sanctified. This means that we become set apart so we will be devoted servants to God. In turn, he provides us with what we need to live. As Christ promised in Matthew 6:33 (KJV), "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his  righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

Salvation is such a vast subject that a single blog post can't do it proper justice. This is why I'm writing a book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Many professors of Christianity have never surrendered their lives to Jesus and will be in deep trouble on the day of judgement.

Is it Too Late to Repent?

If you're still alive, it isn't too late to repent of your wicked ways and follow Christ. Many people think they can't be forgiven because they've done such horrible things. The good news is that Christ will NEVER turn away ANYBODY who begs his forgiveness.

Believe it or not, some of the worst people in history have been forgiven. Even the Bible shows a long list of rogues who put their trust in the Lord.

Moses was a murderer. He killed an Egyptian task master for violently beating a Hebrew slave. He went from being an adopted prince to a fugitive, then he became the deliverer of the Israelites.

King David raped Bathsheba and arranged for her husband to be killed in battle. David abused his power as king but because he tearfully repented, the Lord forgave him. The son born to Bathsheba died but the king realized that he would go to be with him someday in heaven.

I could list others, such as a murderous religious fanatic named Saul who later became Paul the apostle, but this post would become far too long. Suffice it to say that God is exceptionally patient and desires that nobody go to hell. Instead, he has magnanimously allowed us to choose our eternal destination.

Though I repented and gave my life over to Christ in 1969, Nobody mentored me. After fifteen years in a cult and nine years of rejecting God, he providentially led me to the truth. Contact me about the memoir I wrote called How I Was Razed.

Why Does God Allow War?

"If your God is so great, why doesn't he stop wars?" This is a question even I have asked Christians at one point in my life. With all his reputed power, so it seemed to me, he could easily destroy wicked leaders and others who rouse the rabble into an insane frenzy of blood lust.

Is it really God's fault that people are wicked. In the second chapter of the Epistle of James, he wrote that we are led by our lusts into sin and it eventually leads to death. God tempts no one. Satan and human pride team up to unleash hell on earth. God does guide historical events but he respects the right he gave us to choose good or evil.

It's like those vinyl records with two or more tracks on one side. Mad Magazine released a flexi disk with six endings to a song. Depending on the physical forces acting upon the needle, the song often ended differently each time it was played. This is what God's permissive will is like, except there are only two endings. Either we go with him and live eternally in heaven or go with the Devil and suffer eternally in hell.

So how do you get your "needle" into the right groove? Surrender the running of your life to Jesus Christ. Ask his forgiveness for all the rebellious acts in your past and become his follower. Be baptized, as Peter said in the second chapter of The Acts of the Apostles. Then meet with devoted followers of Christ to study Christ's teachings with the goal of becoming like him.

The reason I stress discipleship is because I received none after surrendering my life to Christ. Knowing nothing of cults, I joined a toxic church and suffered their abuse for fifteen years. Click on How I Was Razed to read about the memoir I wrote regarding how God freed me. Contact me or comment here for details on purchasing this glorious testimony.

WHAT IS GOD REALLY LIKE?

Is God some sort of cosmic bully who demands to be loved or he'll send people to eternal torment in hell? This is what most non-Christians believe. Having been both a Christian and an atheist, I understand the misunderstanding that many people have toward the creator of the universe. Thanks to wise Bible teachers, I now comprehend who God really is and why he created hell for those who insist in refusing his generous offer of salvation.

Contrary to what God-hating people claim, the Lord has made his presence plain through his creation. Romans 1:20-21 says, "For from the first making of the world, those things of God which the eye is unable to see, that is, his eternal power and existence, are fully made clear, he having given the knowledge of them through the things which he has made, so that men have no reason for wrongdoing: Because, having the knowledge of God, they did not give glory to God as God, and did not give praise, but their minds were full of foolish things, and their hearts, being without sense, were made dark."

But God didn't leave us without help or hope. ? Jesus said in John 3:16-19   "For God had such love for the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever has faith in him may not come to destruction but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to be judge of the world; he sent him so that the world might have salvation through him. The man who has faith in him does not come up to be judged; but he who has no faith in him has been judged even now, because he has no faith in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the test by which men are judged: the light has come into the world and men have more love for the dark than for the light, because their acts are evil."

Right from the start, humans chose to rebel against their maker rather than obey him. History shows how people choose wickedness rather than obeying the Lord. Furthermore, children are an apt example of how humanity is born depraved. After all, parents never have to teach children how to be bad whereas obedience needs to be taught.

Additionally, people suppress the truth to keep their consciences blind. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 1:21-22, " Because, having the knowledge of God, they did not give glory to God as God, and did not give praise, but their minds were full of foolish things, and their hearts, being without sense, were made dark. Seeming to be wise, they were in fact foolish,"
 This shows that everybody knows that there's a creator but they dismiss the knowledge from their minds.

So we can see by this, and many other scripture verses, that God doesn't want people to go to hell but he does respect our choices. If he didn't, we all would be in eternal torment. C. S. Lewis said that believers say "Thy will be done," to God whereas he says to unrepentant folks "Thy will be done." In other words, people volunteer to go to hell.

I wrote about how I came to know God as a loving heavenly father in How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity. Read more about this inspiring testimony at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Virtual Bookworm Publishers.

A PRODIGAL SON RETURNS.

Most people know the parable of the prodigal son, the younger of two brothers who blew his inheritance through riotous living but was welcomed back by his father. I had a similar experience in my life when I turned my back on God for nine years. I wrote about how the Lord accepted me back in How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity. Below is a sample from that book which tells of my tearful repentance.

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While I unpacked the food and kitchen items at four-thirty, the floor began to vibrate. I followed the gut-curdling rumble to the French doors in the living room and discovered - to my horror - the noise came from the residents' cars as each one drove into the parking lot. Though my unit stood two-hundred feet or more from the avenue, the rush hour traffic din likewise penetrated my home. "I can't understand it," I muttered as I stared in disbelief. "Both times I was here, it was dead quiet."

More unpleasant surprises came my way that evening. As I made my bed after supper, loud rock music bore its way through the bedroom wall. "That real estate jerk lied to me," I sputtered as I comprehended the flimsy nature of the condos. "He said the walls were soundproof." I pounded on the wall with my fists, but the neighbour had cranked the volume far too high to notice.

The enormity of my blunder overwhelmed me. Instead of one noisy family, many boisterous residents now surrounded me. Rather than being somewhat insulated by the spaces between houses, I could hear common sounds, such as flushing toilets and closing doors, without effort.

I sat down on my bed and wept. "Lord Jesus," I prayed, then paused. I sensed the same spiritual stiffness I felt in that Portland hotel room three years earlier. "I'm so sorry for turning my back on you. Please forgive me. I've made a huge mess of things with this condo and I'm so sorry. I've squandered Dad's inheritance money and now I don't even have that house anymore. I made a mess of everything. Lord, I give you control of my life again. Please help me out of this condo mess."

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I wrote extensively about that house church in my newly-published memoir, How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity. Please check it out at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Virtual Bookworm.