One New Man

Chapter 1
Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do you know for certain that if you were to die today you would go to heaven?
O Yes
O No
O I don’t know
If your answer is not a resounding and confident ‘Yes’ to that question, you probably should read on.
2. Do you think that you deserve heaven?
O Yes
O No
O I don’t know
If your answer is not a resounding and confident ‘No’ to that question, you probably should read on.
3. Have you ever committed any sin or sins in your life?
O Yes
O No
O I don’t know
If your answer is not a resounding and confident ‘Yes’ to that question, you should read what the Bible has to say in Romans 3:23. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (NKJV)*
4. Does God require you to be sinless to get into his heaven?
Yes, and again I say Yes. God requires you to be sinless. God says in Ezekiel 18:4, “The soul who sins shall die” and again in Matthew 5:48, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
That is an impossible requirement since you and I are already sinners. We know that all have sinned because all have died in the past, or are going to die in the future. Even those who are yet to be born. We are doomed to go to hell.
5. Who is God, or rather what are some attributes of God?
He is all-powerful. He created the world and everything in it by just speaking.
He is all-knowing. He knows all of the past, present, and future about everything.
He is all-present. He is everywhere all the time.
He is just, holy, righteous. A just God - Isaiah 45:21; God is holy - Leviticus 11:44; The Lord is righteous - Zephaniah 3:5
He is merciful, gracious, loving. The Lord being merciful - Genesis 19:16 & Exodus 34:6; God is love - I John 4:16.
6. Will God let human sinners into heaven?
Yes and No. Yes, if you have the correct credentials. No, if you don’t.
7. What are the correct credentials?
"He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." Mark 16:16.
8. What must we believe?
Believe in God’s Son, Jesus the Christ.
God tells us in John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” And again, God says in Luke 9:35, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”
9. Who is Jesus?
The beloved Son of God - but He is much more. Jesus is God (John 1:1 & 1:14 and John 10:30.)
Job was complaining about his lot in life. “For God is not a man, as I am, that I may answer Him, and that we should go to court together. Nor is there any mediator between us, who may lay his hand on us both.” Job 9:32-33. But Job was wrong.
Jesus is the Man. The God Man. He is the Mediator between God and man. He is the Seed promised to Adam and Eve after they fell into sin (Genesis 3:15). He is the Prophet promised to Moses after the Exodus (Deuteronomy 18:15). He is the King promised to David that would reign forever (II Samuel 7:12). He is the Good Teacher from God (John 3:2).
Jesus Christ lived the perfect, sinless life that we couldn’t. He died on the cross for our sins by crucifixion and was buried. After three days he rose again to defeat sin, death, and the devil for us.
10. So, what does heaven cost me?
Nothing. That’s right. Nothing. Zilch. Heaven is a free gift.
You can not work your way into heaven otherwise it wouldn’t be free.
God offers us the free gift of heaven to whosoever believes in Jesus. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9. And in Romans 6:23 He puts it this way, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
11. What is grace and faith?
Grace is simply defined by an acronym: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense
Faith is the key that opens the door to heaven.
Faith is not merely an intellectual awareness of a historical fact. For example, a certain man called Jesus lived 2000 years ago. The Bible teaches us that even the devil believes in Christ in this way and he shutters. But that won’t do. Nor is it temporal faith. Some people trust in Christ for temporal things of life, such as good health, or their children’s well-being, or their finances, or strength, or guidance - the things that have to do only with this life that we live right here.
Faith is trusting Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Jesus is the Savior of our souls.
12. Where do we get this faith?
From Jesus. Pray to Jesus for faith to believe. Just ask Jesus to forgive your sins, all those sins that you have ever committed and even those sins that you don’t remember, and invite Jesus to come into your life and to be your teacher and the Lord of your life. The words aren’t so important but that they come from the heart. I have copied a prayer for this occasion.
Lord Jesus, I want you to come in and take over my life right now. I am a sinner. I have been trusting in myself and my own good works. But now I place my trust in you. I accept you as my own personal Savior. I believe you died for me. I receive you as Lord and Master of my life. Help me to turn from my sins and to follow you. I accept the free gift of eternal life. I am not worthy of it but I thank you for it. Amen.
If you prayed this prayer and meant it then read John 6:47.

Now, how would you answer the first three questions on this web page?
* If you don’t have a Bible you can get a copy of the King James Version on-line from <http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/kjv.browse.html>. I have used the New King James Version here. There is little difference between the KJV and the NKJV except the KJV uses some archaic language.