You Don't Have To Go To Heaven!
No one can make you go to heaven. You won't be dragged
into heaven kicking and screaming. No matter how hard people try to get
you to go, God won't let it happen if you don't want it to. Many of you
would rather sleep an extra hour or two on Sunday morning than worship God.
You're an adult. No one can make you acknowledge God's existence against
your will. So, if you'd rather not get involved in spiritual matters--if
you'd rather not worship your Creator--God won't make you. If you'd rather
ignore the sacrifice that Jesus made for you when he died for your sins, you
can. No one is stopping you.
If you're one of those who likes to drink alcohol or have sexual
relations outside of marriage, God isn't going to make you stop. He'll let
you behave the way you want to while you're alive. Maybe you had to live
by your parents' strict rules when you were younger, but not now. No!
No one can make you stop living a sinful life.
That's the thing about serving God--it's completely up to us.
It's a choice we're allowed to make. We don't have to do it. God
doesn't force anyone to serve Him. In fact, God doesn't force anyone to do
anything. He gave humans free will. He allows us to choose what to
do with our lives. So, if you like cussing, telling dirty jokes and
ripping out vulgar words, God won't stop you from doing it, even though He hates
filthy speech.
Your mother mat have tried to teach you the Bible when you were
young but you don't don't have to listen to her anymore. Maybe a preacher
has talked to you about your soul, but now that you're grown, you can ignore
him. Besides, you probably think it's none of his business what you do
with your life. Maybe your spouse has begged you to attend Bible study and
worship, or give up sinful activities. But, hey, you're your own person
now. No one can tell you what to do.
Now, I know what you may be thinking. You think, "Well,
maybe I do some of those things, but I'll still make it to heaven." First
of all, if you don't want to worship God, if you don't much care for Bible
study, and if you like dabbling in sin, why would you want to go to heaven?
Heaven is a spiritual place with spiritual activities. Those who go to
heaven will spend their time praising God and that sounds a lot like worship.
And there certainly won't be ant drinking, womanizing, and carousing in heaven.
No filthy language will be allowed. That doesn't sound like your kind of
place.
And second, you can't have your cake and eat it too. God
lets you choose to live the way you want in this life, and He lets you choose to
spend eternity in hell. How you live while you are alive determines you
soul's destiny. God demands total devotion to Him in this life if we want
to spend the next life with Him. In Luke 9:23 Jesus says that anyone who
follows Him must deny himself every day. That means we have to suppress
fleshly desires that keep us from doing what He says. It means we have to
follow Him completely - not when it's convenient or when we feel like it.
It meant we can't pick and choose which parts of His word to obey. It
means total devotion.
In Luke 9:24, Jesus sums it up. He says that if we follow our
own desires, we'll lose our soul. But if we live completely for Him in
this life, we'll gain eternal life. The choice is up to you. It's up
to each of us. Jesus paid the price. The way of salvation has been
revealed. Now we have to decide whether we'll live for Him in this life,
or whether we'll live for ourselves. No one can make you serve God, and no
one can make you go to heaven. But on Judgment Day, will those who tried
to get you to live right enter into eternal rest and joy while you descend into
everlasting torment and sorrow? Don't let that happen. Choose to
serve God now!