By Frieda Cowling
Schererville, IN
My husband and I used to travel each summer with the Songs of Praise, a girls’ tour group from Hyles-Anderson College. We were driving through New Orleans, Louisiana, and my husband decided to let us ride the streetcar through the Garden District along St. Charles Avenue from Tulane University to Canal Street. The man driving the streetcar was named Robert, and as we got on, he wanted to know why the girls were all dressed alike. I explained that they were a singing group. “Would you like to hear a song?” I asked.
Robert said, “Yes,” so the girls sang for him.
When they finished, I asked him, “Do you know for sure you are going to Heaven some day?”
“No,” he replied.
On the streetcar, there was a rail behind the driver’s seat which prevented me from sitting, so I stood beside him and began to share the the Romans’ Road plan of salvation.
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Every time the streetcar would stop, I would wait until he took money or punched the tickets, and then continued. Robert seemed eager to hear, so when I finished sharing the Scriptures, I said, “Robert, if you would accept the gift of eternal life, pray this prayer after me—but please don’t close your eyes!” He prayed to receive the gift of eternal life.
As we got off the streetcar, I gave him a picture of the girls which he promptly put in the streetcar window for all to see. “Thank you for making this day one I will never forget,” he said.
If you, like Robert, are unsure of the fact that you can also have a Home in Heaven someday, please read the following verses carefully. If you do what the Bible says, you can know for sure that you would go to Heaven when you die!
The Bible says in I John 5:13, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” All you have to know are four facts.
First, you must accept that you are a sinner. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) No one is perfect. No one has lived up to God’s perfect standard.
Second, you must accept that as a sinner you owe a penalty. “For the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23a) “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4) This death is described in the Bible as the second death, the lake of fire. “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” (Revelation 20:14)
If we pay what we owe as sinners, we must spend an eternity in the lake of fire (Hell).
Third, you must accept that Jesus Christ has already paid our sin debt. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Christ was not a sinner, and the Bible teaches that God took all of our sin and placed it on Christ. While Christ was bearing all of our sins in His own body, God punished Him in our place to pay the debt we owe. This is not something God promised to do. It is something God has already done. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) It is a fact; Jesus Christ has already paid your sin debt.
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Fourth, you must accept by faith what Jesus Christ did for you. Ninety times in the Gospel of John the Bible says, “believe.” The word believe means to trust, to depend on, to rely on. To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ means that you accept the fact that you are a sinner, that as a sinner you owe the sin penalty, and that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the debt you owe. But it means going one step further. It means that you will completely trust Christ to get you to Heaven—that you will put the matter of your salvation in His hands and depend on Him for everlasting life. The moment you do this, God promises you will have everlasting life and that you shall never perish. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
Since Jesus would be willing to take you just the way you are, wouldn’t you be willing to receive Jesus as your Saviour right now?
Praying does not take anyone to Heaven, but receiving Jesus gives you eternal life in Heaven. If you would like to receive Jesus as your Saviour, then sincerely tell Jesus something like this:
“Dear Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and I deserve to pay my own sin debt, but I do believe that You died for me to pay the debt that I owe. Today, the best I know how, I trust You as my Saviour. I will depend on You from this moment on for my salvation. Forgive me of my sins. I trust You today, Jesus, and only You, to take me to Heaven when I die. Thank You for saving me. Amen.”
According to the Bible, if you were to die today, you would go to Heaven because in John 3:36 the Bible says, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.”
If you trusted Christ today, please contact us so we can rejoice with you!
For those of you who have received Jesus as your Saviour, I would encourage you to always be on the lookout for folks that are ready to get saved. Not everyone is, but God could use you to plant a seed. If you’re too shy or uncomfortable, start by passing out tracts. It’s an easy way to be a witness and I have heard plenty of testimonies where folks got saved from reading a Gospel tract. Jesus’ most important and last commandment before He left this earth was to be a soul winner and it’s so sad how many Christians ignore it. Don’t stand at the judgment empty-handed, be a witness!
