I've heard it, you've heard it....unless you are living under a rock, rumor has it that the world is "going to end" on Friday, December 21,2012, due to the Mayan calendar not continuing. This has people up in arms, in a media frenzy, and as usual has people talking at the water cooler and on lunch hours about what is going to happen.
It honestly brought one question to my mind to ask you: If the end of the world is happening on Friday, will you be heading to Heaven or Hell? If you could know with certainty, wouldn't you want to?
Many have spent decades trying to be good enough to get into Heaven, but the truth is that no one is righteous, not one according to Romans 3:10.
For all of us have sinned and is separated from God, and the result of that sin is punishment. (Romans 3:23). The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).
By accepting Jesus as your savior, believing in faith and His sacrifice, you can be saved from Hell (Romans 5:8).
You many be thinking that you have done too much "wrong" in your life and you have sinned too much, but 2 Corinthians 5:21 states that God made Him who had not sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God, (or be a sin offering).
The only sin bad enough to keep you from Heaven is rejecting Jesus Christ.
If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord", and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.(Romans 10:9-10).
So you are made free from the laws of sin and death according to Romans 8:1-2, because there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.
You may feel that you have been a good person, or will try to be good, doing many good deeds in life, and that will provide your entry way into Heaven, but its just not true. Unfortunately, there are some good people in Hell. Ephesians 2:8-9 says "For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. God is not looking for works. All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. (Isaiah 64:6)
1 John 5:13 says "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may KNOW that you have eternal life". So you can KNOW!! Wouldn't you want to know??
No amount of good works will get you one inch closer to Heaven because Jesus is the only way. John 14:6 says "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you would like to have hope, know with certainty where you are going to go "If the world ends", and want to start a new life, pray this prayer of confession and believe it in your heart:
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I believe that He rose on the 3rd day. I want Jesus to be ruler of my life, and I believe that what Jesus did makes me a new creation. Amen.
If you prayed that prayer and truly believe it in your heart, then you are saved.
I am thankful for all Jesus has done in my life and will continue to do. I am not concerned about "the end of the world", because if it were to happen, I know where I will be, as well as many family members and friends. Unfortunately I cannot say that about all of my family, friends, and people I know. Only God truly knows what it in your heart and what you truly believe.
As for the end of the world... First of all, 2 Timothy 1:7 says "For God does not give us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." The Bible also clearly states in Matthew 24:36 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."
