Heaven: Which way? How do we get there?

Heaven:
Which way? How do we get there?
By Alvin Mitchell
Copy Right 2005
By Alvin Mitchell

Hi, Amber & Lori:

First, let me say how thrilled we are that you took the time to visit with us today, and that you took the time to respond.

Repent!
God’s Command

The reality is, the first step to getting to heaven is a right relationship with the God of heaven and earth based upon a right relationship to
and understanding of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene. Get to know Him (you cannot get to heaven without Him). Understand Him. Ultimately, this
can only be accomplished with regular, systematic, Bible study. In so doing, we hear Him first issue a command: Repent (Matthew 4:17)! Paul the
apostle, a servant of His sent out to get the ball rolling (so to speak) so that the gospel could be taken into all the world (beyond the land of the Jews),
enlarges upon that simple command slightly in his message to those at Athens, Greece (I believe the 2004 Summer Olympic Games were held there
last year, were they not?), as he points out that while God in times past (that, is before the advent of Jesus Christ) allowed all men to do as
they pleased (without confrontation from Him), He now commands all men everywhere to “repent” (Acts 17:30). Peter and John, following
the lead of their Lord, in Acts 2:38 & 3:19, admonished their hearers to “repent” in the name of Jesus, be converted and baptized (spiritually
identified with Him in His death, burial and resurrection—of which water baptism is only a symbol). In so doing their sins and ours would/will be
forgiven, and we, as did they, will receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God. This is where it all starts, Amber & Lori. The road to
heaven begins with a simple act of obedience to that simple call to “repent”. That said, the implication is clear, is it not girls? If God has issued
an directive, demanding that all men, all around the world, in every time zone, in every jurisdiction, in every circumstance is to “repent”—i.e., have a
change of heart, think differently (about life and living; that is, learn to think God’s thoughts), turn around or away from one’s past life of sin
and rebellion—does this not signify that something then, must be wrong? If something is wrong, what then can it be, you ask wisely?

Again, Paul helps our understanding by calling our attention to the fact that all men—that is, every man, woman, and child ever conceived—are
in God’s eyes guilty of sin (a missing of the “mark”; i.e., we are totally unable to ever live up to His Holy standards, of our own accord—Romans
3:23). Without His correction and guidance, we are capable only of sin and rebellion, and so are worthy only of His rejection. As in the first two
thousand years (or so) of human history, following which mankind was destroyed by God in the waters of the world wide flood, so likewise, the
hearts of men and women since the flood only tend to get worse and worse as time goes on, growing farther and farther away from the things of
God; never closer (Genesis 6:5-13). Like the ancient Jews of Isaiah’s day (64:6), we can justly proclaim before our Holy and just God that “we are
all as foul and unclean things; every righteous deed we do is in His eyes like a woman’s used, filthy menstruation cloths”.   There is none among
all humanity, past present or future, who could or can ever live

life so righteously before God so as to be accepted of Him, of his own merit (Romans 3:9-12). Why is this so, how can it be you ask?

Once more, Paul the apostle comes to our aid by pointing out that our plight, our condition in the Eyes of God is due primarily and precisely to the
fact that we are born of Adam’s race. When he disobeyed God in that Garden of Eden by yielding to the voice of his wife, Eve, who in turn had
already yielded to the voice of the devil working through that serpent, Adam set the tone, if you will, he established a blueprint which defined what all
of his offspring would be like (Romans 5:12-19). That is, the lives and destinies of all six billion (+) people in the world today, as well as all those
who have lived and died before, have been shaped and tainted by that one man’s failure. Therefore, we understand, don’t we ladies, that being as we
are all initially on a path that might lead to any place but to heaven (to eternal hell fire and sulfur, actually), about all we ever had to do, in order “not”
to get to heaven, was be born! Which, then, brings us full circle, doesn’t it?! How then does one get to heaven?

Come!
The Invitation of Christ and of the Holy Spirit

Of this you may be assured, Amber, Lori: no one can, has, or will ever get to heaven by being good, or by simply feeling sorry for sins or
shortcomings, nor will anyone ever get there by joining or becoming a member of a church (whether Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox,
Protestant, Mormon, Muslim, Jehovah’s Witnesses or otherwise). Denominational affiliation will not get a man to heaven. In addition to the
aforementioned command and call to repentance, Jesus also issues this invitation: “Let all who are burdened and troubled by the cares and
concerns of this life come to Me, for I will refresh you (give you rest and refreshment for your souls)” (Matthew 11:28-30; see Side Bar # 2).
He then promises that those taking the time to learn of Him will find the demands and expectations He levies, to be light and easy, thanks to His
meekness, His gentleness and lowliness of heart (or humbleness; that in contrast to the world’s arrogance, its domineering demands, whether
religious, political, or social, whereby it seeks to coerce and squeeze us into its mold, under its control). As then, my young friends, we obey the call
to repentance, and as we accept His open invitation to come, we are urged on from there to the preliminary learning aspect of our heaven bound
journey. It is imperative that all saints understand that God the Father and God the Son fully expect everyone to take seriously the business of
spiritual education and enlightenment, base precisely upon, centered and rooted firmly in the whole Word of God—not simply cute little Jesus
stories, and select biblical anecdotes designed and orchestrated so as to cleverly weed out things deemed undesirable or offensive to our rebellious
human nature (this is a very common practice, in practically all American churches today, where tired, re-cycled and regurgitated sermons—maybe
of a particular type—are the norm; Sunday school and Bible study lessons are often “messed” over, with relish and great delight. In virtually no case
is pastor or teacher intent on making sure that his flock is ever thoroughly acquainted with the whole Word of God—which is His heart’s desire!).
Moreover, during this education process, we are made fully aware of the fact that (among other things) insofar as there are ways that seem or look
right to us all (Proverbs 16:25), we need to be extremely careful, and alert in our daily walk. This is because, contrary to popular misperceptions
being propagated by various denominations and other religions around the world (at this hour), the scriptures (and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself)
teach that all roads do not lead to heaven, or to God—of this, He would have all prospective saints be fully apprised. In fact, it is safe to assert,
per Jesus’ own declarations, that all roads except One lead straight to hell fire and eternal damnation (I might add that this

includes the roads of Catholicism, Mormonism, Jehovah’s witnesses, Islam, and most Protestant denominations, if not all). In Matthew’s gospel,
chapter 7:13, 14, Jesus warns that when we inquire and seek after the road to heaven, we will find ourselves faced, as it were, with a choice
between two gates, each marked “Heaven”, the one being a broad entrance, leading straight to destruction and damnation—it is the one most
pleasing and readily acceptable to the worldly mind which wants to be religious, albeit on its own terms, not Gods; there are and will be a lot of
people marching through this gate (it is the path most traveled; it is the purported path to heaven where men and women are much more ready to
defer to their own thoughts and opinions, ideas and assumptions—beliefs formulated with little regard for solid basis in scripture—about how to relate
to the Almighty, than to the written Word of God itself.). We are told to expect and anticipate that a lot of false prophets (false teachers and
preachers; our churches today are full of them) and, in the end, false Christs or people claiming to be the Christ Himself, will come pandering and
peddling this broad gate (Matt. 7:15-23; 24:23, 24). They do and will always bring something to fit every appetite turned off by the One and only
acceptable alternative in God’s Eyes. Jesus goes on to issue a further statement in warning such that the broad gate, opening up onto the broad way,
will engulf a lot of professing Christians. All of these will be allowed to come before God the Son (the Lamb) at the Great White Throne
Judgment, having the audacity to claim—in some measure, with some degree of justification—to have been very active in His Name (Matt. 7:21-
23). For these “saints”, He has a “canned”, prefabbed greeting: “I have no idea who you folks are; get out of My Sight, out of My Presence,
for your works amount to nothing more than iniquity.”

Side Bar 1

Please note that Jesus is not denying that these folks did what they will be given more than ample opportunity to claim that they did, nor is He denying
that the things they did were done in His Name; the problem for all these spiritual rejects is, because they refused to heed the call to “learn of Me”,
they, therefore, never got to know Him; thus, they failed to realize that there is
man’s prescription for service, and then, on the other hand, there is God’s prescription for service—and that’s the one that counts! It is the one that
prepares one for the next entrance. Kind of lends new meaning to the proverbial expression, “the path of any fool looks right in his own eyes;
but, it is the one who listens to counsel (from God) who is wise—see Proverbs 14:15

The other gate, the Lord says, is constricted, narrow, opening onto the path least followed, not particularly inviting or popular in the eyes of the
masses, yet that is the gate that leads onto the way leading to life eternal in the presence of Almighty God and His Lamb. It is the one after
which you inquire, ladies, whether or not it is the one you want. It is the gate to which the Holy Spirit of God (Rev. 22:17), in concert with the Lord
Jesus (Matt. 11:28-30), invites all who thirst after righteousness and long to know the route to heaven, to “come”. What is this path, you ask, and
how does one get onto it? Listen, “I am the Way, I am the Truth, and I am the Life”, He says in John's gospel, 14:6, “no one can ever get to
the Father except as he first comes through Me”.   How can He speak thus so dogmatically? Why is it necessary, for one to wanting to go the
Heaven, to go through Jesus, you wonder?

The Strait Gate
The narrow road to Heaven

Before God made this world and man upon it, He knew already that man would fall. Therefore, prior to beginning the work of construction, a
plan was laid out. One might say that this plan was at least three pronged, or that it has three phases: phase 1) calls for the construction project to
go ahead, in spite of the fact that it (being perfect and flawless when completed) would fail, due to man’s choice of rebellion, over obedience; phase
2) calls for the rejection and destruction of all that He has done (because of man’s fall), while phase 3) calls for the provision and subsequent,
eventual implementation of a plan of redemption, or salvation whereby all who would accept counsel could be ransomed from this impending
destruction. As a consequence of Adam’s fall, and mankind’s rebellious condition as a result, as noted above, we are told by Paul the Apostle in
Acts 17:31 that "God has set a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness, by the Man whom He has ordained; the assurance of
this having been certified to all men, by the fact that He (God) has raised Him (Jesus the Christ) from the dead". Thus, we see, do we not
ladies, that before there can be any talk of going to heaven, the sin question has first to be dealt with. The price we are told, again by Paul in Romans
6:23, is death (or eternal separation, alive, but away from God, in hell, with no prospect of ever coming near Him again. This is the only way,
personally, that any man born of Adam’s seed, including Adam and Eve themselves, could ever hope to pay the penalty for their sinful condition
before a Righteous and Holy God.). We cannot in anyway, ever, extricate ourselves from the penalty of sin or make ourselves righteous in the Eyes of
Almighty God, so as to be welcomed into heaven. Yet, by God’s design and predetermination, some from the race of men are expected in Heaven.
For and before this can occur though, somebody has or had to pay the debt we all owe (we cannot). This, girls, is where Jesus as the Way, the
Truth, and the Life comes in. He is also called the Lamb of God, who in Himself takes away the sins of the World.

Side Bar 2

It must be noted that “Coming” to Jesus is not, nor was it ever intended to be merely about us, and our salvation. Rather, the call to come is more
about preparation, for service. As God looks out over this lost, sin-laden world, He sees a vast field of otherwise hopeless souls that is ripe for the
harvest. Pray, Jesus says, to the Lord of the harvest (God the Father), for and increase in the labor pool, so that the field of lost ones may be
harvested of those who will hear His call (Matt. 9:36-38). Therefore, it might well be said that the name of the game is the salvation of souls, not
simply the saving of yours. Hence, the “buck” does not stop with you or me, once we are saved. We cannot sit on our “duffs” after being saved,
waiting for the “rapture” to drop in. While it does not automatically follow that you or I will be called to the ministry, to pastor a congregation or to
teach a Sunday school or Bible study class, one upon being saved needs to begin immediately to saturate his mind, his heart and soul, with the Word
of God, desiring it, craving and searching for it as when a new born baby thirsts for its mothers milk (I Peter 2:2; see also Hebrews 5:11-14). For
the new saint this will accomplish several things: 1) it will prepare him and help him to find his place in the church, so that he may be of service, and
properly utilized to his maximum potential, in bringing others to a saving knowledge of Jesus the Christ and thus, into the fold (it is important that all
Christians learn to view and appreciate the fact that the church, an assembly of called out saved souls, is—in the Eyes, heart and hands of the
Almighty—a living organism, having various individual parts, each capable of and fitted for some specific task. No part can ever expect to perform
in accord with the Master’s wish without adequate and proper preparation.), 2) it will provide proper inoculation, that the saint may be able to discern
and withstand the attacks, assaults of the devil (chief adversary of God the Almighty) when he comes (and, oh yes! He will come!) with his own bag
of tricks and traps with which to disrupt the saint’s budding walk, to shake and destroy his faith.

How do we get to heaven, girls? In light of God’s manifest plans, as stated above, and having heard God’s call to repentance, as well as Jesus’
invitation to “come” and having been given ample opportunity to explore the options (broad gate/narrow gate), you begin by recognizing that after
all that there really is nothing we can do to save ourselves. No matter how good we are, repentance alone will never get one into heaven. What
then, must one do?

God will destroy this world, as we know it, as planned. He will destroy mankind in hell fire and sulfur, according as it was predetermined, in
eternity past. However, mankind is not locked into this fate, except by his own stubborn refusal to heed and obey the call to repentance (there are
many who are just that). God has provided a Way of escape. To get to heaven, Amber & Lori, “A man must be born again (from above, that is
in accord with God’s heavenly plan) of Water (Jesus often used water to symbolize the indwelling of the Holy Spirit) and of the Spirit (the Holy Spirit
of God the Father, who comes to take up residence in every heart willing to bow before the Son) in order to see the Kingdom of God (i.e., to get to
Heaven)” (John 3:3-5; 4:10, 14; 7:37-39). This necessitates that we all realize that Jesus Christ the Nazarene is the Way (the embodiment of the
only road or path), the Truth (everything that God as to say about sin and salvation is all wrapped up in Jesus), and the Life (the eternal life that God
offers to all hangs on the name of His only Son), without Whom, no man can ever hope to reach the Father, or to enter Heaven (John 14:6; 1:
4). There is no other road to salvation, as there is no other name outside of Heaven, anywhere among men by which any man could ever be saved
(Acts 4:12). Great, you say? So where do we go from here? Know this, that “God loved the world of men so much that He gave His only Son
(Jesus Christ) that anyone who will put his faith, trust, and confidence, in Him as Lord and Savior, will be delivered from that awful eternal
destruction.” (John 3:16; in that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, this does not mean that God had physical sexual relations with a woman, in this case
Mary, in order to procreate this Son; to get a better idea of how the birth of Jesus came about, visit www.biblestudyhour.net/TheGospelataGlance.
html and www.biblestudyhour.com/Trinity. html; also see www.biblestudyhour.com/Jesus.html). Dr. Luke quotes Peter before Cornelius, a
Roman centurion, and Paul in a Jewish Synagogue in Antioch, Pisidia (as well as from a jail cell in Philippi) as independently making the following
declarations relative to the benefits and perks of belief (faith, trust and confidence; see Side Bar #3) in the Name of Jesus Christ: 1) all who believe
will be blessed with sins remitted (forgiven), 2) those whose sins are forgiven will be saved, and 3) having been forgiven and saved, believers will
then be justified (declared to be righteous) before God (Acts 10:42-43; 16:31; 13:38-39).

Side Bar 3

In addition, it must be borne firmly in mind that the “believer”, per the Mind and economy of God, is not simply one who has faith, trust and
confidence that there is a God or even one God, or, who believes that Jesus was a real person or even the Son of God (God has demons, fallen
spirits who rebelled, along with Satan, who are “believers”, and they do so, or they mix their faith with trembling; see James 2:19; “you believe that
there is only one God”, James says, “so what, or big deal, if it makes no difference in your life”. Jesus makes a similar point in Luke 6:46, when He
queries His followers, “why are you calling me Lord—claiming to ‘believe’—when, in the end, you do nothing I tell you.”). Rather, the “believer”
that God has envisioned here and throughout scripture, is that individual who, having come in repentance and faith, has yielded himself and his life,
committed himself to the things of God so as to be re-commissioned, as it were, into a vessel, fit for the Master’s use. It is this person of whom
God speaks, then, when He says that the one believing will not be destroyed in hell’s eternal flames, as rather he will be given eternal life in Heaven,
because he has believed on the Son (John 3:15, 36). Therefore, then, we join with Paul in proclaiming that there is now no condemnation for anyone
who is in Christ Jesus, who are no longer lead or guided by their old secular appetites, as they are now lead by the Spirit of the God who Himself lives
(Romans 8:1) within us.

“To as many as will receive or believe on His Name, to them God gives the right to be called the Sons of God (John 1:12).”

Works: Apart from God’s plan
Self-effort expressly forbidden

In summation, Amber, Lori, one might say—and that correctly—that road to Heaven is in the finale all about God’s grace and mercy. “For it is by
grace that we are saved, upon the simple cost to us of faith (in what God has done through Jesus Christ), and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of
God, not at all based on our works, so that, and, to the end that none will ever be able to stand before God and boast of how he was able to save
himself” (Ephesians 2:5-9). This instruction, Paul gave to the Christians in the church at place called Ephesus. In a letter to his son in the faith,
Timothy was told similarly that God “saves us and calls us with a calling that is holy, having nothing to do with our works, as rather our salvation
and calling are according to His purpose and grace, bestowed upon us in Christ Jesus, per a plan formulated and implemented before He even made us
or the world in which we live” (II Tim. 1:9). This same apostle wrote to the Thessalonians, informing them that “they too were chosen from the
beginning for salvation via sanctification (state of being set apart) by the Holy Spirit, based only upon their embrace of the Truth, to which they
were called by the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ” (II Thessalonians 2:13, 14). Finally, Paul rounds out the path to Heaven with words
of wisdom penned to another of his young colleagues in the faith when he asserts that it is “not by any works of righteousness we have
performed, as rather it is according to His mercy that He has saved us; by the washing of regeneration, and renewal from the Holy Spirit (who
now lives within our hearts and marks all believers as belonging to God), who has been poured out freely, richly upon us by Jesus Christ our Savior;
so that, as we are now declared to be righteous and having been cleared of all our former guilt, we are now also heirs of the hope of eternal Life”
(Titus 3:5-7; Peter, also an apostle lends support by extending “blessing to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His
mercy, both bountiful and plentiful, has given us new birth to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”—see I Peter 1:
3).

In Conclusion

So, you want to go to Heaven, do you, ladies? Good! God would love to have you there. To get there, remember three things: 1) the command and
call: repent—have a change of heart, turn away from all sin and wrong doing, 2) the invitation: come!—just as you are, in repentance; do not try to
make yourself good enough to be accepted on your own before hand; it will never happen; you can never make yourself righteous enough to be
acceptable, and 3) the Way—there is no path to Heaven apart from Jesus; just any of all roads will not get you into the presence of God on good
terms; there is no other name or alternative way under Heaven by which we can be saved. God has been diligent to warn that many, including
multitudes of those who profess to be Christians, will perish, for all eternity, in hell fire and sulfur (brimstone). But, if you understand this and want
to go to Heaven, Jesus is the Way, He is the Truth, and He is the Life. God does not desire that any should be banished to that Lake of Eternal
Fire. His preference is that all men should repent, and come to a saving knowledge of Jesus the Christ of Calvary (II Peter 3:9). Trust Him today
want you? Simply confess that you are a sinner; acknowledge that you understand that because of your inability to save yourself, you now know
that Christ has already come and paid the penalty you could not pay for your forgiveness before the Father; thank Him for all He has done on your
behalf.

As a model for how to approach God in prayer, use the one given by Jesus to His apostles in Matthew 6:9-13: Our Father in Heaven; Your Name
is Holy; let your Kingdom come; may Your Will be done on earth, as it is done in Heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our
wrongs, as we forgive others, who have wronged us; Lord, do not lead us into temptation, but do delivery us from all evil; for yours is the Kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, for ever, Amen.