What will happen to you when you die? Are you confident of your eternal destiny? Is there life after death? These very important questions are answered in God's Word, the Bible. The Bible teaches some very important things regarding this matter of eternal life.

Before looking at how to have eternal life, it is important to understand a little bit of history. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genenis 1:1 NASB). As part of creation God made the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, and gave them one rule: don't eat of the tree in the middle of the garden of Eden (the place He made for them to live in). But they violated that rule and as a result every one of us born into the world are sinners (Genesis 3:1-19; Romans 5:12).

The Bible teaches we cannot earn our way to heaven by being good, going to church, being baptized, following the 10 commandments (an impossibility, really), or not doing anything really bad. In fact, God views all the good things we do like a dirty piece of clothing (Isaiah 64:6). We could never be good enough to get to heaven because God's standard is perfection (Matthew 5:48).

So how do you get eternal life if you cannot earn it? By grace. By God's undeserved goodness to us. The Bible teaches in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (NASB). It is by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that we may be saved (Ephesians 2:8). But you must be willing to follow Jesus Christ and not go your own way, not live life your own way. This is what the Bible calls "repentance." You must repent of--be willing to turn from--your sin and you must trust in Christ for your salvation. Mark 1:15 puts it this way: "Repent and believe in the gospel." The gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ came to this earth and died for the sins of all of mankind. He took our punishment on Himself. In fact, He was killed on an instrument of amazing cruelty, a Roman cross, and in so doing experienced the very wrath of God on our behalf. He did all of this because He loves us. The Bible puts it this way: "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8 NASB). Then on the third day, Jesus rose again from the dead proving that God had accepted Jesus' sacrifice for our sins.

What do you have to do to get eternal life, to be saved? "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31 NASB). "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9 NASB). Trust or place your confidence in Christ while at the same time purposing to repent and follow Christ, and you will receive eternal life, you will be saved. If you've made that decision, we'd love to help you to grow in your Christian walk. Simply contact us and we will help you get connected with a Bible-believing church in your area. If you're in the Peoria area, we'd love for you to grow in your walk right here with us at Emmanuel Baptist Church.

If you've not made that decision, we urge you to do so today. "Behold, now is 'THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,' behold, now is 'THE DAY OF SALVATION' (2 Corinthians 6:2 NASB).

May God bless you as you seek Him.