Is the grace of God the only way to heaven, and what does the word grace mean?

My understanding of accepting grace means knowing when I die, I am going to heaven, and nothing can stop me. God says in his word that when we are absent from our body, we are present with the Lord.

There are four different ways people think that they can get to heaven.

1. I am a good person, so I am going to heaven.

Being a good person is the most common idea that people have. Thinking because they help the poor and are kind to everyone they meet, they will go to heaven when they die. Saying they keep the ten commandments is the main reason they think they have earned their passage to heaven.

2. Everyone is going to heaven.

Some people think that God would never condemn anyone to hell so everyone will be in heaven. It doesn’t matter if they are good people or not. These kinds of people live their lives doing whatever they want, not caring if they are kind or generous, believing that heaven is everyone’s home at the end of days.

3. I accepted Jesus as my Savior, and through grace, I am going to heaven, but only if I continue to be a good person.

Many people believe that they have to be good, even though Jesus has accepted them into His kingdom through grace. Some volunteer for every function that the church has, and they try to keep all ten of the commandments. They give enormous amounts of money to the church, the poor, and charities. They think if they do all of these wonderful things that they will make it to heaven.

4. I believe Jesus died for me, and through His grace, I am going to heaven.

This group believes that Jesus died on the cross to forgive everyone for their sins, and when they accept His grace by making Him the Lord and Savior of their life, they will go to heaven. Trying to earn their way to heaven is not even on their radar, although they live their lives in a godly fashion because they know this is God’s wish. In their hearts, they love living this way. Pleasing the Father by loving him and loving others as He commands in the Bible becomes their greatest desire.

So which of these groups will be in heaven?

Since grace IS the only way to heaven, groups 3 and 4 will be in heaven.

Group 4 because this is the absolute correct way to get to heaven. Group 3 because they believe that Jesus died on the cross to forgive them of their sins and offered them grace, which they accepted. Even though they think they need to do good works to secure their place in heaven, the most crucial part is that they already asked Jesus to be Lord of their life, although their good deeds will earn them rewards in heaven, which is entirely different than salvation.

Here is another example of who will be in heaven by comparing two very different people.

The first man is a murderer. Let’s say he never lived his life for God, and his parents were drug addicts and alcoholics, and so was he. This man never helped the poor, and he never went to church or read his Bible. He was in and out of prison several times, and he started riots every time he was in prison.

Let’s say he is not remorseful for the murder he committed, and he is not a nice person. But one day, a preacher comes to visit the prisoners, and this man hears about Jesus dying on the cross and offering grace to everyone who will accept it. He chooses to make Jesus His Lord and Savior. He starts reading his Bible and praying every day while telling his fellow inmates about God’s love so they can know God too.

The second man is the son of a preacher and became a Christian at a very young age. He goes to church every Sunday and has since he was born. He is now a preacher just like his dad, and he leads small groups during the week. Every morning he prays and reads his Bible and helps the needy.

The pastor visits prisons every week, and he meets my son’s murderer. He shares the gospel with him and prays for him. The murderer chooses to become a Christian. The Christian murderer goes on to lead other people to the Lord, and they become Christians too.

Which of these two men got to heaven by grace?

BOTH of them. Which one did it take less grace to save? Neither one of them. We all need the grace of God to get to heaven, and he offers it to all, but we must accept it.

Grace is a free gift.

Grace does not require us to do anything other than accept this free gift by placing our faith in Jesus. There aren’t any deeds good enough in the eyes of our perfect Savior that will allow us to earn our way to heaven.

What is the full definition of grace, and how is the grace of God the only way to heaven?

God’s grace is an unearned, undeserved, and unconditional gift that is infinite. God loves us regardless of what we do or don’t do, and He doesn’t have any limitations on this gift. His love for us is unlimited, something most of us can’t fathom.

God had to offer His son, Jesus, as a sacrifice on the cross so that Jesus could take on all the sins of humanity that accept him as Savior. God does not limit offering grace to anyone, but you still have to choose to receive this gift.

The fruits of this gift will not happen until you die when you are united with God in heaven for all eternity.

Many of us feel like we don’t deserve grace, but if God can use the Apostle Paul, He can use you too. Paul persecuted Christians before God called him to become an apostle. Paul approved the stoning of the first Christian martyr, Stephen. When Paul was traveling to Damascus, the Lord asked him why he was persecuting him. This was the beginning of Paul’s conversion to becoming an apostle.

God uses a Christian persecutor to lead people to Christ.

If God can use a Christian persecutor like Paul, he can use any of us to serve His purpose. Accepting His grace is the first step to see where God will use you.

Paul went on to have outstanding accomplishments for the Lord. It became his life mission to bring the gospel to the Gentiles, take several missionary journeys, and start numerous churches. Unlike most people, God gave Paul the power to raise someone from the dead. Paul also wrote many books in the Bible.

Grace is the only way to heaven, but you must accept the free gift.

Imagine you’ve always dreamed of living in a big beautiful mansion on a private island. You wake up late Christmas morning to the delicious smell of turkey cooking that your wonderful husband made while he let you sleep. You opened all of your presents the night before because that’s when you celebrate with your family. Walking into the living room, you see your gorgeous Christmas tree.

Upon noticing a gift under the tree, you ask your husband where the gift came from, and he says it was just delivered. It has your name on it, but there isn’t a card, so you don’t know who sent the gift.

Its sparkling gold wrapping paper makes this the prettiest gift you have ever received. You love it so much that you choose not to open it. You misplace the gift when you put your decorations away, but you later find out that the gift contained a deed, in your name, for a beautiful island with a new mansion built just for you. All you had to do was accept the gift before the deadline on New Year’s Eve.

Do you wish you would’ve opened the gift?

It’s the same way with grace. It is a free gift, and all you have to do is accept the gift that God offers to everyone. Then you will get to spend eternity in heaven where God has prepared a place just for you.

But like the Christmas gift, there is a deadline. We only have until our last breath to accept Jesus’ generous gift of eternal life.

A SINNER’S PRAYER:

Dear Jesus, I believe in you. I believe you are the Son of God, that you died for my sins, and that you were buried and rose again as written in the Bible. Please come into my heart so I can have eternal life. Fill me with the Holy Spirit and help me to live the way you want me to live. Forgive me for my past sins. Guide me in my future so that I can live my life for You. Amen.

Will you choose the grace of God, which is the only way to heaven? I challenge you to have faith now.