R u Saved?

This is such an important question to answer; and yet most of us don't dive into yet, until we are faced with uncertainty or even death. It is amazing then, how we then frantically search for the million dollar question: "When we die, where are we going? ... and more important are we sure of our destination?!"
There is currently a world population of almost 6,3 billion people (2006 estimate). Of this amount, two billion are estimated to be Christians (in name) whilst another One and a half billion are called Muslims. Before we even consider the other religions of the world, there is more than half of the world population that believes not only in God, but also in heaven and hell. It is also worth noting that although Muslims do believe in Heaven and Hell, there is no assurance granted, not even by there prophet Mohammed as to where they will go when they die.
So before we continue, I do believe it is absolutely necessary for you to answer the next question.
I believe I have a _____ % chance of going to Heaven!
I am going to heaven for the following reasons ...
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So what is the purpose of our lives, why have we occupied planet earth and where are we going hereafter? Before we answer these questions, let us first take a look at where we are and how we got here.

The Bible tells us that before man was created, there was a beautiful angelic being called Lucifer. This created being was the prize of God's creation, the most beautiful of all the created beings. Lucifer however, became so proud and arrogant that he wanted to become like God himself. At this point, he got the backing of almost one-third of the total angels created and went to the high heavens to challenge Gods' authority and to rebel against Him. This lead to a major war where he and his angels, (now called demons), were cast out from God's immediate presence. Final judgment was decreed to take part in a day in the future, as God's creation was still not complete. This started the war of attrition of good and evil. But this was not the end of it, as God still had to create the purpose of His entire creation, man! The account in Genesis tells us that it was after the fall of Lucifer, now called Satan, that God decided to create man in His own image. "Own image" is referring to both intellect (the soul) and in terms of Holiness.

The Bible describes how man was in the garden of Eden, naked, but not ashamed, had no concept of sin until Satan, the fallen Chief angel, seized an opportunity to cause enmity between man and God. At this stage we all know that Adam deliberately sinned against God and did the only thing that God told Him not to do. When God saw that man had rebelled against Him, He had no choice but to separate himself from them. You see , the truth is; unlike many of us, God places His word above His name. God had warned that disobedience to Him would result in death as obviously He breathed His life and Spirit into man. Man's task was to be the ruler of His creation. At the time man sinned, the Spiritual communication with God seized and physical death commenced, just like God had forewarned would take place. But things soon went from bad to worse. We read account after account how man had got more and more involved in the very things that God despised. Obviously, it was Satan and his demons that were influencing man's behaviour, but it did not take long for God to pass judgement on the earth, once again, in the form of a flood.

But all along, God had a plan. After the flood, we read on in the Bible how sick the world got and it did not take long before man was plunging into a deep irreversible sinful nature. This is the exact reason why God through a group of people, later known as the Jews, set a plan in motion that would deliver man from their own destruction. According to the Bible, "The wages of sin is death". (Romans 6:23).There is no hope for a future only cruel bondage for those that do not seek the Lord for Salvation. The way to salvation He revealed throughout the Jewish Torah, which we call the Old Testament. An innocent man would have to pay the price for sin, this person was revealed throughout the Old Testament as being the Jewish Messiah. According to the Old Testament, this Messiah would have the origins of God, be placed in a virgins womb showing His supernatural origins, would be innocent and Holy until death, will ensure a Gospel of Salvation is spread throughout the world and would ultimately die staked to a tree. These same scriptures describe how God would raise the Messiah, His own Son, back from the dead and give him everlasting dominium as well as those that rely on Him for Salvation.

Jesus Christ fulfilled these and other prophecies, (more than 260), written hundreds of years apart where He paid the ultimate price for man's sins. The Bible makes it absolutely clear that salvation is a free gift from God. The only requirement is to have a repented heart and to believe in the Son of God for your salvation. There is absolutely nothing else you can do to earn salvation. God gives it to you as righteousness, when you humble yourself, confess your sins and approach Him through the perfect sacrifice that He made to enable you to be right with Him.

"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).

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 NKJV)

You see the truth is God has always set His requirement that in order for you to have salvation and be reconciled with Him, you have to do so through faith. If you do not accept the Son's sacrifice for your life, you fall under the law and your entire life will be judged by the very laws of God. Not only are the ten commandments like giant cannons on judgment day, but also your thoughts and very hidden motives are to be judged by a God who demands Holiness. There is not one of us that can stand before the Living God and be blameless. The scriptures assure us "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)

People confuse God's holiness with His love. His Holiness demands that our sin is punished and does not go unchecked. His love was illustrated in the fact that He did not wipe man out, but himself stepped down from heaven and paid the price for our rebellion. People ask, well why has God not come back yet and judged earth. The truth is that God does not want anyone to perish but to receive salvation through Jesus Christ. If He had to come back any earlier, judgment will have to be passed and millions of people would loose the opportunity of seeing salvation. It is out of His love that He saves you and there is nothing you can do to earn salvation other than accept His terms through faith.

Jesus Christ coined a specific phrase that has shaken many Christian foundations.

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3 NKJV)

And again Jesus re-iterates this in verse 7: "Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’"

Born again does not refer to some whimsical concept of Christians that are all soft, no rather, since our fall into sin in the garden of Eden man's spirit has been separated from God. Being born again is a process where our Spirits are renewed and communication with God can commence. You can call it Spirit regeneration if you like. At the point that you place your complete trust in Christ Jesus, your'e Spirit is regenerated. Jesus himself said that no one can come to the Father, expect through Him. There is no other name on earth by which you can be saved. People ignore these life giving scriptures at their own peral.

The scriptures set the requirements for beings saved:
If you believe in your heart that Christ died for your sins and confess with your mouth that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
No If's or buts, remember it is a gift from God. Believing in your heart is not just left to some allusion, but rather God provided all the evidence in His great book, the Bible. In it, is recorded the words of God spoken by men throughout many years. For many trials, tribulation and temptations we face today, He provided us with answers. It is up for us to seek the Lord. The scriptures assure us, that if we seek Him He will find us.

How about asking the Lord to be your Master and Saviour?
... Unfortunately, there is no other option. By choice we all determine our future.
So, where are you going?
Are you sure?

Scripture quotations marked " NIV " are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version.