Our Heavenly Father's Greatest Gift.

I think there is a common misconception that the pathway leading to heaven consists of one thing, and one thing only.  Although in a way this belief is true, it is also false (I didn't know that was possible, but it is).  

Let's test what you know...

True or false: Christ is the only way to heaven.

The answer is true.

There is only one way to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ.  

John 14:6   "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

True or false:  If you lead a good life you will go to heaven.

The answer is false.

Ephesians 2:8-9  "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast."

Many people use this scripture and scriptures similar to this to validate their laziness and worldliness.  Sure, the bible does clearly state that to enter heaven we must accept Jesus as Lord, but so many people seem to overlook all of the scripture that tell us that good works accompany faith.  

It is my personal belief that if you are truly saved, you will want to do the works of Christ.  You will want to attend church, tithe, pray, read the bible, and shout from the roof that you have a Savior.  Unfortunately, many people walk down the aisle at church, say a prayer quoted by a preacher, get baptized, and go on living the same life that they were living prior to accepting Christ into their lives.  

Why is it that we overlook scripture such as James 2:17?

"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."

"You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone." James 2:24

Matthew 19:17 is another example where the importance of doing good things is mentioned.  The story goes like this...there was a rich young ruler who wanted to know what he had to do to enter the kingdom of heaven.  Christ responds by telling him that "There is only One Who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."  As you can see, along with knowing and accepting Him, keeping the commandments was also mentioned. 

I believe that the first step to salvation is accepting Christ as your personal savior.  When you do this, you ask forgiveness of your sins and repent, meaning turning away from those sins and striving not to make the same mistakes again.  Baptism is the next step.  Christ was baptized and we are to use his baptism as an example of what we should do.  The final step is a continuous one that never ends and that is furthering your relationship with Christ.  This can be done through prayer, reading of the scripture, attending worship services, fasting, witnessing, and any other way you can think of.  If you are sincere about accepting Christ as your personal savior, all of the other steps should fall into place. They should be things that you long to do and enjoy doing.  Good works accompany faith.  If your life is filled with wordly acts, maybe you should rethink where you stand in your relationship with Christ.  You never know when your last day on earth may be.  Don't sit around thinking that you can become a better person tomorrow.  You may not have tomorrow.