There are many important decisions to be made in this life; however, there is no decision greater than a person’s decision about his eternal destiny. The truth is that every person will choose in this temporal life where he will spend eternity.

God created mankind for the purpose of having a personal relationship with Him. The Bible says in Genesis 2:7, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” A living soul means that man became an eternal being. God gave only one commandment to Adam, and it was that he not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Along with that one commandment, God also gave the consequence of disobedience to this commandment: “for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.”

We find that when they did eat of that tree, God’s word of truth came to pass, and they died after many years. However, there was an immediate consequence to their disobedience; the exact day that they ate of the tree, they died “spiritually.” To die spiritually means to be separated from God. Adam and Eve then had a “sin nature”; they were no longer the perfect creation that God had originally intended. God drove man out of His presence. The reason for this separation is that God is holy and righteous. Psalms 5:4 states, “For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.”

Now fast forward to the present time where we live. Because of the sin of our original parents, we too have inherited the same sin nature. Romans 5:12 says, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” This verse declares that we are accountable to God just as Adam was. And as Adam was banished from God’s presence over one sin, how many more times have we disobeyed God’s commands? Just the same as Adam was at the beginning, we too have been condemned for our sins. And if a person dies in this state of condemnation before God, then for all of eternity, that person will be condemned. Revelation 21:27 states, “And there shall in no wise enter into it (heaven) any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie.” However, the desire of God is that we would have a personal relationship with Him, not only in this life but for all eternity. II Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” So to bridge the gap between Himself and us, God had a plan of salvation which would need to be done by God Himself on our behalf.

Because man was condemned to death, Jesus mercifully paid the penalty for him. This is what the Bible refers to as the grace of God. God’s grace is giving us something we don’t deserve, and this grace is a gift from God. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” This gift allows us to be forgiven of our sins. To receive God’s plan of salvation, you need by faith to ask Jesus Christ to come into your life as Lord and Savior. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12) When one trusts Christ for salvation, he is giving up his own efforts and self-righteousness to get to heaven. The Bible says in 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.” With this one verse, Jesus eliminated all other avenues to reach the Father who is in heaven. This includes trusting a particular religion to get to heaven. Is there a time in your life that you realized you were a condemned lost sinner in need of a Savior - not only for eternal life, but for an everyday personal relationship with God? This is the decision you need to make! Romans 10:9-10,13, “ That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation... For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”