Earl D. Reed
Someone wrote to Billy Graham and asked “What does it take to get into heaven”? This is the question of the ages! This is the one thing that, if missed, will make all of life worthless! How did Mr. Graham answer? From the word of God, the Bible? In part, but his final answer was no where to be found in Holy Scripture. In his answer, he stated:
Only one thing will keep us out of heaven: our sin. One reason is because sin is rebellion against God (emphasis mine, EDR), and there can be no room in heaven for a rebellious attitude. God in His love, offers us salvation as a free gift—free, because Christ paid for it with His blood. By a simple prayer of faith, ask Christ to come into your life and save you, and He will. Then become His follower from this day forward.
“Rebellious attitude”? We have example after example in the Bible of a rebellious attitude. In Leviticus chapter 10, Nadab and Abihu (sons of Aaron) lost their lives because they changed what God said concerning worship. What more rebellion can there be than to ignore what God actually said in favor of what religious traditions teach? Nowhere in the scriptures is anyone, who is not already a Christian, told to pray a prayer to be saved. Neither is it implied. The blood of Christ is required for sins to be remitted, but how and when has God said that remission takes place? (Rom. 6:3-5).
Think with me for a moment: What if …a person has been taught all of his life that the Sun rises in the West? Suppose, every morning when the Sun rises, that parents, friends, and everyone accepted as an authority has said the direction of the rising Sun is West, not East? “No one would believe that,” you might say, but what if everyone that person trusted said the same thing? What would that person believe? That the Sun rises in the West, that’s what they would believe! Now, suppose someone shows up one day with a compass. At sunrise, with the needle pointing North, the sun is rising to the left? No! The Sun is rising to the right—East!! Will the person believe the evidence of which direction is East? “Of course he would. It would be foolish to believe otherwise.” But, I submit to you that, presented with similar evidence from God’s word concerning Salvation, most will reject the evidence in favor of what has been believed for a lifetime.
What do you say? East or West? Is God’s word, the Bible, your authority in religion (2 Tim. 3:16-17; John 12:48; Jude 3), or is it your human tradition (Matt. 15:8-9)? Will you “accept Jesus as your personal savior” according to Billy Graham’s instructions that are in direct contradiction to God’s plan of Salvation?
The Sun rises in the East and Salvation comes to those who:
-
HEAR the Gospel (John 6:44-45; Rom. 10:17)
-
BELIEVE in Christ (John 3:16; Mark 16:16)
-
REPENT of sins (Acts 17:30; Acts 2:38)
-
CONFESS CHRIST (Matt. 10:32-33; Rom. 10:9-10)
-
ARE BAPTIZED into Christ (1 Peter 3:21; Gal. 3:26-27)
-
REMAIN FAITHFUL (Rev. 2:10)
