Heavenly Entrance Exam
Pop Quiz? Oh No!
Back when I was in high school, there were times when the teacher would walk into our classroom and announce a pop quiz.
Yikes!!
You should have seen the panicked look on all of our faces.
What a relief it was when, seconds later, the teacher would then add . . . “it’s open book.”
The sighs of collective gratitude from my fellow classmates could be heard all the way down the hall.
Your Answer To This Question Is So Important!
Could you pass the biggest test of all – the Heavenly Entrance Exam?
Don’t worry – there’s just one question.
Someday, an unbeliever may ask you a question about salvation.
Here goes.
“Why should God let you into Heaven?”
I’m sure you’d come up with something, like
“Because I . . .”
“Well, I . . .”
“When I . . .”
If your answer started with any one of those openers above, you’re seriously headed down a path of “missed the point.”
We have to remember that there is no “I” in the equation when it comes to our eternal salvation.
Our salvation, and the reason God will let you into Heaven, is because of Jesus and your acceptance of His grace and forgiveness.
The quick answer is: Jesus!
If salvation was up to us in any way, we would blow it every time.
Why is this heavenly entrance exam an “open Book” question? Because we have His Word that assures us that Jesus is our Savior and the only way to Heaven.
In Luke 11:28, Jesus said to his disciples when they questioned Him about prayer:
But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and follow it.1 – Luke 11:28, (NASB).
As Nice As We “Think” We Are, We Aren’t
Last month we celebrated the glorious birth of our Savior.
But His Story of Glory doesn’t stop there.
The Son of God grew up and was brutalized on the cross.
It was you and me, as sinners, who put Him there.
But, He didn’t stay in the tomb forever.
Praise Jesus for His Victory on the Cross!
See, that’s the only alternative God had. Either He punishes you for your sin, and me for my sin, and that’s eternal punishment in hell; or else He substitutes someone else in our place, and they pay our penalty. And that’s exactly what Jesus came to do: be our substitute, the exalted second person of the Trinity, the divine Son of God. God in flesh humbled Himself, came to earth to die my death, to provide for me an escape from eternal hell. The sinless One became sin, the living One died, the perfect One became the punished One; and not because He deserved, but because I deserved it, and He was my substitute.2 – John MacArthur, Pastor and Bible Teacher. Grace to you.
Are you ready for the Heavenly Entrance Exam?
Jesus is the answer.
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1 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.
2 John MacArthur quotation, courtesy of GTY.org/library/articles. 20 December, 1970. para. 15. Web. Accessed 30, December, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/1204/why-was-jesus-born
