Many people believe that you go to heaven just because of what you say. Many people believe that God just wants to hear us say something and then He will let us go into heaven. That is not the way it works with Christianity. In Christianity you have to believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for you sins, and you have to believe and say that Jesus rose from the dead. But you also have to obey what God and Jesus say that we should do. And as a Christian you have to have a life that shows God and others that you are a person of faith in Christ. Lip service and what you say is not enough, you have to have the actions to prove that what you say is true. That means that you have to give God your heart. And that might mean dying for your faith in Christ instead of denying Him.
A Christian has to do what God says to do
A Christian must believe in their heart that Jesus Christ is the Lord of their lives. It is not enough just to say it with their lips, a Christian has to believe in their heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and that Jesus Christ died on the cross for their sins.
And a Christian has to act out the faith that they have in their hearts. A Christian cannot hide their faith if someone asks them if they are a Christian. The light that we have in our hearts has to shine out for others to see.
Jesus said:
“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father” – Matthew 5:14-16.
Our outward acts do not save us
We are not saved and going to heaven because of how much money we give to charity. We are not saved because we said something to God. We are not saved by how many times we go to church, or by how many times we pray. All these outward things we do will not save us.
We are not saved if we get on a plane and go visit a holy place somewhere in the world. We cannot have our sins forgiven because we visit a holy site on this earth.
We can only be saved if we put our faith in Jesus Christ with all our hearts. The Bible teaches us:
“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” – Ephesians 2:8-9.
To show your faith you have to have good works
“So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”
You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?” – James 2:17-20.
The way we look on the outside to other people will not save us from our sins and allow us to go to heaven. What you wear on your body does not make you holy. It doesn’t matter if you have a beard of not, or if you have a moustache or not, or if you have long hair or short hair, none of these things matter or make you more holy.
In order to be saved we have to put the faith that is in our hearts into Jesus Christ. We have to believe in our hearts that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. But in order for people to see our faith we have to have good works to show our faith. Faith without good works is dead. Faith without works is dead.
You are holy because God has put His Holy Spirit in you. If you are a Christian you have been born again and God has put His Holy Spirit in you. That is what makes you holy.
God gave you a new heart if you are a Christian
If you are a Christian God gave you a new heart through the power of His Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches us that:
“I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart” – Ezekiel 36:26.
The Holy Spirit has to live in you
God cares about what is on the inside of you. In fact, God wants to live inside of you. Jesus teaches us:
“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body” – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
You are only made holy if the Holy One goes inside of you. In order to be holy and saved the Holy Spirit must live in you.
It is prophesied in the New Testament by Jesus Christ Himself that there was another one coming after Him who would guide us as Christians into all the truth. Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit because Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would live inside of us.
This is what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit, the one who would come to live inside of Christians to guide them into all truth:
“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you” – John 14:15-18.