Ticket to Ride

 

John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

 

Where do you go when you die? is a standard life examining question that we all ponder. We have many “come to Jesus moments” in life where we have a moment of sudden realization, comprehension or recognition. That precipitates a major change. But one day, we are all going to meet Christ face-to-face. Hebrews 9:27 tells us, And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, where your ticket to heaven is checked. 

 

A friend of mine recounted a story that he had heard at church one Sunday, where a man died and appeared at the gates of Heaven and was told that he needed a ticket to get admission. Trains, planes, buses and ships all require a ticket to get onboard and ride. Amusement Parks, Professional Sporting events, Movie theaters and even heaven require a ticket to get in This reminds me of the evangelistic diagnostic question: If you were to die tonight and appear in front of God, when He asks you why He should let you into His kingdom of Heaven, what would you say? … what is your ticket?  

 

We understand that physical life has its limits, so the body wears out and eventually dies. Reality is that humans are a three-part being and when the vital signs are gone, our soul and spirit separate from the body and migrate into the presence of God, our Maker. What many do not understand is that we are all born spiritually dead and separated from God by original sin. Romans 5:12 explains, “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.” And Romans 6:23 explains that the wages of sin is death; we earned it by our many inequities, transgressions, trespasses and sins. The truth of Romans 3:23 is that all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Everyone needs a ticket, but what is that ticket to Heaven and how do we get one? 

 

That ticket is Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. John 3:14-17 says “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” You must believe that Almighty God exists, created everything including us, that sin corrupted the world and death (the penalty for sin) entered, that humans have no way by their own works to pay for their sins, understand the severity of their sin and repent of them, that God (by His love and mercy) graciously provided a way of salvation  by sending His sinless Son (the promised Messiah born of a virgin) as a free gift to die an atoning death on the Cross in our place to pay the penalty price, that by faith we accept Jesus Christ (fully God/fully man) as their personal Savior and Lord. That’s good news!

 

Romans 10:9 declares, “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” That is the ticket!

 

In Christ, Brian