The essence (i.e., the primary purpose) of Christianity is to help men and women to make things right with a Holy God BEFORE their appointed time for death. This way, when they stand before Him to give an account of their life, all of their sins (i.e., violations of God's Laws) will have been forgiven and removed from their lives, and they can now enter into God's eternal kingdom.

It is this way because all of mankind has fallen into sin (i.e., committed numerous violations of God's Laws), turned away from God, and needs redemption.

Now, because God is Holy, sin and evil cannot stand or dwell in His Presence. And because all of us have sinned (i.e., violated one or more of His Laws), we are all in need of redemption!

Why is this important, you ask?

Well, there has been a day appointed unto each person where we must die and stand before God to give an account for our lives. Consider the following verses:

• "And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment..." Hebrews 9:27
• "Our time on earth is brief; the number of our days is already decided by You." Job 14:5
• "For it is written [in Scripture], 'As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall give praise to God.' So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God." (Yes, every knee. You. Me. Buddha. Muhammad. Etc..) Romans 14:11-12
• "But they will [have to] give an account to Him who is ready to judge and pass sentence on the living and the dead." I Peter 4:5
• "There is nothing in the whole world that can hide from God. He sees everything clearly and He knows everything. We will have to explain to Him everything that we have done during our lives." Hebrews 4:13

Now, I'm confident some will read this and think, "Oh, I'm good. I'm confident my good deeds will far outweigh my bad ones!" And while that might be true, if you think that way, you will be sorely mistaken one day, because you must meet God on His standards, not yours. Did you know that? If not, it's something to consider, because that's how all relationships work. We meet and remain with others because we meet them on their terms. Consider your relationship with your spouse, partner, or significant other. You met them on their terms. And because you're still together, you continue to meet them on their terms. The same can be said of your relationship with your employer, or for that matter, with any meaningful relationship! And so it is with God!

I write all of this to let you know that Christianity's primary role IS NOT to make the world a better place, as many erroneously assume. Instead, IT IS to help prepare people to stand before a Holy God and have their lives examined to determine where they will spend eternity!

What is His requirement for entrance into Heaven? Here it is:

PERFECTION

How can we become perfect in His sight? Here's how:

• We ask for forgiveness, turn from our sinful life, believe and trust in Christ, and the work He did on the Cross!

Doing these requires a bit of humility and obedience, both of which are challenging! But, they are worth it in the end - especially since we get to live with Him forever in the New Heaven and the New Earth!

See, when we ask for forgiveness and invite Christ into our lives as Savior and Lord, His sinless perfection gets applied to our lives – and we appear perfect before God! This is why it's called, "The Gospel" – The Good News!

What will a person do with Christ's offer of salvation? Will they believe and trust in Him? Or will they choose to believe someone (or something) else?

If a person chooses to believe in His Words and trust that He will forgive and redeem them, then Heaven – and all of the promises that come with it – is theirs for the taking! But if the person chooses NOT to believe and trust in Him, God will one day grant them the desires of their heart – an eternity away from Him, outside His Kingdom.

Why do I say "God will grant people the desires of their hearts"? I do so because many people in today's world have been given the chance to believe in and trust Christ's offer, but they choose not to invite Him into their lives. So, God will honor their choices and grant them an eternity without Him. See, our God will not drag anyone kicking and screaming against their will into His Kingdom! Instead, He will honor their choices to include or exclude Him from their lives.

Let me finish by giving it to you straight...
No amount of good deeds or clean living will ever make things right between you and God! There is only one (three-step) way to deal with your sin problem:

1. Verbally confess/admit to God (not a priest or pastor) that you've violated His Laws.
2. Ask Him for forgiveness.
3. Invite Him into your daily life, first as Savior and then as Lord.

Here's an example:

"Dear Lord, I admit I have violated Your Laws. I ask You for forgiveness. I trust and thank You for what You did for me on the Cross of Calvary. Please help me to make Heaven my home. I invite you into my daily life as Savior and King! In Jesus' Name I pray! Amen."

With this sincere, heartfelt, ten-to-twelve-second-long prayer, you've just begun your journey. And, if you died tonight, tomorrow or next week, you've made things right with God and Heaven is now your home!

Doesn't this sound great?! This is why it's called, "The Gospel" (i.e., The Good News)! You get to make Heaven your home because you did things God's Way!