Dear S,
Thank you for your good letter of a month ago. It seems that you have misunderstood several things in the material I sent to you. Because of your misunderstanding, you have drawn conclusions that have led you to despair. I hope I can help your understanding and consequently change your conclusions from despair to joy and hope.
The material does not say either “each will find ‘God’ in his own way” or “it all goes back to praying”. In fact, it says the opposite of that.
Here is the way:
1) The way is Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me” (John 14:6).
2) The way is a gift.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).
“All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But, because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgression – it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:3-9).
“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone” (Titus 3:3-8).
3) The way is not by good deeds. Good deeds do not undo many bad ones. They have no value at all. “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10)
4) Mercy and grace are both biblical words. Mercy means that we do not get what we deserve. We deserve hell. God gives us mercy, and we do not go to hell. Grace means that we get something we do not deserve. We do not deserve Heaven. With grace, we get Heaven. God gives us grace and mercy. How did this happen?
I will start from the beginning. First, Jesus is the creator. Before Jesus came to this earth, He was the Son of God from the beginning, before anything was created. In fact, He created everything.
“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. . . The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1-5, 14).
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 1:1-3).
“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rules or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Col. 1:13-20).
Second, He is the Redeemer. God said, “The soul that sins shall die”, “the wages of sin is death”, “all have sinned”, “there is not a just man on earth who does good and sins not”. Everyone deserves hell.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:6-8).
“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone…Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Heb. 2:9, 14-15).
The reason Jesus became a man was so that he could die for my sins and your sins. In other words, he died in place of us. He took the punishment for my sins and yours when he died on the cross. Jesus did not stay dead. Three days after he was crucified he arose from the dead. He is alive today.
You have your Bible at the foot of your bed. Here is a reading assignment. Please read the last three chapters each of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Please also read the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians and the 15th chapter of Luke. God loves you and wants you to know the good news.
If you died right now, as you requested, you would not go to heaven. God is good to you in not answering your prayer. He is keeping you alive so you can go to heaven. Ask God to show you the way as you read your Bible.
In Christ,
Jim Wilson
Thank you for your good letter of a month ago. It seems that you have misunderstood several things in the material I sent to you. Because of your misunderstanding, you have drawn conclusions that have led you to despair. I hope I can help your understanding and consequently change your conclusions from despair to joy and hope.
The material does not say either “each will find ‘God’ in his own way” or “it all goes back to praying”. In fact, it says the opposite of that.
Here is the way:
1) The way is Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me” (John 14:6).
2) The way is a gift.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).
“All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But, because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgression – it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:3-9).
“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone” (Titus 3:3-8).
3) The way is not by good deeds. Good deeds do not undo many bad ones. They have no value at all. “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10)
4) Mercy and grace are both biblical words. Mercy means that we do not get what we deserve. We deserve hell. God gives us mercy, and we do not go to hell. Grace means that we get something we do not deserve. We do not deserve Heaven. With grace, we get Heaven. God gives us grace and mercy. How did this happen?
I will start from the beginning. First, Jesus is the creator. Before Jesus came to this earth, He was the Son of God from the beginning, before anything was created. In fact, He created everything.
“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. . . The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1-5, 14).
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 1:1-3).
“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rules or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Col. 1:13-20).
Second, He is the Redeemer. God said, “The soul that sins shall die”, “the wages of sin is death”, “all have sinned”, “there is not a just man on earth who does good and sins not”. Everyone deserves hell.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:6-8).
“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone…Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Heb. 2:9, 14-15).
The reason Jesus became a man was so that he could die for my sins and your sins. In other words, he died in place of us. He took the punishment for my sins and yours when he died on the cross. Jesus did not stay dead. Three days after he was crucified he arose from the dead. He is alive today.
You have your Bible at the foot of your bed. Here is a reading assignment. Please read the last three chapters each of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Please also read the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians and the 15th chapter of Luke. God loves you and wants you to know the good news.
If you died right now, as you requested, you would not go to heaven. God is good to you in not answering your prayer. He is keeping you alive so you can go to heaven. Ask God to show you the way as you read your Bible.
In Christ,
Jim Wilson
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