How does a person get to heaven? Jesus Christ himself said in the Bible in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh to the Father but by me." In other words, Jesus is the way to Heaven.

We are promised that we have eternal life and will live forever in Heaven with God when we trust Jesus Christ to be our Savior.

Why does mankind need a Savior? Because we cannot save ourselves. We are sinful by nature and are separated from God. God is perfect and holy. There will be no sin allowed in Heaven. Jesus Christ is the one who paid for our sin by his death on that cross in the city of Jerusalem almost 2,000 years ago. He took our place. He satisfied God's demand that there be a payment for sin.

By placing our trust in Christ, we receive the free gift of salvation and become a child of God. John 1:12 says, "But as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the children of God, even to them that believe on His name." And John 3:15 says, "That whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have eternal life." This means that when we die, we will go to Heaven where we will spend eternity with Him.

To reject His offer of salvation means that we will be separated for eternity from God. It doesn't matter if we have tried to be a "good person" , maybe attended church, or sincerely followed some other religious system, Jesus said no one could come to the Father except by Him.

For more information on this issue, please contact the church office at 304-263-5167. A pastor from our church will be glad to talk to you. Also, we have a packet of information to help you in understanding more about how a person gets to Heaven. We would be happy to send it to you. Or you may send an e-mail to Senior Pastor Mark Johnson at pastormark@ibcwv.org.