The Dilemma
Heaven is a free gift. No matter how good you try to be in your own strength, you can never be good enough because you cannot be perfect, you cannot keep the commandments, you cannot keep from sinning. No matter how many good deeds you do, no matter how much you try to treat people nicely, you cannot earn your way to heaven. You are a sinner so you don’t deserve to go to heaven. Yet God loves you, He is merciful, and He is just.

In His mercy and justice He sent His Son Jesus Christ.

Who Jesus Is
He is the infinite God-man. Scripture tells us, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us…”(John 1:1, 14) According to Scripture, Jesus Christ is God, the 2nd Person of the Trinity and the Creator of the universe.

What He did
Very simply yet profoundly deep, He came to pay the penalty for our sins. He died on the cross and rose again from the dead to pay the penalty of our sins to purchase us a place in heaven. His coming fulfilled the mission that was His.

What was that mission? It is described simply in one verse where Scripture says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord laid on HIM the iniquity of all of us.” (Isaiah 53:6)

The Gift of Eternal Life Is Received By Faith

We receive eternal life, the gift of God through faith. The key to open heaven is faith. You can have a key ring with many keys on it and they all look similar but only one key will open the lock on your front door, one specific key, so it is with faith.