Gospel Grace

written by Lillian Cucuzza

I grew up in a family that attended church regularly. I did the readings during church services when I was fourteen years old. I was raised to believe there was a God and a Heaven, but I did not know God personally. Even though I was involved in a church, I worried about dying because I did not know if I would qualify for Heaven! I felt a heavy weight on my shoulders that all the activities I was doing were never enough. Secretly, my big question was, “How would I know if I had done enough or was good enough to get into Heaven?”

I avoided conversations with others about religion or church. I did not own and had never read the Bible, so I did not have enough information to know whether someone was telling me the truth or just giving me their opinion. I certainly did not want to come across as ignorant, so I just avoided those conversations as much as possible. Does this sound familiar?

One day I was sent on a company business trip to Minnesota. Since my new brother-in-law, Tom, and his family lived in Minnesota, I decided to go a few days early to get to know them better. He was a Bibleteaching pastor, and I knew I would not be able to avoid that dreaded conversation much longer. However, I knew I could trust and learn from him.

Tom picked me up at the airport and it was not long before we got into “the conversation.” He asked me two questions: “If you were to die tonight, do you know for certain you are going to heaven?” My immediate response was, “No!”

His second question was: “If you did die tonight, and you were standing before God at the gates of heaven, and He were to ask you, ‘Why should I let you into my Heaven?’ what would you say?” I answered, “Well, I’ve tried to be a good person, do all the right things, go to church and be active in the church, but I don’t know if that is good enough!”

Then Tom gave me a little checklist to find out what I thought was necessary to get into Heaven. The list included things like obey God’s laws, try to do your best, give money to the church, do good deeds, and receive water baptism and Holy Communion. After I checked off most of the list, he explained that none of these things can help you get to Heaven. There is nothing you can do to earn eternal life. The Bible says there is only one way to enter Heaven: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:6, NIV)

Tom shared that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23, NIV), and the payment for sin is death (Romans 6:23, NIV). Feeling queasy, I told Tom I always thought the death penalty was for the worst of criminals, and I was not a criminal! I never broke the law! He asked me if I ever lied to anyone. “Sure,” I answered, “but they were just little white lies.” He replied that it does not matter how big or small the lie or the sin; God counts it all as sin. He continued to explain that because Heaven is a perfect place, nothing impure or imperfect will ever enter it. (Revelation 21:27, NIV) If we sinned just once in our life, no matter how small we think that sin is, it corrupts and defiles us, making us impure and unable to enter Heaven.

So far, it sounded quite bad and hopeless: we are all sinners; we all deserve to go to Hell; Heaven is a perfect place, and nothing we do can make us perfect. I was getting depressed! All my life I had heard how God is love. Now I was wondering how a loving God could be so cruel and send us to Hell for being a sinner.

Then Tom shared the Good News: GOD IS LOVE, and He loves US! “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, NIV) God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to shed His blood and die on the cross to pay for all our sins, and three days later, He rose from the dead! He died FOR us! By trusting in Jesus Christ as the One who died for our sins, we can have eternal life! That is a loving God!

Nothing we do can make us perfect or sinless. No deeds, charity, contributions to churches, going to church, being baptized, taking Holy Communion, trying to obey God’s laws, nor any good work can take away our sins or save us. Heaven is a free gift. We do not deserve it, and we cannot earn it. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NIV)

“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.” (Titus 3:5, NIV) Mercy means not getting what we deserve – death and separation from God forever as the penalty for our sins. Grace is getting what we do not deserve – total forgiveness for our sins, making us perfect in God’s eyes and allowing us to spend eternity with Him in Heaven. Grace is an acronym for God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense! Because Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sins by shedding His blood and dying on the cross, we get to partake in God’s riches for eternity! Wow! That is Grace!

Tom told me that the moment I trust Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, my sins would be forgiven, and I would receive God’s righteousness (perfection). As it says in Romans 10:9, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (NIV) This righteousness allows me to enter Heaven! I finally had the answer to my big question, “How would I know if I did enough or was good enough to get into Heaven?” It was not because of anything I did. It was because of what Jesus did for me!

I also learned that you can do nothing more to add to the finished work of Christ. It is not “Trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior, plus...” It is putting your trust ONLY in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, and it is a one-time decision in your life. You can never lose it, nor can you forfeit it. God’s unconditional promise is that He will never take it away from you. Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:28, NIV)

I was so excited to learn this Good News that I made the decision right there to trust Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior! At that very moment, the burden was totally lifted off my shoulders about whether I could do enough or be good enough to enter Heaven! Because of Jesus, I now have eternal security!

Friend, I cannot make you believe in Heaven or Hell. You may not believe in it because you cannot see it. But you cannot see the air you breathe either, yet, without it, you would die. Heaven and Hell are real!

If you have not yet trusted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can do it right now with a simple prayer, and He will save you for all eternity.

Dear God, Thank you for loving me. I admit that I am a sinner and in need of a Savior. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died on the cross as the payment for all my sins, was buried and raised from the dead, and is now in Heaven. I understand that the good deeds I do will not help me get to Heaven. Right now, I confess Jesus as Lord and I receive Him as my Savior. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me so that I can live forever with you! Help me to live a life that is pleasing to you, Lord. Amen.

If this is your prayer today, welcome to the family of God! Let us know about your decision so that we can encourage you and help you on your journey of faith in Jesus Christ. Please contact Voice of Truth at www.womenworldleaders.com/contact for a list of churches in your area. There are also many learning opportunities available on www.womenworldleaders.com to help you grow in your faith, knowledge, and relationship with Jesus Christ.

You can have the assurance that your sins are forgiven (past, present, and future). God has said it, and He cannot lie. “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13, NIV) Hallelujah and Amen!

One final thought. As we remember the victims of 9-11-2001, I cannot help but think of what their last thoughts, words, or prayers were. Besides agonizing about their predicament and if they would ever see their loved ones again, I wonder how many cried out and prayed to God to save them in that very moment. I also wonder how many did not have the opportunity to pray because the end came with no warning. We cannot change what has happened to them. But we can change what happens to us and where we will spend eternity if we pray for salvation now, before we do not get another chance. The choice is spending eternity in Heaven with God, or in Hell, separated forever from God. The choice is yours. I say this with nothing but a heart full of love… please choose wisely.