No
One Will Be Argued Into Heaven

After all is considered,
nothing but faith will convince us of the reality of God.  No one will be argued into Heaven, but we’ll
only be able to escape punishment and go to Heaven by recognizing who Jesus is
and who we are in relation to Him.  The
Bible has much to say about this, and no single verse is likely to explain
everything at once.  However, the Bible
does make it very clear if we make the effort to understand and ask God to make
it plain to us, that he will answer.

God is not afraid of our
questions.  He is perfect, because He is
God.  The real question is about what He
thinks of us and how He will deal with us according to it.  Our job is to understand Him and
respond.  Asking these questions is good,
if we want to really consider the Bible’s answers.

Jesus is part of what’s
called the Trinity, the whole making up God, yet separate in the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit.  Three, all of the
Trinity, yet all God.  I don’t expect to
fully understand this, but we can see facets of the truth of this in the
Bible.  The important thing really, is
who is Jesus and what does He represent for us? 
He is called, and calls Himself, many things in Scripture.  Most important is recognizing that He is in
the authority of God, and stands as the only way for mankind to possibly go to
the Father, in Heaven.  If Jesus is
merely a man, or a prophet, or even a Moses-class person, then nothing He
claims to be really matters.  In order to
be the only way to the Father, as He claims, He must be a God-class Being.  No one else is eligible because the way to
the Father must be free of sin, have satisfied God’s judgment on sin for those
guilty, and stand ready and able to give forgiveness to whoever meets the
criteria, which is faith in Him.

Faith is the dividing factor
in Christianity.  More specifically, it
must be faith in God and His answer to freedom from the debt of sin, who is
Jesus.  Faith is the currency of God.  It crosses the divide between us in the
material world and God in the Spiritual realm. 
Faith is a belief which brings action in response to it.  We all have faith, even those who say they do
not believe at all in God.  They still
have faith there is no God.  The issue
is, if God is above this all as He says He is, our stake in our existence lays
in who or what we have faith in.  If God
is the standard, being over everything and being perfect, we need to see Him
and ourselves for what we are and consider the ramifications.

Concerning the death and
resurrection of Jesus, the Bible records both plainly.  Aside from theological reasons, God’s
bringing Jesus back to life is one of the more tangible issues we can see.  Jesus is the first to be raised from the dead
by God, without any sin, yet still in an earthly type body.  This body is different in that it is how we
were meant to be, without the effects of sin and without any decay.  After His resurrection in His body, Jesus
spent time here before going back to Heaven. 
Today He has the same body, and when He comes back, He still will.  The reason this is important is that people
who have faith in Him, who are ‘saved’, will experience the same resurrection
when He comes back to settle accounts. 
His being alive today is central to His claim as the Son of God and the
Savior of mankind.

God wants no one
to be turned away from Heaven, and He has made it absolutely free to come
in.  Disbelief, lack of faith, and denial
of God are what ultimately stand in the way of Paradise, and are also
responsible for punishment for whoever doesn’t believe.  I hope you will consider this and ask
questions, even challenge it.  Faith
comes from a solid belief, no matter how small the faith.  To have a saving faith in Jesus, you must
understand who He is and what He means to your life.

Jesus as the Son of God, not anything less:

John
1

1          In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2          He was with God in the beginning.

3          Through him all things were made;
without him nothing was made that has been made.

Hebrews
1

2          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.

Luke 22

66       At daybreak the council
of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law,
met together, and Jesus was led before them.

67       “If you are the Christ, ” they
said, “tell us.” Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not
believe me,

68       and if I asked you, you would not answer.

69       But from now on, the Son of Man will be
seated at the right hand of the mighty God.”

70       They all asked, “Are you then the
Son of God?” He replied, “You are right in saying I am.”

71       Then they said, “Why do we need any
more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.”

Luke 23

1          Then the whole assembly rose and led
him off to Pilate.

2          And they began to accuse him, saying,
“We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes
to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king.”

3          So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you
the king of the Jews?” “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.

Why
faith is important:

Hebrews 11

1          Now faith is being sure
of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

3          By faith we understand
that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not
made out of what was visible.

            (This includes
aliens, if they do exist)

6          And without faith it is
impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he
exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Death and the
spirit leaving the body

Luke
23

46           Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into
your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his
last.

The
Resurrection

Mark 16

5              As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed
in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

6              “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are
looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not
here. See the place where they laid him.

7              But go, tell his disciples and Peter, `He is going ahead
of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'”

8              Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled
from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

9              When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared
first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.

10           She went and told those who had been
with him and who were mourning and weeping.

11           When they heard that Jesus was alive
and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.

12           Afterward Jesus appeared in a
different form to two of them while they were walking in the country.

13           These returned and reported it to the
rest; but they did not believe them either.

14           Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he
rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe
those who had seen him after he had risen.

Luke 24

36           While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself
stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

37           They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a
ghost.

38           He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do
doubts rise in your minds?

39           Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and
see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

40           When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet.

41           And while they still did not believe it because of joy and
amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”

42           They gave him a piece of broiled fish,

43           and he took it and ate it in their presence.

His Return to
Heaven

Acts
1

3              After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and
gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a
period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

9              After he said this, he was taken up before their very
eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

10           They were looking intently up into the sky as he was
going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.

11           “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand
here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into
heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

He is still alive today

1
Peter 3

21           … It saves you by the resurrection of
Jesus Christ,

22           who has gone into heaven and is at
God’s right hand–with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.