January 1, 2026, Annual New Years Day Blessing of the Bikes (motorcycles)
"We're not good enough to enter Heaven on our own merits ...
but not too bad to be forgiven and saved"
Dispelling the myths on both sides about what it takes to enter Heaven
OPENING: Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
- INTRODUCTION: There are two camps of people in this world: 1) those who believe they are a "good enough" person to enter Heaven for all the love and things they have given of themselves in life to others and the world; and 2) those who can't forgive themselves for what they have done so they believe themselves to be irredeemable by God and, thus, predestined for an eternity outside Heaven. Both these are myths.
- Proverbs 18:24: He is The Friend who sticks closer than a brother. We are not perfect or sinless but Jesus believed all of us were to die for
- MY TESTIMONY (and what it takes to be saved): I don't recall the exact day/time/location I was saved ... I just am assured I am
- I was home-schooled in a Christian and Bible-believing family where we sat together after dinner nightly reading a couple chapters from the old and new testament
- Proverbs 22:6: Train a child in the way he should go and even when he gets old, he will not depart from it
- That was a start but that alone didn't save me, as even the devil believes in the Bible
- When I joined the Air Force, I felt a greater urge to not only listen but do, joining Berean Independent Baptist Church in Alamogordo, NM, in early 2000, where I followed the instruction to be baptized as a public showing of faith and belief
- That was in keeping with Matthew 10:32: Jesus said "Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven."
- But that, too, is not enough to be saved, as even the devil acknowledges Jesus is the Son of God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who desires we all go to Heaven after this life
- To become "saved" (or "born again") is to repent of our sins and confess them to God, whom you have direct access to through his Son Jesus
- Recall the above OPENING: Romans 6:23
- 1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness
- John 14:6: Jesus said, "no man comes to the Father except through Me"
- John 8:11: Jesus told the woman caught in adultery where the people chased her into a corner and wanted to stone her, "Neither do I condemn you -- go, AND sin no more."
- WE ARE NOT TOO BAD TO BE FORGIVEN AND SAVED
- For those bound in the chains of sexual sin, pornography, drinking, family abuse, failed marriages, abandoned their family or children or had children outside of marriage, abandoned a brother in a time that brother needed someone, and anything else one can think of they think is self-unforgivable, know there is hope and forgiveness and that everyone is worth saving, in God's eyes, no matter the sins they committed
- 2 Peter 3:9: "The Lord is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."
- (Once again) 1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
- And God is faithful not only to forgive, He can make Himself forget your sins forever!
- Hebrews 8:12: "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
- Again, we are not perfect or sinless but Jesus believed all of us were to die for
- John 3:16,18: Jesus said "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" and "Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son"
- Romans 5:8: while in the midst of our sin, Christ died for us
- And here's the mind-blower: John 15:13-15: Jesus said "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."
- (For 99% of the churches I've ever gone to and televangelists I've seen, I've heard Jesus called Master, Lord and Savior -- but NEVER a friend. That brings Jesus beside us as well as above us.
- Recall in the beginning Proverbs 18:24: The Friend who sticketh closer than a brother -- so how does The Friend stick closer than a blood or non-blood relative or best friend? Because friends (even besties) come and go and--unfortunately--families are not God-centered like they used to be
- Matthew 10:21: Jesus said to his disciples that in the last days, "Brothers and sisters will betray one another and have each other put to death. Parents will betray their own children, and children will turn against their parents and have them killed."
Conversely, Hebrews 13:5: "God has said, 'I will never leave you or let you be alone.'"
- Therefore, by God's Word, no matter how bad one thinks they've been in life, they can be--and want to be saved by God--which requires believing in Him
- WE'RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO ENTER HEAVEN ON OUR OWN MERITS
- Then there are some who believe they will earn their way into Heaven for simply being a "good person."
- They go to church and put money in the collection plate
- They give of their free time on evenings and weekends to give to charities and help in the community
- They regularly donate food and clothing to those in need
- They've dealt honestly and fairly with others their entire life
- They may dismiss where they've been wronged or cheated
- While these are good and required (James 2:17: faith without works is dead), you cannot earn your ticket to Heaven (salvation) because
- Romans 3:23: "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"
- Isaiah 64:6: "...all our righteous acts are like filthy rags"
- 1 Samuel 15:22: "To obey is better than sacrifice"
- Hebrews 9:22: "and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. [of sins]"
- Now here's the key to the Gospel (Good News), from the OPENER above: Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
- Therefore, from these verses we can conclude:
- You cannot work your way to a gift -- they aren't earned but freely given which you have to accept
- Jesus shed His blood to pay for the sins of the world: past, present and future -- will you accept this gift?
CLOSER
- I quoted a lot of scripture so you could read it directly from God--the Father and the Son--that everyone has equal worth in God's eyes and is worth saving, no matter what they've done, bad or good -- much or little
- Acts 10:34-35: "God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right."
- In other words, He values the Apostle Paul who called himself the worst of sinners for persecuting Christians (1 Timothy 1:15) as much as the Reverend Billy Graham who brought God's Word to packed stadiums of people around the country, decades ago -- hence, all of us are on the same level, in this world
- Today is the day to make a decision on whether you accept the free gift of eternal life because living to tomorrow or even safely riding to your home after work is not promised
- But here is what is promised: after this life, there are only two destinations for which all of us will have decided which one, through our words and actions: the path to Heaven or the path to the lake of fire burning with sulfur and brimstone where the smoke of those tormented will ascend forever and ever and ever and ever, with no exit or ending, ever! (Matthew 25: 34,41)
