This week we are wrestling with tough questions
and looking to the Bible for answers.
I'm not sure I got a question that is shorter
or maybe more difficult to answer than this one.
"Are Catholics going to Heaven?"
We might add to that question, "Are
"all Lutherans going to Heaven?"
"Or are all Baptists or Presbyterians or
"Buddhists or Muslims or agnostics?"
Like, who's in and who's out
according to Jesus?
Whenever I answer that question in a Bible class,
I try to draw a picture.
So I need you to visualize this with me.
I want you to picture a circle
and everyone who is saved is inside the circle.
Picture little stick people who are all living inside the circle.
Everyone whom Jesus has saved is inside the circle.
And everyone who is not saved is outside of it.
So, how do you get inside the circle?
Is it by joining a church?
You know, if you sign up and take a membership class
and you become Catholic or become Lutheran.
Or if you're in the wrong denomination
are you kicked outside the circle?
Well, that's where the ovals come in.
All right, can you visualize this?
Here is the circle.
I want you to envision an oval.
Some of it goes inside the circle
and some of it is outside of it.
Let's imagine that that's the Catholic Church.
Or the Lutheran Church.
Or the Baptist Church.
And there's all these different denominations intersecting with the circle.
It's my way of saying that there are some Lutherans
who are inside the circle
who are saved and have a right relationship with God
and there's some who aren't.
There's some Catholic people that I've met
that, talking to them, I'm pretty sure they
believe the right thing in Jesus to be saved
and I've met many who don't.
So, the question is not, necessarily, "Are you Catholic?" or "Are you Lutheran?"
All those questions do matter in the end.
But the question, "Are you inside the circle?"
So, I suppose I should answer,
"How do you get inside the circle?"
Well, the Bible has two answers to that question.
The first comes from
the book of Hebrews, chapter 10.
It reminds us of the importance of something called repentance.
Repentance is where you, essentially, feel sorrow over your sin.
You might struggle with sin, you might
battle with sin.
You might even be ignorant about all the things that are sin or aren't.
But, the stuff that you know, you try to fight
because you actually do love God and you want to serve him.
And so the book of Hebrews, chapter 10 says,
In other words, if you know it's wrong and you just do it
and do it and you plan to do it and you don't care,
I don't care what church you belong to,
you're not inside the circle.
You have to repent of sin.
But there's something else.
And it's called faith.
I love, in Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 8 and 9, the Apostle Paul says,
So, who's inside the circle?
The people who have faith in the grace of God,
who trust that it's not because they're good
or because they're fighting so hard.
But because Jesus was so good
that he gave them this gift.
Anyone who believes that they are going to heaven
as a pure gift from God
is inside the circle.
Now, thankfully, there's a whole lot of churches that open
the Bible, that read it,
that talk about Jesus,
that give us the chance to hear that message
and move inside the circle.
But that's the most important thing of all.
So, don't put your confidence in your denomination.
Don't put your hope in the fact that you went to some church
or this church or that church last Sunday.
The real question is, "Do you repent of your sin
and "Do you trust that Jesus did everything
"to make you right with God?"
That's how a person gets saved.
That's how we get inside the circle.
Let's pray.
Dear God, it would be a lie and a deception
for us to think that because we belong to a church,
that we belong to your family.
I know the devil's been using organized religion
in that way as a deception, to trick people
into thinking they're okay when they're not.
And so I pray that your Word would lead us to a deep conviction
and repentance of sin.
That we would fight sin
and hate sin
and put it to death.
Even though we're so drawn to it.
So attracted. Even though we stumble so often, God.
Help us to be truly repentant people.
And, even more God, help us to people that trust in Jesus.
That trust that he finished all the payment that was needed for sin.
That he lived a perfect life for us.
That he died on the cross to make us clean.
That he is the one and only Savior.
He's all that we need.
God, work repentance and faith in our heart
that we can be saved
and that we can celebrate with all of your people.
All around the world
wherever they might worship this upcoming Sunday.
We pray this all in his beautiful, saving name.
Amen.
As you head into this new year,
you may not know what lies ahead.
But by spending time in God's word each day,
you can grow spiritually stronger
so you're ready for whatever the year may bring.
That's why we want to send you the "Growing Stronger" daily devotional,
to help you build your faith
one day at a time.
It's packed with 365 daily devotions,
full of encouragement for you.
And we'd love to send you a copy of "Growing Stronger"
as our thanks for your gift today
to help others share the timeless truths of God's word.
For more infomation >> 塔罗牌占卜测试：你结婚前会谈几次恋爱？ - Duration: 4:45. 
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