The Price Of Admission

 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

1 John 5: 12 NKJV 

Growing up I felt as if heaven was some far off place which I couldn't possibly reach without a whole lot of effort.  This was the way I was taught, be good, please God and I would be rewarded with eternal life and heaven.  I'm sure too many Christians out there have heard the same thing right?  Well, here was the issue for me, besides being a Christian, I was told on a constant basis that I was a sinner as well.  Yes, Jesus had died on the cross to cleanse me of my sin, but I still needed to do good and confess my sin if I was to ever have a chance of seeing heaven.  That, it seems, was the price of admission.  Now tell me, which one of us growing up was a perfect child without ever behaving badly?  This was my struggle as I fought to be considered good enough by God to enter His kingdom.  I was told that God can never be in the presence of sin, and if I was indeed a sinner then I had a problem.  How could God love me?  How could God ever accept someone as imperfect as me?  To me, it seemed that the price of admission to heaven was too high.  Well, it took me awhile to come to the realization, but I finally realized that the price had been artificially set long ago.  See, long ago some church founders made up their minds that they needed a narrative to sell to Christians around the world.  We needed guidelines by which we would worship the Father, live our lives and enter His kingdom.  Of course, when I see it this way I do not feel that God would ever deny anyone who comes to Him.  However, when we frame it that we are only doing what the Lord desires, the marching orders become more believable.  This is exactly what the early church leaders did.  Suddenly, instead of the one true God who loved all of us, we had a God who judged us by a competition.  Yes, we could get to heaven, if we behave and continually confess our sins.  And so I ask, what sin is there which Jesus did not cover at the cross?  

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Ephesians 2: 8 - 9 NKJV 

The first time I questioned what I had been taught was one of the first times I read the apostle Paul's definition of being saved that we find in Ephesians.  Wait, Paul, are you telling me that this entire salvation thing isn't a competition after all?  Yes, it turns out that I am not in control of my own salvation.  It is God who saves, and God who gives the free gift of salvation.  That's right, I said free gift.  You have never needed to toil away in the requirements of Christian living in order be deemed "good enough" for Gods acceptance.  I have had the opportunity a few times to point others in the right direction when it comes to salvation.  What do I tell them?  Do you know Jesus?  If the answer is no, I introduce them to the Jesus I've come to know.  If they say that they know Jesus, I ask if they REALLY know Him.  Because I see a difference in the Jesus we have been taught all of these years and Jesus how He truly is.  Who is Jesus?  I am.  Now, before you dismiss my claim, consider what Paul considered to be his one true identity.  Paul did not consider himself a sinner despite having brutally persecuted the church.  No, Paul realized that his old identity was gone, replaced by Christ who lived in him {Galatians 2:20}.  This is the very same Jesus who lives in me.  This is the man that I am.  There is no competition for me to be considered good enough in Gods eyes.  For when God looks upon me...He sees Jesus.  It is the same Jesus which God sees when He looks upon any of us.  Whether you have had the realization or not...your identity is now in Christ Jesus. 

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Galatians 2: 20 NKJV 

~Scott~