Got a Ticket to Heaven?
“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” 2 Timothy 2:19
“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:22-23
I haven’t been a traveler in years, but one thing I recall is the excitement of booking a great vacation, purchasing the ticket, setting it somewhere safe so I wouldn’t lose it, trusting the ticket would get me where I wanted to go now that I’d made my reservations, watching the calendar, and jumping back into my usual ordinary day to day life until it was time for my departure. Not a thing changed about my everyday life other than I had a great vacation to look forward to. How tragic that for years that was the exact mentality I had regarding my belief in Jesus Christ. How exceedingly dangerous was my false, foolish belief that professing an intellectual faith in Jesus Christ was all I needed to “book my ticket” to heaven, and that now that my ticket was booked I could just go back to my usual ordinary sin-ridden day to day life as I knew it until it was time for me to pack my bags for heaven and show up at the departure gate. How deceived I was!
Why did the apostle Paul say those who profess the name of Christ need to “depart from iniquity”? Because belief in Christ as Lord is a WAY OF LIFE of following Him and thereby having a relationship with God forever. This means turning away from the wicked ways of this world and our sin-ridden lives and learning to live according to God’s ways which we learn in the Bible. Believing in Jesus Christ isn’t about making a reservation, picking up a ticket at the ticket counter and stowing it away somewhere safe and someday off in the distant future turning in the ticket for a first class seat on an airplane to heaven.
When I “got my ticket” by professing belief in Christ, I stuck it in a drawer and went straight back to my wicked, selfish ways following the world instead of following Jesus. Jesus says He will TURN AWAY people from heaven who profess His name and claim to do good works but live contrary to God and His ways and continue in their evil ways.
Believing in Christ is not about stuffing a ticket to heaven in a drawer and waiting for the end of our lives. It’s about living a LIFESTYLE of following Him as Lord and living for God forever.
If you’ve been believing falsely as I was, make the change now – while you still can.