Which Way to Heaven?
Acts 16:25-34
Introduction
There are things about church that you just do not need to know. You do not need to know why churches started using pews or organs or why other churches have stopped using them. You do not need to know all the differences between all the different denominations. You do not need to be able to read in Hebrew or Greek. Nor do you need to be able to understand each and every verse of the Bible, although of course with this one we should at least try. But there is one thing that we cannot afford to put off and that is understanding what we have to do to go to heaven. We dare not die and stand before God with the excuse that we never got around to figuring out the afterlife because we were still working on our Greek and history of church organs. The one thing that unites us all is that every one of us will die. If that is the case, we must work through what God tells us about what we are supposed to do to prepare to meet him. Many years ago I was involved in door-to-door evangelism. After having the door slammed in my face one too many times, when one person told me he was not interested in heaven, I told him (as the door was closing) “You better be interested, you are going to be dead a lot longer than you are going to be alive.” Not my gentlest moment but there is truth in that statement. Let us take a look at this question by looking at the experience of the Philippian jailer.
Philippian Jailer
The story we are looking at takes place in the city of Philippi. Paul and Silas have been thrown in jail for preaching the Gospel. They are not overcome by fear, in fact they respond by singing hymns to God. God responds by sending an earthquake that frees all of the prisoners. The jailer arrives to see the doors open and the shackles on the floor. This is not good, not good at all. The jailer’s supervisors are not going to shrug this off. “Don’t worry, supernatural earthquakes free prisoners all time. It’s fine.” The jailer is so overcome with anxiety that he pulls out his sword to kill himself. Then, if the earthquake was not strange enough, something stranger happens. Paul stops the jailer from killing himself. Paul and all the other prisoners are still there. You would expect they would have ran at the first opportunity and yet they remained. Amazed, the jailer cries out “What must I do to be saved?” Was the jailer asking how to be saved from possible punishment from his bosses or how to be saved in terms of having a relationship with God such as Paul had? Whatever his meaning, Paul took it as how to be saved in a spiritual sense, that is being right with God and having assurance of eternal life. This is a question that people today continue to ask.
Myths of Salvation
Before we look at the answer Paul gave, let us look at some modern myths concerning salvation. The first myth is that there is no need for salvation. This could mean either there is no God, there is no afterlife or that God just opens up heaven to everyone regardless of belief or behavior. If we take the teachings of Jesus serious in any way, we should reject this myth. Jesus knew there was a God and even acknowledged him as Father. Jesus not only taught there was an afterlife, he even rose from the dead, which gives him some pretty good qualifications. Finally, Jesus taught that there would be judgment and not everyone would be included among those in heaven. There is a need for salvation. The second myth is that all you need to do to get to heaven is to be a good person. I read a novel years ago that had death as the grim reaper with a scale that he would weigh souls for goodness and if they were 51% good, they went to heaven. That was science fiction and yet many would hold to something similar. Good people go to heaven. First of all, the Bible teaches that no one is good when it comes to God’s standards. Jesus taught “No one is good except God alone.” (Mark 10:18 ESV) But even if relative goodness was accepted, what would be the cut off? At which point is a person good enough for heaven and then just little bit worse disqualified for heaven? Heaven is the dwelling place of God and he has decided that heaven is not something that you can get to by being good enough. Maybe heaven is for religious people. By religion, they mean religion in general. They claim that there are many roads to heaven and each religion takes a different road but they all get to the same place. That does not make sense. This is the third myth. Hinduism and Buddhism believe in Nirvana rather than heaven and even their understandings of Nirvana are different from each other. Islam believes in a paradise with rivers of wine and female virgins available for the pleasure of the men, very different from the Christian heaven. Religion in general is not enough. The last myth is that you just have to attend church. If you go to church regularly, sing the hymns, put money in the plate, and even participate in rituals such as baptism or communion, then perhaps you can get to heaven. This is a huge misunderstanding, one that fools many people. Here is the problem, what you do on the outside has nothing to do with what is on the inside. For example, I have read stories of pastors of churches who are atheists. Why would an atheist be a pastor? Likely they didn’t start that way. But they remain in the church because they appreciate the traditions, enjoy the beauty of the liturgy and frankly it is a job. Surely, they are not going to be welcomed into heaven just because they participated in religious rituals. Something else is required.
Truth of Salvation
So if none of these are the truth, what is the truth? Paul explained “Believe in the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 16:31 NIV) What does that mean? Not just that there was a person named Jesus who once lived. There are specific things that belong to this calling out to Jesus and none of it is what we have looked at previously. First of all, it requires that we acknowledge Jesus as the only way. “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 NIV) This is not politically correct but think of the consequences if this is not true. God sent his only Son Jesus to die for our sins. Why would he do such a thing if there were numerous other options available? The truth is that there is only one way and that one way is Jesus. Secondly, it is accepting the sacrifice Jesus paid on the cross that provides salvation. All of Jesus‘ life and teachings are important and deserve our study. However, it was Jesus on the cross that took away our sins and opened the door for eternal life. As sinners, there was a price that needed to be paid for our sins. It is a price far too high for us to pay. But Jesus, as the Son of God, could pay our price, and he did. Paul tells us “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” (Romans 5:9 NIV) Because of Jesus on the cross, God does not look at us in anger over our sin but sees us as his adopted children in his family, coheirs with Christ. It is at the cross where justice and mercy meet. The question is: how do we receive the benefits of the cross? If it is not by being religious or even attending church, what do we do? Paul tells the jailer to believe. Belief in this context is more than mental assent. It is faith. It is trust. It is saying that we acknowledge we cannot do it on our own and that we are trusting Jesus for our life. It is the kind of trust a skydiver has, knowing they cannot survive the jump on their own but trusting the parachute will get them to the ground safely. There are no magic words, although there are prayers that are commonly used. What is important is that we call out to Jesus and ask him to save us through what he did on the cross and by faith receive the forgiveness and eternal life that he has for us.
Conclusion
How do we get to heaven? The jailer asked that question to Paul. The jailer saw something amazing in Paul and his friends and he wanted what they had. “What must I do to be saved?” Paul did not respond by saying being good, being religious or even attending church. Paul said “Believe in Jesus.” By that Paul meant acknowledge Jesus as the only way, put your hope in the cross and reach out in faith. Only by doing that can we have hope for forgiveness and eternal life.
