The salvation planned by God and worked out by Jesus Christ is not only negative. It is positive. It is not only salvation from sin. It is salvation to eternal life. To be rescued from the consequences of sin is not enough. Such rescue simply brings us back to ground zero.

Can any human being then earn his or her way to heaven? Absolutely not! “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). You and I not only need rescue from the terrible consequences of sin, we need to be taken to glory.

The Good News is that Jesus Christ is the way to glory. He lived a life of sinless perfection. Only this life of Christ is worthy of heaven. Christ lived His perfect life on behalf of people like you and me. He earned a place in heaven for the likes of us. As the death of Christ was vicarious, so was His life.

The Bible therefore teaches: The gift of eternal life and access to heaven are obtained through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore you must not only trust in Christ to save you from your sin, you must trust Christ to give you eternal life and heaven to come. “The free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).