Jesus says in Mt. 4:4, “It is written man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Dr. Wayne Grudem (Systematic Theology) tells us, “Here Jesus indicates that our spiritual life is maintained by daily nourishment with the Word of God, just as our physical lives are maintained by daily nourishment with physical food. To neglect regular reading of God’s Word is as detrimental to the health of our souls as the neglect of physical food is detrimental to the health of our bodies.”

The Bible is necessary not only for maintenance of spiritual life, but also for growth in our Christian life. We don’t want to enter heaven as “babes in Christ,” as Paul said. Life of earth is preparation for the next life — eternal life. Every soul lives forever, either in heaven or hell. And where it will live is determined by one thing only: whether or not one has trusted Christ as his personal Savior. Trusting Christ involves (1) truly believing the gospel, which teaches that Jesus is God, He died for our sins, He was buried and three days later arose from the dead; and (2) acknowledging our sinfulness and asking Christ to save us. Rom. 10:13 promises that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

But don’t let Satan deceive you into thinking you can get to heaven by being good or by any other way. Jesus made it quite clear, “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh to the Father but by me” (Jn. 14:6). You will hear celebrities and famous people claim that there are many ways to heaven. This is a devil’s lie. Don’t be deceived. Anything that contradicts the Bible is a lie. We were created to give God glory in all we do. The first and most important thing anyone ever does in this life is to trust Jesus Christ as his Savior. Nothing else you will ever do on this earth can at all compare with this one thing in importance. And making this decision is not only important, it is also crucial and urgent, for none of us has any idea when our last day and hour will come.

Once we draw that last breath, all opportunity to see heaven is gone forever. This is one decision that must be made on earth and while we are of sound mind, because it is a volitional decision that we must all make, while alert and while we know what we are doing. No one can pray us into heaven. And there is no use praying for the dead. The Bible make it clear that it is appointed unto men once to die and after this the judgment (Heb. 9:27).