Many people who claim to be Christians don't even understand what the Bible says about it. There are way too many false beliefs even in Christianity. Many people reject beliefs because they just don't like how they sound, and this is how false beliefs and doctrines originate. As a Christian, I feel that the Bible should be the final word on any issues people have, and that we shouldn't invent ideas that we like because this leads to problems. So I would like to explain what the Bible tells us about the truth.

The Bible says that we are all evil and wretched people (Romans 3:23). Only Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life. We may say that we are good people, but we are not. How many lies have you told? Have you ever stolen anything? Have you ever used God's name in vain? Have you ever lusted after another person? These are just a few of God's commandments, and I know that you've broken all of them just as I have. We know these commandments because God has written them on our heart. We know when we've done something wrong because we feel guilt on our conscience.

So if God is a just God, then He must punish us for our sins in the same way that a judge would sentence a murderer or any other criminal. That's what we all deserve, and when we die, we'll all face judgment day no matter what we believed or how we lived. We may try to deceive ourselves into thinking we're good, but we aren't. We've all broken God's commandments, and hell is the punishment, which is made very clear in the Bible. I'm sure many people don't like the concept of hell, but it doesn't matter whether we like it or not. There are many people who will end up there (Matthew 7:13). Could you even imagine that, and can you imagine how sad that is!! Try imagine being in an isolated dark room forever. That's bad, but hell is much worse than that, and there will be deep regret when people realize the reality of it (Matthew 8:12, Matthew 13:42). So what are we supposed to do??

God has given us a way out!! According to the Bible, there are only two things we must do. First of all, we must repent, which means we should feel sorry for and turn away from our sins. And secondly, we must trust in Jesus Christ. When Jesus died on the cross, he did more than just face physical pain. He lived a sinless life, yet he still faced God's wrath. He paid the penalty of hell for all Christians, so that we wouldn't have to spend eternity in hell. And we must trust in his sacrifice as being the ONLY way of having our sins forgiven. It's the same kind of trust that you would place in a parachute to save your life. When we trust in him, then his righteousness is imputed onto us. A good comparison would be when a police officer pulls over a speeder, and instead of issuing a speeding violation, the officer gives away movie tickets. God gives us something we don't deserve because the penalty has already been paid for those who trust in this sacrifice.

There is absolutely no other religion or worldview that recognizes the concept of God's grace. In fact, nearly all other religions and worldviews are based on the concept of performing good works in order to be saved, and that's not possible. There is no such idea as purgatory, because it's not mentioned in the Bible or even hinted toward. Confessionals and sacriments do not contribute toward saving us from sin. These only take away the power of Jesus' sacrifice as being the only atonement for sin. We cannot do any good work to save us. It is only the work of God that saves us.