Meeting with a funeral home and putting your funeral plan down on paper is a good idea. But did you know that God already has a plan in place for the moment of your death? It too is written down on paper? It’s called the Bible, and it contains God’s plan for your salvation.

What will the moment of your death be like? Without a doubt, it will be a moment unlike any other, as your physical body is laid to rest and you leave planet earth and step out into eternity.

Where will you be when you suddenly realize you’re gone? We make many choices throughout this life here on earth; some big and some small, some good and some bad. But whether good or bad, all of the consequences of those choices have one thing in common; they end at the grave.

However, there is one choice that has consequences that will reverberate beyond the grave and affect you throughout eternity. It is the most important choice of your life. That choice is what this section is about.

Without a doubt, the moment of your death will usher in a day like no other. Everything will change in an instant. That day will be the most incredible day of your life. For some it will be amazingly wonderful, as they are welcomed into the presence of God in paradise. But for others, it will be a shockingly horrible day as they enter into a place the Bible calls hell.

God wants you to be with him in paradise. That’s why he made a way that we can be saved from that place called hell. He also made sure that it was written down in a book so that everyone can know about it.

The Bible makes it clear that none of us are perfect. We have all done wrong at times. The Bible calls that “sin”. It is sin that separates us from God (and often from each other) and leads to condemnation and judgement. ¹⁰As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one: (Romans 3:10). ²³For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God: (Romans 3:23). Our problem is sin.

Some people mistakenly believe they can take care of this sin problem and be saved from God’s wrath simply by doing good deeds, or going to church, or helping the poor. Others believe that they must do all of those things in order to be saved.

But that’s not the Bible way. That’s not God’s way. Although helping the poor, going to church and doing good things are all commendable, God’s plan for the salvation of your soul does not require any of those things. ⁸For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9). Jesus Christ is God’s only requirement. He died in your place in order to pay for your sins and satisfy the wrath of God against sin.

God is angry at sin (that’s wrath) but he loves the sinner. ¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16).

It is because of his love for you that he sent Jesus to satisfy his wrath so that you can be saved and have everlasting life. ⁸But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (Romans 5:8-9).

Jesus came and died on the cross so that we can receive grace, mercy, forgiveness, and salvation. He rose from death to prove that he has conquered death. Now he offers salvation as a free gift to all who truly believe that he died and rose again for them. The Bible says, ⁹That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. ¹⁰For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9-10).

God’s plan of salvation is simple, and it is clear. Unless you believe in Jesus and place your trust in him for the salvation of your soul, you will spend eternity in hell. If you believe in Jesus and accept him as your personal Saviour, you receive forgiveness for all your sins and his gift of eternal life is yours. ²³For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23) .

The gift of eternal life is received by faith. ¹Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: ²By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2).

¹Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1). A person can believe things about Jesus without placing his or her faith in him. To place your faith in Jesus, means not only believing in Jesus, but also placing your total and absolute trust in him as your personal Saviour; having confidence in who he is and what he accomplished for you when he made payment for your sins by his death on the cross, and his subsequent resurrection from the dead three days later. By his death he defeated death. By his resurrection from the dead, he proved it.

Now it is time for you to make a choice. That choice will determine what the moment of your death will be like, and where you will spend eternity. It is the most important choice of your life.

Jesus said, ¹⁵The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent ye, and believe the gospel. (Mark 1:15). To repent means to change your mind about your sin, Jesus and what it means to be saved. To repent is to come into agreement with God about your sin and his plan of salvation, which deals with that sin by placing all of it on Jesus, who died for you and rose again. Of course, this change of mind also results in a change of action which leads to a new and better way of living. Living a Godly life, avoiding evil and doing good, is a result of a true salvation experience, but is never the cause of salvation.

Right now, wherever you are, you can repent. By faith, simply call upon the Lord for salvation. ¹³For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13).

Would you honestly and sincerely, by faith, call upon the Lord in prayer right now?

Holy God, I admit that I am a sinner in need of a Saviour. I realize that Jesus is the Saviour that I need. I now repent of my sin and receive Jesus as my Saviour. I believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay for my sins so that I can be saved and forgiven. I believe that he rose again and conquered death so that I can have eternal life and live with you in your heavenly kingdom when I die. Please give me the gift of eternal life. I don’t deserve it and I did not earn it, but I thank you for it. I now realize, understand and believe that my forgiveness and salvation is all because of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in whose name I pray. Amen.

God’s gift of salvation and eternal life is a fact, not a feeling. If you sincerely prayed this prayer, calling on the name of the Lord Jesus for salvation, then you can take God at his word and have confidence in the fact that he has saved you. Your eternal destiny is now heaven. ¹³These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (1 John 5:13).
Now that you are one of God’s own and your eternal destiny is secure, God wants you to get baptized and unite with a Bible-believing church. You should do that right away. You should also begin reading your Bible (start with the Gospel of John) and talk with God in prayer every day. It would also be a good idea to tell others about Jesus and your own salvation.

For help in finding a church near you, please telephone us at 800.308.3590.