Guest let me commend you on asking the most important question in life. The answer to that question is the foundation of salvation itself. Let me suggest that your information is flawed slightly. While it may be correct to say Christ never stated the words "I am the Son of God," it is not true that he did not claim to be the Son of God. Consider this He referred to God as His Father, He claimed a unique relationship with the Father, He claimed that anyone who knew Him knew the Father, He clearly claimed to be the Messiah (an Old Testament idea of the one who would come to set up God's kingdom on earth), He accepted worship of Himself as God, the Jewish leaders sought His death because they understood that He was teaching that He was equal with God (see John 5:18, 10:33), He identified Himself as the Son of Man (see Daniel--the Son of Man was the one who comes and destroys the kingdoms of the world in order to set up the kingdom of God--He is also deity), and when appearing to Thomas after His resurrection He blesses Thomas after Thomas refers to Him by the name reserved for God in the Bible (see John21: 26-29). Jesus clearly taught and considered Himself to be the Son of God. That leads to a question you did not ask--is Jesus' claim true? To answer that I would first say there can be no middle ground. Either Jesus' claims were true or He was a lying meglamaniac. I think the uniqueness of His birth, His life, His teaching, and His actions argue that His claim was true. Who else do you know who was born of a virgin, was recognized by his enemies to be without sin and to teach with an authority unlike any before Him, backed up His claims with miracles, and was resurrected from physical death. Additionally no other individual ever fit all the Old Testament prophicies of the Christ as Jesus did. The odds of one man meeting so many predictions are astronomical, unless He is exactly who He claimed to be--the Son of God. This leads to your other questions. Must you believe in Jesus to go to heaven? Let's let Jesus speak. John 14:6, Jesus says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." Yes you must believe in Jesus to go to heaven. You must believe that He is the Son of God and that He came to give His life to pay the penalty for your sins. Beyond believing you must be willing to accept Jesus' death as the only answer to the sin that separates you from God and trust that death to restore your broken relationship with God and allow Him to guide your life from that point on. In order to be right with God (go to heaven as you put it, but so much more) you must admit you are a sinner unable to save yourself; you must believe that Jesus is who He said He was and that He died to pay the penalty of your sin; and receive His salvation by asking His forgiveness of your sin and be willing to turn from that sin and allow Him to have control of your life. The answer to your third question is not an easy one and people have struggled with it for centuries. Though I think it can be answered I have hit you with quite a bit already so let me just encourage you to trust the goodness of God over those that do no hear. As to your final question-- what about you? I would encourage you to read the Scriptures and see if the claims I have made are legitimate, but ultimately it comes down to a decision of if Jesus is indeed the Son of God, then He alone can be trusted to explain how to come to God (go to heaven). I would suggest praying to God for direction on this. From your questions I believe God is already dealing with you over your relationship with Him, and those who respond to that by genuinely seeking Him will be given the truth and the faith necessary to find Him. My prayers are with you and you may e-mail me if you have furhter questions. God bless.
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re:WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD
