Dearest pilgrim, have you also come here for the Jubilee? Driven by the hope of receiving the forgiveness of your sins by passing through one of the holy doors?

My most sincere wish is that, more than a hope, you may find solid certainties, based on the eternal truths of the Word of God.

The Bible in fact states that “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

Speaking of certainties, let me ask you an essential question, but one that you may not have thought much about. Are you certain that you will enter heaven on the day of judgment? On what do you base your hope to enter heaven?

Are you counting on the fact that you were baptized or that you do good, that all in all you are a good person, and that you even came all the way to Rome to pass through a holy door?

Or, perhaps, you are not at all sure of your eternal destiny.

So I have some good news for you that comes straight from God’s Word. But before I tell you, it’s important for you to know what God thinks of you.

Speaking of you and me, God says: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12).

Shocking, right?

None of us will ever be good enough to be admitted into heaven in the presence of a holy and perfect God.

This is humanity’s most serious problem.

If you thought that on the day you come face to face with God you will be able to show Him some sort of list of merits and proofs of your goodness, then you will be very disappointed.

The Lord Jesus Christ said that there is only one way to enter the presence of God: “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

The real door that opens to man a real relationship with God, here on earth and in the eternity of heaven, is Jesus Christ himself. He said: “I am the door; if anyone enters through me, he will be saved” (John 10:9).

But even today, just as when He was on earth, these words of His continue to be misunderstood. He was not speaking of a physical door, but of the fact that He, and He alone, allows us to know God and gives eternal life to whoever believes in Him and obeys Him.

It is impossible for the remission of sins and salvation to be obtained through a mere gesture or rite. Only Christ can forgive sins, because He alone died to atone for the sins of all those who entrust themselves totally to Him for forgiveness and the salvation of their souls.

God knows perfectly the path that brought you here. There is not a single thing that you have thought or felt that has escaped Him. He has full knowledge of your choices and your most intimate thoughts and griefs.

Now he calls you to stop and think: where is your way of life taking you? What eternal destiny awaits you, heaven or hell?

See, here’s the thing: the whole world is under God’s judgment and that’s why we need Jesus.

The Bible clearly states:

• “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23,24).
• “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23).
• “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12).
• “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30,31).
• “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:8-10).

The good news I want you to know is this: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:16-18).

See what a great hope God offers you: that of being able to be reconciled with him exclusively through the merits of Jesus!

You no longer have to rely on your own efforts and merits, and you no longer have to seek God’s favor through rituals. They are worthless and useless.

Instead, confess your sins to God and place your full trust in the salvation that the Lord Jesus has provided by dying in your place, because of your sins, and you will be forgiven.

God’s Word says that “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9).

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9).

Jesus promised: “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.” and “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 14:23,24 and 10:27,28).

Observing the words of Jesus means obeying what he said in his Word, the Holy Bible.

If you don’t have a Bible, you can buy one at any bookstore.

You can also download it for free on your smartphone (www.bible.com/app) or you can contact us and we will be happy to send you a free copy and some printed materials that will help you deepen your knowledge of Christ and His Word.

If salvation depended on me or you, we would have no hope! We are so selfish, fragile and sinful that we could never be true pilgrims with true hope.

But since forgiveness, salvation, and the assurance of eternal life depend entirely on what Christ has done, we can not only be sure that we have them, but that there is nothing that cause us to lose them.

Have you believed in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation?

This is the only way we can have a sure hope guaranteed by God himself!

–Jordan Standridge