How to be a Brat and Still go to Heaven
Written by Scott Ludbrook Illustrated by Greg Walker
Introduction: Can I really be a Brat and still go to Heaven?
YES! You can really be a brat and still go to heaven. In fact, according to the Bible, you can’t go to heaven unless you’re willing to admit that you are a brat. “No way!” you might be thinking, “the Bible is a religious book, a holy book about being good, obeying God, the Ten Commandments and stuff like that. A brat does bad things and disobeys rules. Only goody-goodies go to heaven.” Well, I know that’s what a lot of people think, but it’s not true.
In the rest of this book you will discover how to be a brat and still go to heaven. The first thing you must do is …
In the rest of this book you will discover how to be a brat and still go to heaven. The first thing you must do is …
Believe
… Believe. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6 that, “… without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists …” Do you? If not, imagine this. You have a jigsaw puzzle of a map of the world – 1000 pieces, 500 pieces, 100 pieces if you like – it doesn’t really matter. Next you shake up the box, take off the lid and toss the pieces into the air. What do you have? A perfectly formed world where all the pieces fit together? Not a chance! Try again and again, for an hour, a day, a week, a year, a lifetime, a million lifetimes. Even with the wildest imagination you still get the same result – a mess!
Everyone knows that the only way to complete a jigsaw puzzle is for someone to work out where the different pieces go, and then carefully put them together. It doesn’t happen by chance. Intelligence is required to arrange the pieces into the correct order. If this is the way it is with a bunch of cardboard shapes, then how much more difficult is it to imagine this incredibly complex world, with such an amazing variety of plants, animals and landscapes, just falling into place with no designer or maker?
Some people say that it’s all a result of evolution. This is the belief that life forms have developed and changed over time (usually long periods of time, such as millions of years), becoming more and more complex. For example, lizards evolving into birds and apes evolving into humans. What many of these people don’t realise, is that there is a lot of evidence against evolution and much evidence for creation by God.
Some people say that it’s all a result of evolution. This is the belief that life forms have developed and changed over time (usually long periods of time, such as millions of years), becoming more and more complex. For example, lizards evolving into birds and apes evolving into humans. What many of these people don’t realise, is that there is a lot of evidence against evolution and much evidence for creation by God.
If you’d like to find out about some of this evidence, then visit:
AnswersInGenesis.org/kids and CreationForKids.com
At these websites you’ll find heaps of up-to-date information and answers to frequently asked questions about creation and evolution. It also allows you to shop securely on-line for books, videos and tapes related to the topic. There’s something suitable for every age group.
For those of you who are now convinced that God created the world – congratulations – you are one step closer to a place in heaven. However, being a brat who believes in God will not get you through the gates. You also need to ...
AnswersInGenesis.org/kids and CreationForKids.com
At these websites you’ll find heaps of up-to-date information and answers to frequently asked questions about creation and evolution. It also allows you to shop securely on-line for books, videos and tapes related to the topic. There’s something suitable for every age group.
For those of you who are now convinced that God created the world – congratulations – you are one step closer to a place in heaven. However, being a brat who believes in God will not get you through the gates. You also need to ...
Repent
… Repent. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” These words spoken by Jesus are recorded in the Bible in Mark chapter 1, verse 15. “Repent? Good News? Jesus? What’s all this got to do with me being a brat and still going to heaven?”
If you’re thinking something like that at the moment, then at least you understand one thing clearly – you are a brat! And even if that’s nothing like what’s going through your head right now – you’re still a brat. In fact, the Bible says that we’re all brats, although instead of the word ‘brat’, it uses the word ‘sinner’. Both words mean a person who does naughty or bad things. Every single one of us has done things that we know are wrong, like lying, being greedy and treating others in a mean way. The Bible is right – we’re all brats.
OK, I know that still doesn’t explain the ‘Repent? Good News? Jesus?’ questions. Well, before you can comprehend what Jesus meant by ‘repent’ and ‘good news’ you must first understand the bad news.
If you’re thinking something like that at the moment, then at least you understand one thing clearly – you are a brat! And even if that’s nothing like what’s going through your head right now – you’re still a brat. In fact, the Bible says that we’re all brats, although instead of the word ‘brat’, it uses the word ‘sinner’. Both words mean a person who does naughty or bad things. Every single one of us has done things that we know are wrong, like lying, being greedy and treating others in a mean way. The Bible is right – we’re all brats.
OK, I know that still doesn’t explain the ‘Repent? Good News? Jesus?’ questions. Well, before you can comprehend what Jesus meant by ‘repent’ and ‘good news’ you must first understand the bad news.
Here it is. When God made the first man and woman (Adam and Eve), they were not brats. They had a perfect relationship with each other, God and all of his creation. God put them in a beautiful garden where there were all kinds of trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. Not only that, but Adam and Eve were made to live forever. Then something terrible happened – Adam and Eve disobeyed God. They ate fruit from the one tree that God had told them not to – the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God warned Adam and Eve that if they ate from this tree they would eventually die.
Adam and Eve went from living in a perfect world without sin, sickness, disease, suffering or death, to a world that God had cursed – the same world we live in today. And like Adam and Eve, we also sin (disobey God) and eventually die.
“But why did God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil there in the first place?” I hear some of you ask. Since I’m not God, I can’t tell you for certain, but I look at it this way. I’m married. The reason I’m married is because my wife chose to marry me. I asked her and she said yes. No-one forced her. She had a choice and decided that she wanted to share the rest of her life with me. But what if she had no other option or was forced to marry me? Our relationship wouldn’t mean nearly as much as it does. You see, the thing that makes my marriage to my wife so special is that she chose me. She didn’t have to, but she wanted to.
In a similar way, I think God wanted Adam and Eve to choose to have a close relationship with him because they wanted to. If there had been no tree, there would have been no choice.
Now for the start of the good news. Even though, like Adam and Eve, we are brats who have disobeyed God, he still loves us and wants us to live forever with him in heaven – a place where there will be no more death, sadness, crying or pain – ever!
“But why did God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil there in the first place?” I hear some of you ask. Since I’m not God, I can’t tell you for certain, but I look at it this way. I’m married. The reason I’m married is because my wife chose to marry me. I asked her and she said yes. No-one forced her. She had a choice and decided that she wanted to share the rest of her life with me. But what if she had no other option or was forced to marry me? Our relationship wouldn’t mean nearly as much as it does. You see, the thing that makes my marriage to my wife so special is that she chose me. She didn’t have to, but she wanted to.
In a similar way, I think God wanted Adam and Eve to choose to have a close relationship with him because they wanted to. If there had been no tree, there would have been no choice.
Now for the start of the good news. Even though, like Adam and Eve, we are brats who have disobeyed God, he still loves us and wants us to live forever with him in heaven – a place where there will be no more death, sadness, crying or pain – ever!
Isn’t that great! God wants to have a friendship with you that is never ending. But again, like Adam and Eve, you have a choice to make. God gives you the chance to repent. This means to change your mind. To turn from living life your own way and by your own rules, and to start living for God and doing things his way. When you repent, you also say sorry to God for your sins (the wrong things you have done).
“But if I turn from living my own way to living God’s way, I won’t be a brat going to heaven because I’ll no longer be a brat.” Yes you will! No matter how sorry you are for your sins and no matter how much you want to live God’s way, there will still be times when you disobey him. You won’t be completely brat-free until you get to heaven. It’s important to understand this, because a key part of repenting is admitting to God that you are a brat (a sinner), that you don’t deserve to go to heaven and that you can’t get there by your own effort or trying to be good. When you repent, you acknowledge that the only way you’re going to get to heaven is with God’s forgiveness.
Thankfully, God offers us forgiveness as a free gift. We don’t have to earn it – in fact, we can’t. This is where Jesus comes in. He is the one who enables us to be forgiven so that we can live with God in heaven. However, like anything we are offered, God’s gift of forgiveness is no good to us unless we …
“But if I turn from living my own way to living God’s way, I won’t be a brat going to heaven because I’ll no longer be a brat.” Yes you will! No matter how sorry you are for your sins and no matter how much you want to live God’s way, there will still be times when you disobey him. You won’t be completely brat-free until you get to heaven. It’s important to understand this, because a key part of repenting is admitting to God that you are a brat (a sinner), that you don’t deserve to go to heaven and that you can’t get there by your own effort or trying to be good. When you repent, you acknowledge that the only way you’re going to get to heaven is with God’s forgiveness.
Thankfully, God offers us forgiveness as a free gift. We don’t have to earn it – in fact, we can’t. This is where Jesus comes in. He is the one who enables us to be forgiven so that we can live with God in heaven. However, like anything we are offered, God’s gift of forgiveness is no good to us unless we …
Accept
… Accept it. Jesus said, “… whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me” (John chapter 13, verse 20). So, what does it mean to accept Jesus and the forgiveness of God?
Picture yourself as a judge in a court of law. Before you stands a murderer. He admits his guilt, says sorry and promises never to do it again. His eyes are filled with tears and he pleads with you not to send him to jail. What do you do? You send him to jail anyway. A person who has committed a crime should not simply go free – they must be punished. Justice needs to be done and the law upheld.
Picture yourself as a judge in a court of law. Before you stands a murderer. He admits his guilt, says sorry and promises never to do it again. His eyes are filled with tears and he pleads with you not to send him to jail. What do you do? You send him to jail anyway. A person who has committed a crime should not simply go free – they must be punished. Justice needs to be done and the law upheld.
This is what it is like for us when we stand before God. We may not have murdered someone, but we are brats. We are sinners. We have done things that we know are wrong. We have broken God’s laws. We are guilty and God must punish us – he can’t just let us into heaven because we say sorry and try to live his way. Unless of course, someone else took the punishment that we deserve from God for us. And that’s exactly what Jesus did.
God loves us so much more than we could ever imagine and he longs for us to spend forever with him. For this reason, God sent his only Son, Jesus, from heaven to earth to die a cruel death on a cross for our sins. Jesus died in our place, taking our punishment from God for being brats.
God loves us so much more than we could ever imagine and he longs for us to spend forever with him. For this reason, God sent his only Son, Jesus, from heaven to earth to die a cruel death on a cross for our sins. Jesus died in our place, taking our punishment from God for being brats.
To get the full impact of how amazing Jesus dying for our sins is, you have to realise this: when we talk about Jesus being God’s Son, we don’t mean that there was a ‘mother god’ who gave birth to him. Sure, when God (meaning God the Father) sent Jesus to earth, Jesus had a human mother named Mary. But she did not become pregnant with Jesus in the usual way. Instead, the Holy Spirit (meaning God the Holy Spirit) came upon her supernaturally and Jesus was conceived. However, this was not the beginning of Jesus – he had no beginning! Jesus (God the Son) has always existed, with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. This is called the Trinity.
What Trinity means is that there is one God represented in three persons: God the Father; God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. If this seems a bit complicated to you, then don’t worry, because you’re in good company. When Jesus was on earth, some of his disciples (they were his followers and close friends) had difficulty understanding the Trinity.
One time when Jesus was telling his disciples that he was going to prepare a place for them in heaven, they showed just how confused they really were. Check it out:
[Jesus said,] “You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am the way, and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus answered, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves” (John chapter 14, verses 4–11).
It is obvious that at this stage Jesus’ disciples didn’t completely understand who he really was, even after seeing him perform miracles, like making blind people see and crippled people walk. But Jesus wanted them to know him fully, so he explained his identity as you read above. On another occasion, Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (John chapter 10, verse 30). So if you’re going to accept Jesus and what he has done for you, then you need to realise this – Jesus is God!
What Trinity means is that there is one God represented in three persons: God the Father; God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. If this seems a bit complicated to you, then don’t worry, because you’re in good company. When Jesus was on earth, some of his disciples (they were his followers and close friends) had difficulty understanding the Trinity.
One time when Jesus was telling his disciples that he was going to prepare a place for them in heaven, they showed just how confused they really were. Check it out:
[Jesus said,] “You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am the way, and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus answered, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves” (John chapter 14, verses 4–11).
It is obvious that at this stage Jesus’ disciples didn’t completely understand who he really was, even after seeing him perform miracles, like making blind people see and crippled people walk. But Jesus wanted them to know him fully, so he explained his identity as you read above. On another occasion, Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” (John chapter 10, verse 30). So if you’re going to accept Jesus and what he has done for you, then you need to realise this – Jesus is God!
The Bible says that through Jesus all things were made and that without him nothing was made that has been made. Do you know what this means? It means that the one who made us is the same one who died on the cross for our sins. Isn’t that astonishing! The Creator taking the punishment deserved by the creation who rebelled against him, so that the creation could be forgiven and live forever in heaven with the Creator.
How loving and forgiving God is! Now if I were God, there’s no way I’d be like that. I have a son and I wouldn’t send him to die for my friends, let alone people who had sinned and disobeyed me. When I think of it like that, it blows my mind how much God loves me – and you too.
Believe it or not, the news gets even better. On the third day after Jesus’ death, God the Father proved that Jesus was his Son by raising him from the dead. After this, Jesus appeared to more than 500 people over a period of forty days before being lifted up into heaven.
Do you want to join Jesus in heaven one day? If the answer is yes then you obviously believe in him. Are you also willing to repent, as we talked about in the previous chapter – to change your mind, and turn from living life your own way to living God’s way? If the answer is still yes, then it is time for you to accept God’s love and his gift of forgiveness. You can do this by accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour (a person who has done this is called a Christian).
When you accept Jesus as your Lord, you are saying that he is the one whose ways and teachings you want to follow. Accepting Jesus as your Saviour means that he is the one who saves you from your sins and enables you to be forgiven. Simply tell God that this is what you want to do, by praying a prayer like this from your heart:
Dear God, I know that I am a brat and that I’ve sinned and disobeyed you in many ways. I am really sorry. Please forgive me. Help me to obey you and live your way. Thank you for loving me, and for sending Jesus to take the punishment for my sins on the cross. I accept him into my life now as my Lord and Saviour. Amen.
If you have just prayed this prayer then it is time to …
How loving and forgiving God is! Now if I were God, there’s no way I’d be like that. I have a son and I wouldn’t send him to die for my friends, let alone people who had sinned and disobeyed me. When I think of it like that, it blows my mind how much God loves me – and you too.
Believe it or not, the news gets even better. On the third day after Jesus’ death, God the Father proved that Jesus was his Son by raising him from the dead. After this, Jesus appeared to more than 500 people over a period of forty days before being lifted up into heaven.
Do you want to join Jesus in heaven one day? If the answer is yes then you obviously believe in him. Are you also willing to repent, as we talked about in the previous chapter – to change your mind, and turn from living life your own way to living God’s way? If the answer is still yes, then it is time for you to accept God’s love and his gift of forgiveness. You can do this by accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour (a person who has done this is called a Christian).
When you accept Jesus as your Lord, you are saying that he is the one whose ways and teachings you want to follow. Accepting Jesus as your Saviour means that he is the one who saves you from your sins and enables you to be forgiven. Simply tell God that this is what you want to do, by praying a prayer like this from your heart:
Dear God, I know that I am a brat and that I’ve sinned and disobeyed you in many ways. I am really sorry. Please forgive me. Help me to obey you and live your way. Thank you for loving me, and for sending Jesus to take the punishment for my sins on the cross. I accept him into my life now as my Lord and Saviour. Amen.
If you have just prayed this prayer then it is time to …
Thank
… Thank Jesus that he is now your Lord and Saviour, and for the fact that you will spend forever with him in heaven. But first, take a look at this passage from the Bible, where a guy named Paul talks about having accepted Jesus as his Lord and Saviour:
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen (1 Timothy chapter 1, verses 12–17).
Before Paul had accepted Jesus, he hated Christians and did everything he could to make their lives miserable. The Bible even tells of one occasion when Paul (then named Saul) stood giving approval while a man called Stephen was being stoned to death for his faith in Jesus. Imagine standing around saying it was good that someone before your very eyes was having rocks pelted at them until they died! Why am I telling you this? Because Paul was a big-time brat – in his own words he was “… the worst of sinners.”
So, if God forgave a sinner like Paul and accepted him into heaven, then you can know that God has forgiven you and will also accept you into heaven. This is because forgiveness and a place in heaven are not things that can be earned by you, Paul or anyone else – they are free gifts from God because of what Jesus did on the cross. Look at what it says in the Bible about being forgiven by God and having a place in heaven (eternal life):
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no-one can boast (Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8–9).
If we confess our sins, he [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John chapter 1, verse 9).
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God [Jesus] so that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John chapter 5, verse 13).
Isn’t it incredible! If you’ve accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, your sins have been forgiven and you will live forever with him in a place where there is no death, sadness, crying or pain – now that’s heaven! Tell God how you feel about what he has done in your life today. Thank him for loving you, forgiving you, for the gift of eternal life and for anything else that comes to mind. Don’t hold back, use your own words and speak from the heart.
Are you ready for more good news? When you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, another amazing thing happened in your life: God the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Trinity – remember, one God represented in three persons) came to live in your heart. Read some of what it says in the Bible about this:
And you were also included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance … (Ephesians chapter 1, verses 13–14).
He [God] anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his [Holy] Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (2 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 21–22).
And this is how we know that he [God] lives in us: We know it by the [Holy] Spirit he gave us (1 John chapter 3, verse 24).
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen (1 Timothy chapter 1, verses 12–17).
Before Paul had accepted Jesus, he hated Christians and did everything he could to make their lives miserable. The Bible even tells of one occasion when Paul (then named Saul) stood giving approval while a man called Stephen was being stoned to death for his faith in Jesus. Imagine standing around saying it was good that someone before your very eyes was having rocks pelted at them until they died! Why am I telling you this? Because Paul was a big-time brat – in his own words he was “… the worst of sinners.”
So, if God forgave a sinner like Paul and accepted him into heaven, then you can know that God has forgiven you and will also accept you into heaven. This is because forgiveness and a place in heaven are not things that can be earned by you, Paul or anyone else – they are free gifts from God because of what Jesus did on the cross. Look at what it says in the Bible about being forgiven by God and having a place in heaven (eternal life):
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no-one can boast (Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8–9).
If we confess our sins, he [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John chapter 1, verse 9).
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God [Jesus] so that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John chapter 5, verse 13).
Isn’t it incredible! If you’ve accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, your sins have been forgiven and you will live forever with him in a place where there is no death, sadness, crying or pain – now that’s heaven! Tell God how you feel about what he has done in your life today. Thank him for loving you, forgiving you, for the gift of eternal life and for anything else that comes to mind. Don’t hold back, use your own words and speak from the heart.
Are you ready for more good news? When you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, another amazing thing happened in your life: God the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Trinity – remember, one God represented in three persons) came to live in your heart. Read some of what it says in the Bible about this:
And you were also included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance … (Ephesians chapter 1, verses 13–14).
He [God] anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his [Holy] Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (2 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 21–22).
And this is how we know that he [God] lives in us: We know it by the [Holy] Spirit he gave us (1 John chapter 3, verse 24).
The Holy Spirit will help and guide you in life, and comfort you during difficult times. He will also produce many positive character qualities in your life, if you allow him to. The Bible calls these character qualities ‘the fruit of the Spirit’. They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
The first of the fruits mentioned above is something that Jesus spoke about a lot – love. In fact, Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. Then he mentioned the second greatest: to love others as yourself. Ask God to fill you with love for him and for people so that you can do what Jesus said. Just remember that when you do things to obey God, you are not doing them to try and win his approval, acceptance, forgiveness or love – these things are already yours because of what Jesus has done for you. Obeying God is simply a sign of loving him.
Now that you understand a little bit more about what it means to have Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, let me give you a suggestion as to what to do next. That is, tell someone who you know is a Christian that you have accepted Jesus. Do this as soon as possible so that they can encourage you and teach you more about living life God’s way.
Thanks for reading my book. I hope you enjoyed discovering how to be a brat and still go to heaven. God bless you!
Thanks for reading my book. I hope you enjoyed discovering how to be a brat and still go to heaven. God bless you!