HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, December 15, 2024 – The “free gift” of redemption is not a ticket to Heaven. I wasn’t handed a one-way ticket to Paradise with an open departure date when I was reborn. I was given redemption through spiritual rebirth, which means I was cleansed from original sin and from my own sins via an exorcism that rid me of the spirits of the world and prepared a place within me for God’s Spirit.

God’s Holy Spirit will not live in the same soul as spirits of the world unless those spirits are first given the boot. I enabled God to give them the boot when I chose mercy instead of revenge. I did not exorcise me; God exorcised me, through his Spirit. All I did was say “yes” to his way, which then allowed him to rid me of the worldly spirits. But he first needed my agreement before he could do that. Spiritual laws are very precise.

The free gift of redemption was paid for by Jesus. I didn’t have to pay anything for it. What I got as my free gift was a squeaky-clean soul and a one-on-one relationship with God and Jesus, through God’s Holy Spirit. I instantaneously became part of God’s holy family. With God, I become his adopted daughter, and with Jesus, I became his follower and sister. These relationships grew and deepened as my faith grew and deepened, the same way a newborn’s relationships exist at birth but only gain form and depth in the mind of the child as he or she grows and matures.

What we do with our free gift – that is, how clean we maintain our souls and how well we get to know God and Jesus – determines whether or not we’ll ultimately make it home. We not only have to say “yes” to God’s way to get our free gift; we also have to keep saying “yes” and “yes” and again “yes” to God’s way all the way to the end of our time on Earth. Jesus told us that “those who endure to the end will be saved”, meaning not that we have to endure to the end of the end times, but to the end of our own personal allotted time. By enduring, Jesus meant that we need to continue to say “yes” to God’s way, regardless of the circumstances, as he clearly demonstrated through his own arrest, imprisonment, torture, and execution. If we don’t endure in God’s way to the end, as taught to us by Jesus, we won’t make it home.

There are many false prophets who claim that spiritual rebirth is a ticket to Heaven. Whether they make this claim in error or out of malice, I don’t know. I guess it depends on the individual: some make the false claim out of ignorance, while others make it out of a calculated desire to mislead. Regardless of the motivation, claiming that salvation is guaranteed by spiritual rebirth is dead wrong, as is the claim that you simply have to “believe” to be saved or be a Christian to be saved.

The free gift is indeed free, but it’s just a starting point. Though not a ticket to Heaven, redemption does put us on the path to Heaven and gives us all the help we need to get there. Think of it like this: if you’re genuinely born-again, you were fished out of stormy seas, gently lowered onto a life raft, presented with a pair of oars, and pointed toward a shining beacon that indicates land. You were also given all the supplies you’ll need to survive until you make it to land. Whether or not you choose to continue rowing toward the beacon is up to you. It’s entirely up to you.

You’re not forced to row in the direction you were pointed to and you’re not even forced to keep rowing. You can do whatever you want with your free gift. But if you are genuinely born-again, you’ll want to row toward the beacon and you’ll want to keep on rowing. You’ll want to do exactly as you were directed because you can’t imagine doing otherwise (because you’ve done the “otherwise” before you landed in the lifeboat, and you know where it leads).

The gift of redemption is free to those who choose God’s way, but admission to Heaven requires persevering in God’s way to the end. We must never presume that we’ll make it to Heaven; hope for it, yes, long for it, always, strive for it, you betcha, but presume it, never, as only “those who endure to the [very very] end will be saved,” and we’re not there yet.

Redemption and everything that goes with it is the best gift you’ll ever receive during your time on Earth. What you choose to do with your free gift will determine your eternity.