Few verses from the Bible are more misunderstood than I Peter 4:17-18. “For the time is come that judgement must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?”

The phrase, “And if the righteous scarcely be saved” has caused many to question whether heaven is really achievable for them. They begin to doubt their own salvation. When we look at this verse in the context of the book of I Peter, we learn the judgement of which Peter writes is not the final judgement at Christ’s second coming but rather the judgement God would bring upon Jerusalem in AD 70.

In regard to the judgment of all men that will take place at the end of the world, Peter wrote “For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you ABUNDANTLY into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” II Peter 1:11.

A home in heaven requires diligence on our part. It requires effort. It requires counting the cost. But, because of what God has done for us, it IS reachable! You can do it!