Ladder to Heaven?

Yesterday I drove by a chuch that had a message board in front saying, "Church is the ladder to heaven." Is that a biblically accurate picture?

The church is certainly precious to the Lord. It is referred to as Christ's body, as Christ's bride. You can't seriously read the New Testament without noticing the centrality of the local church. Every believer needs to be committed to a church that faithfully preaches and teaches God's Word, that equips the saints for the work of service, that reaches out to the lost. It is in the context of the local church that the "one-anothers" can be lived out. The church is clearly important--but is it a ladder to heaven?

A ladder is something one must climb, as rung by rung we get closer to the goal. The climber is the central figure in this picture. That is not true about salvation, but it is true about every human religion. The focus is on us earning our way to heaven. The Bible talks about a different path to salvation. It is not a ladder, but a rescue, an air-lift. All men are sinners and in desperate need of rescue. We can do nothing in our own efforts to earn God's favor, to climb up the ladder. The good news is that God is a God who rescues and saves! John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life". We obtain this eternal life, not by climbing to heaven by our own good works, or our participation in the church, but by believing in Christ's finished work on the cross, and trusting in Him. He did it all!

Out of love for Him and gratitude for all that He has done for me, I want to be a part of the church, to serve Him, to minister to others, and to reach out to those who don't know Christ. Ephesians 2:8-10 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one whould boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" Our good works are not rungs on the ladder to heaven, they are a response to the fact that He has rescued us, air-lifted us out of the mire of sin and self and human achievement. We have been delivered from the domain of darkness, and transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:13-14), and therefore we want to proclaim the escellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light! (1 Peter 2:9)