Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
Here's some MUSIC to listen
to while you contemplate the following:
Saved Saved
The Gospel
WE'RE ALL SINNERS:
"As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one." Romans 3:10
"There is no difference: for all have sinned , and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:22, 23
"Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned." Romans 5:12
Every single human being to be born on this planet is born a sinner. This is a fact of who we are, not just what we do. Since Eve and Adam (Though made with a free will in a perfect, special relationship with God, being created in His image) originally sinned, disobeying God and eating of the forbidden fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, mankind has been a species of sinners. As cats beget cats, and dogs beget dogs, so sinners beget sinners, each after its own kind. Since we are each also born with a free will, we each bear personal responsibility for our sins. If any of us looks honestly and deeply into our heart, we'll know sin is our first nature, and that we've been guilty of various sins.
The first step toward salvation is recognizing this fact, and admitting it to yourself.
THERE IS PUNISHMENT FOR SIN:
"For the wages of sin is death;" Romans 6:23
There is a penalty for our sins. That which we earn for our sin is spiritual death/separation from God/eternal torment in hell!!! God is perfect and sinless, and can't abide sin in His presence. One sin is enough to separate us from Him. None of us CAN be good enough to work our way into heaven, just to work our way into the lake of fire! Each of us DESERVES hell. I've heard it said that a loving God would never send anyone to hell, and this is true, though He is also a just God...We send ourselves to hell if, by our own free will, we reject the way out of it that He gave us!
WE CAN'T EARN SALVATION...IT'S A GIFT:
"But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8, 9
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Revelation 3:20
Although there is no way by our own works we can please a perfect God, there was one sinless being who could: Jesus! It's because of what He did for us that we can appear sinless before God, and be in His presence for eternity. Salvation is a free gift; something He gives us by His grace (or unmerited favor) through faith (believing/trusting Him for what He did for us through Christ's death and resurrection). All we have to do is, as an act of our will, as a personal choice or decision, ACCEPT it!!!
Think of it this way: A delivery boy comes to your house. He has a box with a million dollars in it (Highly improbable, I know, but play along with me here)! He knocks repeatedly on your door. He tells you several times what's in the box, that it's totally free, no strings attached, and all you have to do is take it and it's yours. If you just stand there looking at him and the box on the porch through your peep-hole, and don't open your door to receive it, it's a free gift that doesn't ever belong to you! The free gift of eternal life is the same way...Jesus is standing there knocking at the door of your heart. You better let him in!!!
JESUS TOOK THE PUNISHMENT IN OUR PLACE:
"But God commendeth his love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
"And without shedding of blood is no remission." Hebrews 9:22
"Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." 1 Peter 2:24
God loved each and every one of us enough to humble Himself by becoming one of us (Jesus is all God AND all man, the hands that bridge the gulf between God and man caused by sin, reconciling us to God), and becoming a blood sacrifice for remission of our sins (Sin is so abhorent to God it takes the blood of Jesus the spotless Lamb to wash us clean of it once and for all...He took our sins upon Himself when He was crucified and paid the penalty FOR us, giving us His righteousness in return) for any that believe on His name. No matter where you find yourself at this point in your life, He loves you and wants you to accept what He wants to give you (forgiveness and free eternal life with Him) NOW, just as you are.
YOU NEED TO MAKE THE GIFT YOUR OWN:
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." Mark 1:15
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation"..."For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10: 9, 10, 13
"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3
"But as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." John 1:12
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Acts 16:31
We are born the first time as children of Adam (sinners). We need to be born again as children of God (having received Christ as Saviour from sin). If we accept Jesus Christ the Lord into our hearts and lives on a personal basis, our old nature (sinful man) is put to death with Christ on the cross, and our new nature (righteous man, child of God) is born as we share also in His resurrection from the dead. You can KNOW (not just HOPE so, or THINK so) that if you were to die today (and it could happen in the next blink of your eye, so don't put off making a decision..."Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." Proverbs 27:1) you would be in heaven with God. When Paul and Silas were asked by their jailer what he must do to be saved, they gave him a cause and effect formula: "BELIEVE ON the Lord Jesus Christ (trust God for what He did for us on the cross), and thou SHALT be saved". If you do the one the other WILL happen...It really is as simple and certain as that!!!
We need to repent of our sin (Repentance is a change of mind and heart about who Christ is and what He has done for us in our life. We turn from our sinful condition, not necessarily our individual sins, although that should follow as a RESULT of our salvation), call on Jesus, asking Him into our hearts (Receiving Him, believing Him for what He did for us as God through His death and resurrection), and then trust God that He'll keep His promise to do what He said He would (i.e. save us from our sin and the penalty for it, reconciling us to Him forever)!
If you can't remember a time in your life when you've understood the gospel (meaning the "GOOD NEWS" of salvation by GRACE through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as payment in full for sin, freedom from sin/death/hell, that eternal life with God can be yours for the asking...See 1Cor. 15:1-6), and appropriated salvation for yourself as an act of your own, personal, free will, then I urge you to do so now. All it takes is a simple prayer, sincere and earnest from your heart. It can be in your own words, but here is a sample of what/how you should pray (Remember, this is not a magical prayer that saves you, but trusting in Christ that does that...This just expresses that trust to God):
Lord Jesus, I realize that I am a sinner and ask you to forgive me. I believe You are the only begotten Son of God, and that you died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sin FOR me, then rose again on the third day to prove that it was so. I open the door of my heart to You...Come into my heart, and into my life, that I may receive You as my Saviour from sin, and that I may accept the free gift of eternal life that only You can provide. I now trust you to save my soul from hell and to take me to heaven with You when I die. Make me the kind of person You want me to be. I thank you for hearing my prayer; In Your precious name. Amen (So BE it!)
ASSURANCE OF SALVATION:
"And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." 1 John 5:11-13
If you prayed this prayer (or one like it), and meant it, it's a done deal. Eternal life IS YOURS! I hope you weren't expecting to be hit by a lightning bolt or some such thing...Don't trust in your feelings or emotions...Trust in God and His promises as revealed in scripture as your authority for what's happened in your life!!!
AFTER-CARE:
1.) If you've prayed and received Jesus Christ the Lord as your Saviour, here is your story so far:
a.) You were a vile sinner, hopelessly, helplessly lost in your sin as we all once were (Eph.2:1-3 and Col. 1:21).
b.) You trusted Jesus' sacrifice on the cross to pay your sin-debt in full (Heb. 10:12, 14).
c.) Christ came into your life (Rev. 3:20 and Col. 1:27).
d.) Your sins were forgiven (Col. 1:14).
e.) You were born again, becoming a child of God (John 1:12)...Talk about personal power!
f.) You received eternal life (John 5:24).
g.) You started the plan for your life that God created you for (John 10:10, 2 Cor. 5:17, and 1 Thess.5:18).
h.) You also received the Holy Spirit to live on the inside of you to teach and to lead you in your daily walk with God (Rom. 8:9-16, 1 Cor. 2:10-14).
2.) For personal growth, feed yourself daily with the Word of God (Acts 17:11 and 1Peter 2:2)...I recommend starting with the Gospel of John and Romans...If you need help understanding anything, pray to God for understanding, because He'll send the Holy Spirit to teach you.
3.) Pray daily to God (John 15:7).
4.) Obey God moment by moment (John 14:21).
5.) Trust God for every detail of your life (1 Peter 5:7).
6.) Witness for Christ by your life and words (Matt. 4:19, John 15:8).
7.) Allow the Holy Spirit to control and empower your daily life and witness (Gal. 5:16, 17, Acts 1:8).
8.) Find and attend a Bible believing, Bible preaching/teaching church, and attend regularly (Heb. 10:25).
9.) Have yourself baptized as an act of obedience, and as an outward sign of what you've done inwardly (Acts 2:38).
MORE ABOUT JESUS:
1.) He IS God, and lived a sinless life (We CAN'T, He DID).
2.) He died on the cross as the only acceptable, perfect sacrifice for our sins, and three days later rose physically from the dead, conquering death forever (Matt. 12:38, John 2:20, Luke 24:39).
3.) He was seen not only by the Apostles after his resurrection, but also by over 500 other witnesses before He ascended into heaven to be seated at the right hand of God (1 Cor. 15: 5-8).
4.) He fulfilled ALL of the prophecies in scripture concerning the first coming of the Messiah, so it's a certainty that He'll fulfill ALL of the prophecies concerning His second coming!!!
5.) Jesus is the ONLY way to heaven (Acts 4:12, John 14:6).
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Please write me if you were saved as a result of this page, or if you have any questions. In order to preserve the concepts as contained herein, the entire written contents and the presentation thereof are copyright© 2001 by David A. DeVore, and may not be used without consent.