|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In His own words
Jesus tells us that He is the Son of God (Luke 22:70). The Bible
further expounds on what this means when Jesus said “I am the
Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father except
through Me.” (John 14:6)
In one of the best
known passages of the Bible, Jesus also tells us that “For God so
loved the world that He sent His one & only Son (Jesus) that whoever
believes in Him might be saved” (John 3:16). So, God is telling
us, here and in other verses, that Jesus is the Savior for all who
believe in Him and the only way to God. The worst of us do
things 1,000 times worse. Things that are in many cases flat out
evil. All of those things, from the little ones to the big ones are
called “sin”. Every single one of us has sinned; there is no way
around that. You are a sinner. I am a sinner. The person you just
talked to on the phone is a sinner. 100% guaranteed. The Bible tells
us “for all have sinned”. That’s not “some” or “most.” It
says “all.” (Romans 3:23) Both our sins and the
sinful nature that produces those sins need to be dealt with if we
have any chance before a holy and perfect God. It means that God wanted to make it possible for you to have a relationship with Him. He could not do that because of your sin. So, He had to make a way for your sins to be forgiven. The way He chose (and the only way possible) was that someone had to pay for your sins. Someone had to be held responsible for all the sins man had done. And there is only one penalty for sin… Death. Romans 6:23 tells us that the “…wages of sin is death." Knowing this, God sent his Son, Jesus into the world. Jesus came for the set purpose of making and proclaiming the way back to a relationship with God. He did that by dying for you. In his death He took on all the sins that you’ve ever committed or will commit. And He paid for them with His life. And, then, following the plan God had laid out centuries earlier, Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of God. That death paid for your sins. The resurrection confirmed all Jesus had said about Himself and made the way for Him to live in you by imparting to you His death in payment for your sins and His life so that you may live as God intends. His Resurrection
proves that He has conquered death and sin. That’s why the full
verse of Romans 6:23 reads like this: “For the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord!” Grace is a free gift given when we deserved punishment. Because of our sin, God could have justly condemned us to an eternity separate from Him in a place the Bible calls Hell. Instead, He sent Jesus, His Son, to die on the cross for us. "... by faith" is God calling you to trust that Jesus' death and resurrection paid the penalty for your sin. Trusting in good intentions, church attendance, or good works won't get you anywhere. Only trust in Jesus will save you. Jesus said it simply: Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. (John 6:47) Trust in Jesus is what makes you a Christian, and it is the first step in becoming the kind of person God wants you to be. If you want to begin a life-changing relationship with God, you can do so right now. Express to God your gratitude to Him for sending the Lord Jesus Christ to die for you on the cross and for raising Him from the dead. Thank Him for paying the penalty for your sins. Now, thank Him for your salvation! And welcome to the family of God! You are a CHRISTIAN!
You are now one of God’s forgiven children. And… read this closely…
nothing can change that. God richly bless and favor you as He guides you in this new life in His Son! |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|