Salvation

It’s been said that, “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.” The people on the Titanic found out how false that statement is! They thought they were on an “unsinkable” vessel when it hit an iceberg and sank in less than 3 hours leaving 1,517 people to freeze and drown in the Atlantic.

CC Image courtesy of Cliff on Flickr

PROBLEM:

Can I please share with you what you might not know, which could hurt you for all eternity?

The Bible says, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

This means that we cannot be with God in heaven for eternity and instead must be in a place the Bible calls hell. Believe me, you don’t want to go there.

SOLUTION:

Everyone has a sin problem and needs forgiveness. But there is Good News. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

God sent His Son, the only One who could pay for other’s sins, to be born as a human being and later die on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins.

ACTION:

But it is not enough to just know this. If I offered to send $1,000.00 to everyone who simply wrote me an email and asked for it (which I am not!), who would receive it? Answer: those who ASKED for it would receive it.

Likewise, it is not enough just to know that God through Christ freely offers salvation—we must ASK to receive it.

The Bible says, “But to all who did RECEIVE him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).

PRAYER:

Would you like to receive Christ and the forgiveness He offers? If so, here is a prayer you can pray to do so:

“Dear Jesus, I know I have been a sinner and I need forgiveness. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I receive your gift of salvation. Come into my life and make me a new person. Help me to live for you. Amen.”

I encourage you to read this prayer aloud prayerfully if this is your desire.

GREAT, WHAT’S NEXT?

If you prayed the prayer above sincerely, you have been “born again.” Congratulations! To understand what that means, please read John 3:1-21.

Being “born again” means you have forgiveness from all your sins: past, present and future. It doesn’t mean that you will never again do anything wrong or that your life will suddenly become perfect.

In fact, being a Christian involves a lot of effort. “Work out your salvation” (Philippians 2:12b).

One of the first actions is that you should tell others about your faith. Jesus said, “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32).

Who you should you tell? I would love if you would tell me “I prayed your prayer”—here’s my contact information or you can just leave a comment below. You should also tell those around you who love and care about you.

Then you should study our FREE lessons which are designed to help you walk closely with Jesus as His disciple. Just go to our Discipleship Journeys with Jesus website and sign up!

God bless you!