The central theme of the Bible is God's love for you and for all
people. This love was revealed when Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
came into the world as a human being, lived a sinless life, died on
the cross, and rose from the dead. Because Christ died, your sins
can be forgiven, and because He conquered death you can have eternal
life. You can know for sure what will become of you after you die.
You have probably heard the story of God’s love referred to as the
"Gospel." The word Gospel simply means "Good News." The Gospel is
the Good News that, because of what Christ has done, we can be
forgiven and can live forever. But this gift of forgiveness
and eternal life cannot be yours unless you willingly accept it. God
requires an individual response from you. The following verses from
the Bible show God's part and yours in this process:
God's love is
revealed in the Bible
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal
life." (John 3:16)
God loves you. He
wants to bless your life and make it full and complete. And He wants
to give you a life which will last forever, even after you
experience physical death.
We are sinful
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
(Romans 3:23)
You may have heard
someone say, "I'm only human....nobody's perfect." This Bible verse
says the same thing: We are all sinners. We all do things that we
know are wrong. And that's why we feel estranged from God -- because
God is holy and good, and we are not.
Sin has a penalty
"For the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23)
Just as criminals
must pay the penalty for their crimes, sinners must pay the penalty
for their sins. If you continue to sin, you will pay the penalty of
spiritual death: You will not only die physically; you will also be
separated from our holy God for all eternity. The Bible teaches that
those who choose to remain separated from God will spend eternity in
a place called hell.
Christ has paid
our penalty!
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were
still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
The Bible teaches
that Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, has paid the penalty for
all your sins. You may think you have to lead a good life and do
good deeds before God will love you. But the Bible says that Christ
loved you enough to die for you, even when you were rebelling
against Him.
Salvation is a
free gift
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and
this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so
that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
The word grace
means "undeserved favor." It means God is offering you something you
could never provide for yourself: forgiveness of sins and eternal
life, God's gift to you is free. You do not have to work for a gift.
All you have to do is joyfully receive it, Believe with all your
heart that Jesus Christ died for you!
Christ is at your
heart's door
"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my
voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he
with me." (Revelation 3:20)
Jesus Christ wants
to have a personal relationship with you. Picture, if you will,
Jesus Christ standing at the door of your heart (the door of your
emotions, intellect and will). Invite Him in; He is waiting for you
to receive Him into your heart and life.
You must receive
Him
"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name,
he gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12)
When you receive
Christ into your heart you become a child of God, and have the
privilege of talking to Him in prayer at any time about anything.
The Christian life is a personal relationship to God through Jesus
Christ. And best of all, it is a relationship that will last for all
eternity.
If you have made the decision to follow Christ at this moment and have received Him as your Savior, the best way to proclaim it is to tell someone. We would like to hear from you. Send us some email and tell us about it. (info@eternityhouse.org)