To be saved, there is only one way. To acept the free offer of salvation by accepting Jesus Christ into your life. All you need to do is confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead. You will be saved (Romans 10:9-10).
Who Is Jesus Christ?
Jesus Christ is God, one of the Trinity of persons who are God. God the Father, God the Son (Jesus the Christ) and God the Holy Spirit make up the Trinity. He is the Word of God mentioned in Genesis and John.
How Does Jesus Christ Save Us?
We are born as sinners in a sinful world. Just look at what a child does. They do not have to be taught how to evade, lie, and physically overcome the next child. This is our sinfulness being expressed. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). We sin against God by disobeying His law which is written in our hearts. In order for the debt of our sin to be paid, we would need to die, not a natural death, but spiritual death which is eternal seperation from God.
Jesus came to earth as a man so that He could die in our place. He was perfect and when He died, he took upon Himself the price of our sin. He paid the price that was not His and we do not have to pay our own bill, IF we accept the gift of God which is eternal life. If we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior then we will live forever with God, never having to pay the debt that our sins made against us.
How do We Accept Jesus as Our Lord?
We tell Jesus that we are sinners. That we are turning from our sins and want Jesus to come into our hearts. We tell Jesus that we want Him to be our Lord and Savior. We tell Jesus that we are sorry for sinning against Him and His law. We ask Jesus to forgive us for breaking His law. We tell Jesus that we believe that He died for our sins and rose from the dead.
“Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name. Amen” (Billy Graham).
What Does it Mean to Live Forever?
When we were created we were created whole, with our spirit alive and connected to us. Then Adam sinned and gave away the authority to rule and reign over the world. God told him that if he ate of the tree of the knowedge of good and evil, he would die. He did not die physically right away, but he did die spiritually. When we accept Jesus as our Lord, our spirit is brought back to life and we are raised up to be seated with Christ in the heavenlies. When Jesus returns we will rule and reign with Him for a thousand years (Millenium). Then we will live with Him and the Father in the New Jerusalem forever. People who do not accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior will live forever also, in the lake of fire.
If there is any way that we can help you start or grow your relationship with Jesus, let us know.
The Gospel (good news)
Gospel
Being a follower of Jesus means more than being good, doing religious things, being baptized, or joining the church. Becoming a follower of Jesus is being born again – a spiritual rebirth. The Gospel of John is a good place to begin looking at what this entails and what a relationship with God looks like.
How do you have a relationship with God? Notice the keyword is “relationship” and not “religion.” Religion is a man-made artifact, whereas having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ is placing your trust in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. That’s right. It’s not based upon your good deeds, trying to be a better person or anything else that you can do yourself.
God loves you and created you to have a relationship with Him and to have purpose for your life. (See John 3:16 and John 10:10)
God could have anything in the universe, but He chose to love you and give you a wonderful purpose for your life here and after. But, you can’t experience this love and purpose on your own because of your sin.
All of us have sinned and our sin separates us from God. (See Romans 3:23 and Romans 6:23)
Sin (which means any thought, word, or action that rebels against God) separated you from the relationship with God you were meant to have. Because of sin, you are left with a void in your life, and you try to fill up with whatever you can.
God provides His Son, Jesus Christ, for our sin. Jesus is the One and only provision for us to know God and His plan for our lives.
· Jesus died for you (Romans 5:8).
· Jesus defeated death, hell, and the grave by rising from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-6).
· Jesus is the only way to God (John 14:6).
· God has bridged the gulf that separates us from Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sins.
You must personally place your faith in Jesus Christ to know God’s love, forgiveness, assurance of salvation, and to know the purpose of your life.
You must turn from yourself (repentance) and turn to the LORD by trusting in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and allowing Him to make you a new person. You must receive Jesus by faith as an act of will. (John 1:12; Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-9)
Pastor Adam Stotler