Eternal life is available to anyone who calls on the name of the Lord!
You know there is an almighty creator. You long to know Him. But how? Thankfully, the true gospel of Jesus Christ is so simple that a child can understand it.
Acknowledge your sin.
The Bible tells us that everyone has sinned.
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23 )
But what is sin?
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (1 John 3:4 )
What law? The Ten commandments.
And what is the penalty of sin?
For the wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23)
Eternal life is a gift.
If we have all sinned and deserve death, how can we be saved?
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
It is given by Jesus Christ, the Son of God who IS God. He alone fulfilled the law.
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17–18)
There is nothing we can do to earn this gift.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8)
If salvation is a gift, it cannot be earned. It is free and waiting for every one who receives it.
No matter how bad your sins have been. No matter what you have done in the past, this gift is waiting for you to accept it.
So how do we accept it?
Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Believe that He came to this earth in the form of man to die in your place.
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2 Cor 5:21)
He died the death that we deserve, so that we may live the life that only He deserves.
But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. (John 20:31)
Jesus rose from the dead and now sits on the throne of God in Heaven.
Christ is the only one who ever lived a perfect life. That is why He is the only One who could ever pay the price for our sin.
Repent and Receive His gift.
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2:21)
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. (Rev 3:20)
Someone will say “You need to do more than believe! Scripture says that even the devil believes and trembles! And he isn’t going to heaven!”
Belief in Jesus Christ requires us to repent, which just means to change our minds about where true life is found, about our sin and our futile attempts to be “good enough” and please God through our own efforts. Trying to reach God through human effort is the core of all false occult religions.
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 4:17)
And they went out, and preached that men should repent. (Mark 6:12)
I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. (Luke 13:3)
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. (James 2:17-18 )
When the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, righteousness and judgment, and we turn from the never ending cycle of trying to be “good enough” to the Son of God for salvation or repeatedly “repenting and confessing” to try and stay saved. We will be born anew in spirit, our deepest personhood. We know it because we have a heart change of deep humility, knowing that, even though we deserve nothing (no ability to live a holy life before a Holy God on our own), He forgave us of ALL our sin and gave us everything.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Rom 8:1)
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Rom 8:32)
We walk in this new life through the power of His Spirit as we keep our eyes on Him.
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.'(Gal 5:16)
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. (Rom 10:9-10)
More than having just “gotten” salvation, our very personhood is changed and our very life is no longer found in the flesh (body and heart and soul) but in the spirit, our inner being (Rom 7)
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (Cor 5:17)
Baptism
Baptism is a symbol of us being buried with Christ when we are fully submerged in the water and then resurrected with Him as we come out of the water. Jesus commands us to be Baptized but baptism is not what saves us. Like circumcision was to the Jews in the Old Testament, it is an outward sign of a covenant, symbolic of our old self having died and our coming out of the water being a new person. It is also a sign to others that you are now a new person living a new life in Christ.
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ (John 14:6)
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. (Isa 45:22)
Salvation isn’t about praying a special prayer, or going forward at a meeting. It’s about turning to God and accepting what He did for you. The thief on the cross next to Jesus didn’t pray any special prayer or walk to the front of any meeting, or have a chance to be sure he was all “‘fessed up” of his sins. He simply said,
…“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42)
