Eternal life is within your grasp! Reach out and claim it!
The Bible reveals that everyone (except Christ Jesus) has sinned … Romans 3:23 …’For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.’ … And what is sin defined as? … 1 John 3:4 …’Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.’ … What law? The Ten commandments.
And what is the penalty of sin? … Romans 6:23 …’ For the wages of sin is death.’
So if we have all sinned and “come short of the glory of God”, and we all deserve death, then how can we be saved? Can we earn salvation? …Romans 6:23 …’For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’
Ephesians 2:8 …’For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.’ … So salvation (the grace of God – eternal life) is a GIFT! So if it’s a gift, then it cannot be earned by anyone. It is free, and is waiting for every one of us to accept 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?
First, we need to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and came to this earth in the form of man to die for us and our sins … 2 Corinthians 5:21 …’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.’… He died the death that we deserve, so that we may live the life that only He deserves. We need to believe that Jesus rose from the dead and now sits on the throne of God in Heaven … John 20:31 …’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.’
Please Note: Why is Christ Jesus the ONLY way? Because there was a price to pay for our sin and Christ is the ONLYone who has lived a perfect life of obedience and has paid that price with His own life!
Now although the grace of God is a free gift and no one can earn it, we still have a part to play, because God doesn’t bestow this gift on anyone who doesn’t accept it, or anyone who doesn’t want to follow Jesus. So what else do we need to do to accept this gift? We need to ask Jesus into our lives, to take control and to change us:
Acts 2:21 …’And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Revelation 3:20 …’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.’
Repentance
We also need to repent of our sins. This is an important step.
Matthew 4:17 …’From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Mark 6:12 …’And they went out, and preached that men should repent.’
Luke 13:3 …’I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.’
Acts 3:19 …’Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.’
Acts 17:30 …’And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.’
Now true repentance isn’t just saying a quick prayer asking God for forgiveness and then continuing to sin. True repentance is being very sorry for your sins, asking God for forgiveness and actively turning away from them … 1 John 1:9 …’If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’
But why do we need to repent and turn away from our sins? … Galatians 5:19-21 …’Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.’ … Because no sin can enter into Heaven. No one who continues to live sinful lives can enter into God’s holy, heavenly kingdom. When we come to Jesus, we should become a commandment keeping people, not living in sin anymore.
So what does true faith in Jesus produce?
James 2:17-18 …’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.’ … You see, if you truly want to follow Jesus and give your heart to Him, then your faith will PRODUCE a change in you, you will want to obey God and keep His Commandments and do good works, because you love Him.
Romans 8:1 …’There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.’
Galatians 5:16 …’This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.’
To whom is there now no condemnation? To those who “believe” in Jesus but continue living a worldly, sinful life? No! Only to those who DO NOT walk after the flesh, but walk in the Spirit. Can we just “believe” without really changing our old ways and still be saved?
James 2:19 …’Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.’ … You see, we can’t just simply believe in Jesus without wanting to change our ways and walk away from our sins and still expect to be saved. The devils believe, but are they saved? No. So we need to WANT to change and make that effort to change and with God’s help we will.
We need to openly confess our new Christian faith with our mouths … Romans 10:9-10 …’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.’
So, If we believe in our hearts that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and ask Him into our lives, and we truly repent of our sins, then He will come and dwell in us and change us … 2 Corinthians 5:17 …’Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’ … We do not have the power to change ourselves and turn from sin ourselves, no, we need the power of Christ Jesus dwelling in us. We need to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. Then with the help of God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in us, we can cast off our old sinful ways and walk in newness of life with Jesus. If this is what you want, then fall on your knees before God and ask Jesus into your life, and ask God to help you change and turn from your sinful ways.
Baptism
Mark 16:16 …’He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.’
Acts 2:38 …’Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.’
Acts 8:36-38 …’And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.’
Acts 22:16 …’And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’
Ephesians 4:5 …’One Lord, one faith, one baptism.’
There are a few reasons to be baptized. 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. It’s a symbol that our old self (our sinful ways) has died and been left behind in the water and we come out being a new person. We are baptized in obedience to Jesus, who through His Word commands us to be baptized, as you can see in the above verses. It is also an outward sign to other people that you are now a ‘new person’, as you are leaving your old ways behind and living a new life with Jesus.
As already mentioned, our own efforts do not save us, because the grace of God is a free gift. But a true relationship with Jesus will cause us to change and to turn away from our sins and produce good works for His glory. We become a commandment keeping people … Revelation 14:12 …’Here is the patience of the saints, here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.’
None of us know when our last day will be, and you can see from the disasters that are happening around the world now (see end times news) that this world is getting old and the end is soon to come. So if you haven’t given yourself to Jesus yet, please do it now! Ask Him into your heart right now!
John 14:6 …’ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’
Isaiah 45:22 …’Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.’ … Jesus is the ONLY way. Submit your life to Him today!
