The first question a person has in his/her mind when first presented with the invitation to get saved is: WHY?And rightly so, because making such a life altering decision should be made with sincerity and with a clear understanding of all that it involves.
We're not talking about which college to go to or what model of car to buy, we are talking about your eternal destiny.
The choice presenting itself to us is one that is stark and clear, it doesn't cost any money, and it's very serious:
(Romans 6:23)Choices ... We have to choose from either earning wages or accepting a gift, which result in either death or eternal life.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
But what is this "death", and what is this "eternal life"? What does it all mean? The following hopes to answer those questions and a lot more.
The Bible says that after you die, your soul will go to one of two places.One is a good place and the other is a bad place...and both are forever:
(Daniel 12:2)Obviously, going to the good place would be much more desirable than going to the bad place! Salvation, or "getting saved" gives you absolute security that you will go to the good place and "saves" you from going to the bad place!
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
The bad place is first Hell, until it's thrown into the Lake of Fire.
The good place is, of course, Heaven.
If God is love, light and life....then hell is hate, heaviness and horror. God loves us, and since those other places are the complete opposite of heaven, he wants us all to run for our lives away from the devil and run into his waiting arms!
It breaks his heart when a person turns away and chooses the misery of hell instead of the joy of heaven.
At this point you might feel compelled to say: Heaven sounds much better than hell, if I were to die today - to which place would I go?
First there is this little thing of your trial ...
(Hebrews 9:27)
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
... and Jesus set the standard ...
(Matthew 5:48)... but sin came into the world and infected us all, and unfortunately your inevitable verdict is guilty:
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
(Romans 3:10)
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.
(Romans 3:23)Since none of us are perfect, we all fall short of minimum standard for getting into heaven
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
Thus your penalty:
(Romans 6:23a)
For the wages of sin is death...
(Revelation 20:14)And it's forever.
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
That, my friend is why you need to get saved!
Which leads us to the next question:
Even though God requires perfect righteousness to be in his presence, and even though he knew Adam & Eve would sin and deserve the death penalty, even though he knew it would mean their banishment from his presence ... ... even though he knew all that,
from the very beginning he had a plan to redeem the human race so we could escape that death and receive that perfect righteousness!
After Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God quickly demonstrated the method he would use to defeat sin, to redeem man, and that would ultimately be fulfilled by Jesus Christ on the cross.
God sacrificed a sin-free animal and he covered the shame of their nakedness with the skin of that sacrifice symbolizing how atonement works. A substitute death for our own penalty, and a covering of our shame so God does not see it.
(Genesis 3:21)It looked forward to when shame of our nakedness would be covered by the blood of Jesus, and that all God would see when he looked at us would be the sin-free nature of Christ instead of our sins.
Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
(Romans 5:6-9)
6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Jesus Christ is the ultimate substitute death, the ultimate passover lamb, the ultimate sacrifice for our sins because he was sinless, which means he didn't have to die for his own sins first. In addition to that, it means that he was not bound by death but has received the keys of death and has bought us back, redeemed us, from the devil.
(Revelation 1:18)Jesus paid it all on the cross for you and me! That is why The Bible says:
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
(Acts 4:12)
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
(Romans 6:23b)The gift of God is eternal life...Amen and praise God!
...but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
You may be wondering why the God of Heaven would do such a thing for you. When he has the whole universe to consider, why would he go to this much trouble for one person?Because he loves you, that's why. No other reason than he loves you.
(John 3:16-17)Which leads us to the next question:
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
As you can see from the two Bible verses shown above at the end of the last section, that God asks us to believe in his son - Jesus Christ. And what does it take to believe in something? - It takes faith.He doesn't ask for you to climb a mountain, or chant a mantra, or perform a ritual, or kill a lamb...because the work has already been accomplished. The only requirement remaining is faith. Not only did God provide the perfect way for us to be saved from an unpleasant end, he made the perfect way for us to take part in it!
(Ephesians 2:8-9)
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
But it's not a new method, because back when they had the animal sacrifices it was still their faith that God was concerned about.
(Habakkuk 2:4b)In addition to having faith and believing in all The Bible says about Jesus, there is still one thing we must actually do, we must confess that Jesus is Lord and call on him with our mouth.
...but the just shall live by his faith.
(Romans 10:8-11)
8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9 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.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
(Romans 10:13)After all the background information presented here on this page, it brings us to this moment: Where you must decide to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, or not.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
My prayer is that after reading all this, you will know in your heart that your future depends on it, and that you will make the right decision.
Please say this prayer:
Heavenly father, I confess I am a sinner.Praise God! You are now saved! Now you are born again and can start living for your Lord!
I confess that Jesus is Lord and I believe that he died on the cross for me so that my sins may be forgiven, and that he rose from the dead.
Please forgive me Lord.
Please come into my heart and help me to live for you.
Thank you Lord for saving me, and taking me to heaven to be with you forever when I die.
In Jesus name I pray, Amen
Please post a comment if you accepted the Lord as your savior here today.
Next, there are a few things you should do right away as you start your new life:
- Tell somebody that you accepted The Lord Jesus Christ as your savior (share the good news!)
- Get a Bible and read daily (There are 2 apps on this blog for listening/reading The Bible)
- Attend a Bible believing church in your local community, and get baptized. (This may take some time to find but be patient)
- Pray earnestly more than once a day (Pray for God's will to be done in your life and for the needs of those around you)
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