Which answer do you feel most comfortable with?
I don’t know.
Have never thought about it.
I think so.
Very good possibility.
My grandmother said I was an angel.
I’m too young and busy.
Yes, I know so in fact.
We are blessed to have a loving God, who has a plan for our eternal life,
and who assures us in His written word, the Holy Bible, saying:
“I write these things to you
who believe in the name of
the Son of God so that you
may know that you have
eternal life” (1 John 5:13).
The Bible is explicit in the presentation concerning eternal life
and who can obtain it. God doesn’t want anyone, who
seeks Him, to be confused.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The following information
has been derived exclusively from the Holy
Scriptures. There are no philosophies, nor ideas of
mere mortals expressed here.
There are no Ifs, ands or buts.
Follow the Scripture’s Path
1. The problem - our sin
For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23).
There is one of the most important of all Scriptures. When it speaks
of death it means separation from a loving God. Let’s paraphrase
the first part: “The result of sin is separation from God”.
The first thing mentioned here is sin, so let’s deal with it: Who has
sinned? The Bible says
“…for all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of
God” (Romans 3:23).
All is a dominating word, it is inclusive, and nothing left out. All of us
are covered by sin, but God is holy and cannot be in the presence
of sin. That‘s why sin separates us from Him. He is a loving and
merciful God, but He is also just and demands that justice be
done at all costs.
Sin is an all encompassing thing; it might be a murderous deed, or
just a quiet thought in our heart. There are no degrees of sin; sin
is sin.
Jesus challenges us saying:
“Therefore you are to be perfect,
as your heavenly Father is perfect”
(Matthew 5:48).
If we are all sinners, can we make ourselves perfect?
Of course not. Here we should realize that we are in a hopeless situation.
If we cannot help ourselves, then we need help, to be rescued, saved.
2. God’s solution - grace.
Our dilemma is resolved by God’s grace
“For by grace you have been saved
through faith; and that not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as
a result of works, so that no one
may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
We cannot save our selves, but it can happen by God’s freely given
grace. Which becomes available through our faith and not by our
works (deeds) but by our faith and only by our faith.
Remember, He is a loving and compassionate God, but demanding
justice in all things with absolute perfection. Wickedness and evilness
must be punished; that is what the judgments (in The Revelation) are
all about.
3. Jesus Christ, who makes eternity possible.
The person of Jesus Christ is God’s means of providing salvation
for the human race. The Bible tells us who Jesus is:
“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. He was in
the beginning with God. And the
Word became flesh, and dwelt
among us, and we saw His
glory, glory as of the only begotten
from the Father, full of grace and
truth” (John 1:1, 14).
The man known as Jesus of Nazareth, is God who took on flesh so
that He could join the human family.
That’s why John the Baptist, looking at Jesus, said
“Behold, the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of
the world” (John 1:29).
In the providence of God atone (amend) for sin requires the sacrifice
of an animal which was considered to be the substitute, or one who
takes the place of the sinner. (Detailed explanation can be found in
Exodus 12, The Feast of the Passover). The requirements for the
sacrificial animal was that it had to be young and loving; it was brought
into the household of the family, living there so that it would become
attached to the family as a pet. Thus the animal was a true loss upon
being sacrificed. That is why Jesus is referred to as The Lamb of
God. He entered the human household so that we could see Him
and become attached to Him.
When Jesus went on the cross, He was there representing us, all of
us. He took our place. The Bible says
“All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity
of us all to fall on Him” (Isaiah 53:6).
Him being Jesus. Then the Bible makes an astonishing statement:
“…the LORD was pleased to crush Him…”
(Isaiah 53:10).
Almighty God was pleased to send His Son to earth and then have Him
put on the cross to suffer. Why? The answer can be found in one of the
most familiar Bible verses
“For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in
Him shall not perish, but
have eternal life” (John 3:16).
In The Revelation, we see God pouring out His wrath in judgment
of the world. In Christ, God poured out His entire wrath for all of our
sins. When we think of Jesus on the cross, we need to put our self
there, because Christ was taking our place. He paid the price for
our sins. All of our sin, none of it was left out. His last words on the
cross were
“it is finished” (John 19:30).
Unfortunately our English language is not capable of providing a
realistic picture of that statement. When Jesus cried out “it is
finished” it was a VICTORY shout. The Greek word tetelestai
means paid in full, mission complete. The debt of our sin was
paid; the goal of the Father was accomplished by the Son.
Victory in Jesus! Nothing can be added to the work of Jesus
on the cross; it was a thorough and absolutely perfect plan
of God.
4. The ultimate key, faith.
Because Jesus paid the price on the cross allowed God , by His own
providence, to extend His grace, to offer the free gift of eternal life
for all who will come to Him in faith.
Faith is the key that opens those pearly gates to heaven. So exactly
what does the Bible mean?
We begin by going full circle back to where we began in the Scriptures:
“I write these things to you
who believe in the name of
the Son of God so that you
may know that you have
eternal life” (1 John 5:13).
The vast majority of people in this world believe that Jesus was born,
that He died on the cross and rose again. But that is not Biblical faith,
they are just agreeing with historical facts. It is merely intellectual
assent. Satan believed in Jesus; look where he ended up…the
lake of fire, hell.
When the Bible speaks of faith it means to trust Jesus, and only Jesus
for salvation and eternal life. He is the only one who can bring us into
the Kingdom of heaven because on the cross at Calvary, He paid the
price and He is the only one who has ever paid that price..
Jesus did not come to earth so that we might have a safe trip
somewhere, or a successful operation, or healthy children, or to win
a football game. He came to earth to make it possible for us to join
God’s eternal family.
When we sit down in a chair we trust the chair (and only the chair)
explicitly to hold us. Can we be that explicit with Jesus and trust
Him and Him alone for our eternal life?
“…faith comes from hearing and
hearing the word of God” (Romans 10:17).
Faith comes from the Bible. We don’t grow a faith, we grow by faith.
Faith is the steering current that brings us to Christ and then drives
us to please Him by our deeds and good works. It is an on going
love affair that will last forever and ever.
5. Do you have that kind of faith?
IMPORTANT NOTE: From this point forward everything is
dependant upon what is in you heart because receiving God’s
gift of eternal life is based upon a personal relationship that you
are developing with His Son, Jesus.
So I have the faith, what do I do next? We find the answer to the
question in the Scriptures and the incident of the prisoner on
the cross:
The prisoner said “Jesus,
remember me when You come
in Your kingdom” (Luke 23:48).
That was a simple statement of faith. He believed in Christ and wanted
to trust Him for eternity, the Kingdom. How did Jesus respond to him?
Did He say O.K. but you will have to get down off that cross and give
money to a church? Or memorize some Bible verses? Or go and
clean up his act and try again later? No! Jesus responded
“Truly I say to you, today you shall
be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).
There was nothing complicated in the Lord’s response; mortal
humans attempt to make faith and salvation complex, Jesus
does not. When that prisoner closed his eyes in death, they
were instantly opened and he was with Christ in Paradise.
If, at this very moment, you truly feel faith in your heart, for the
first time you are truly trusting Jesus, then I would humbly
suggest three actions:
(1) Begin your personal relationship with Jesus by going into
a quiet place alone and talk it over with the Lord. Remember
the Lord will measure you by what is in you heart and not
words on your lips.
(2) You have joined the family of God, tell someone about your
new faith and trust. Jesus says
“Therefore everyone who confesses
Me before men, I will also confess him
before My Father who is in heaven”
(Matthew 10:37).
(3) If in your heart you have come to the Lord in faith, you have just
become “born again“, you are a “babe in Christ” and need to be fed
milk which is the word of God, that will nurture you and bring solid
Christian growth. Become attached with a local Bible teaching
church, meet the pastor there and share your experience in faith.
Attend worship services regularly, and join in their small Bible
groups. The Lord will bless you in a mighty way!
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