SIN

People often ask, “Why must I be saved?  What am I saved from? Perhaps a better question is, “What am I saved to?”  And the answer to that question is that we are saved to eternal life, a life where there is no sin, death, disease, a life in heaven in the presence of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

            But sin becomes the issue because we cannot go to heaven with our sins.  Heaven would not be heaven if sin was there, just as it is here on earth.

            So, does everyone sin?  That should be self-evident.  Ask yourself, “Have I ever lied, cheated, stolen, had lustful thoughts?  The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  (Romans 3:23)

            God created Adam and Eve, the first human beings, without sin, but He gave them a specific commandment and they disobeyed that command.  God told them, “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.” (Genesis 3:2). So, through their disobedience, sin entered the world and with it, death.  Not only physical death but spiritual death—separation from God and the eternal life God offers.

            The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  (Romans 6:23

SALVATION

Fortunately, God loved us so much that He provided a way of salvation for us.  The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  (John 3:16)

            Jesus is God’s only begotten Son.  He has always existed together with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.  But He voluntarily gave up His place in glory to become one of us, so that He might take our sins upon Himself and through His death and resurrection conquer sin and death.  The Bible says, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

            The penalty for sin is death, but Christ willingly died for us so that we might be saved. He paid the penalty so that we might be forgiven.  But forgiveness is not automatic.  We must believe in Jesus as God’s only begotten Son and in His sacrificial death on the cross.  And we must confess our faith in Him.  The Bible says, “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified (made right with God), and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10)

            If you truly want to be saved, you can pray a prayer like this:

            Father,

                        I know that I am a sinner.  I confess my sin unto you.  But I do believe that you sent Jesus, your Son, to die on the cross for my sins.  I want to turn away from my sin and ask Jesus to come into my heart and forgive my sins and make me a child of God.  I thank you for your love and forgiveness.  Help me to live for you every day of my life.”

                        In Jesus’ Name, I pray.

                        Amen.

SECURITY

                        The Bible says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

                        “To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”                             (John 1:12) 

            Once we become a child of God we will always be.  We call this the eternal security of the believer.  The Bible says, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son does not have life.” (I John 5:11-12)

            We may still fail and fall and occasionally sin, but God has promised to forgive us when we confess our sin. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)