1. First, the bad news - we’re all sinners in the eyes of God.
Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
2. More bad news - the result of sin is death.
Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death.
There are two parts to death. The first death is a physical death here on earth. The second death is the lake of fire (hell).
Revelation 21:8: But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
That’s a pretty bad list, right? But, notice at the end of the list it said “all liars.” The Bible says, “let God be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4). The point here is that we’re all sinners and we’re all condemned to hell - even if the only thing you have ever done wrong is tell a lie.
3. Now the Good news – God has a gift He wants to give you (eternal life).
Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
God has a gift He wants to give you and that gift is eternal life and it is through Jesus Christ. You don’t have to work for the gift and you don’t have to pay for the gift.
Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
4. More Good News – Jesus paid the price for our sins.
John 3:16 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.
Just because the gift is free doesn’t mean that someone didn’t pay for it. Since God wants to give you a gift, He’s the giver and you’re the receiver, so He paid for the gift. Jesus paid for the gift by His death, burial and resurrection. Do you believe that Jesus died, was buried and was resurrected on the third day to pay for our sins?
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
God says he wants to give you eternal life, that is life that will never end. This means that when you die the initial physical death, you will not die the second death of being cast into the lake of fire but instead you will go and live with God forever in heaven.
Titus 1:2: In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
Our hope for eternal life is that God cannot lie. So if God promises you life that will never end, then He will give you life that never ends. Salvation had nothing to do with you, remember it’s “not of yourselves” (Ephesians 2:8). When God forgives you of your sins; He forgives you of all your sins—past, present, future. That is how he can guarantee us eternal life.
5. All you have to do is accept God’s gift for you by faith.
Romans 10:9 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.
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
If someone were to buy a gift, wrap it and write your name on it, it would not become yours until you accepted it. The gift from God is exactly the same. It’s already been paid for by Jesus Christ and God offers it to everyone but you need to accept it. You accept the gift of eternal life by confessing with your mouth while believing in your heart.
Do you want to accept Jesus Christ and be saved from your sins right now? Then just say this simple prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I’m a sinner and that I deserve to go to hell. I believe that you died on the cross, were buried and rose again to pay for my sins. I ask you to save me, forgive me of my sins and take me to heaven when I die. Thank you for giving me eternal life. Amen.
Congratulations, you are saved!
If you prayed that prayer and got saved, send me a message - it would make an old Canadian guy very happy to hear that you got saved. God bless.
Thank you. I’m just now interested in Christ but I still don’t feel 100% confident in them-but I feel that’s normal. Looking around it’s hard to believe a loving and caring god would let this planet get to this point.
I just don’t understand how i can believe it. I know I can say I believe it-and I want to believe it-but I just can’t 100% believe it. It’s irrational. My mom, sister and I grew up so poor and miserable and all I’ve seen to be “god” is money and power. How can I be confident and faithful when I feel I’ve had every shitty bounce in life, and worked so hard and honest.
But thank you for the post. My journey is young and I hope I. Am find pure faith.
And apologies for my blasphemy ish post-I just have doubts and don’t see how someone could ever be confident in Jesus/god from my (and others) situations. I almost feel cursed
Also I archived this post I like it so much
https://archive.is/Vb056
You are not cursed.
God created a perfect world in the Garden of Eden. The sin of man ruined it and has been ruining everything since then.
Everything that is bad in the world (money, power, violence, crime, hate) is rooted in sin and sin is of the devil. God asks us to separate ourselves from the world and follow Him. It is 100% by faith (i.e. something that you cannot physically see).
The Lord wants you to accept Him by faith. Doubt and fear comes from satan - he wants you to reject Jesus so he can claim your soul in hell forever.
I hope you pick up a King James Bible and read it cover to cover asking the Lord to help you understand it - He is only too willing to do so.
The salvation plan is very simple (as I have outlined in this post) but the devil and those that follow the devil are very much at work to do everything they can to stop you from accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.
I pray that you pursue the way of the Lord and not be de-railed by the lies of satan.
If I can ever be of assistance in your quest to know Jesus, just message me. God bless you and I will pray for you.
Thank you. All of the responses were so nice and I really appreciate it. Hope you have a good night
This is not blasphemy. It's your honest struggle and your questions and doubts are common ones. Thomas was face-to-face with the risen Jesus and still couldn't believe until he put his hands into the wounds.
Jesus said, "Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door will be opened for you."
Here's a video, it's only 2 minutes, so I can't pretend it can completely answer everything your heart is longing to know, but it's a great start. https://youtu.be/OvoYMvJDXg0?si=7VEKaoY--mgc0VL5
You say you feel cursed... Well, we are all cursed. Not only by the great evil around us, but minor evils within our own hearts. The Good News is that God didn't want us to be cursed and didn't just sit on a heavenly throne to condemn the whole cursed earth and destroy us. He came out of love to rescue us in the person of Jesus Christ, who took our curse upon Himself in order to free us of it. He rose from the dead to give us a new life, one where we live under His kingship and resist the rebellion against Him by embodying the love and truth of God.
By being here, you are already on your way to recognizing there is a higher truth than the ugly reality that humanity has been drenched in since the dawn of time. We believe there is something wrong with the way things are and have been for thousands of years. We believe there is some ultimate good to aspire to. That is the image of God in you, and you must look to it to help you find your Father in Heaven.
I'd be honored to try to answer any questions and help you find the amazing truth of God's love.
Very well said! It gives me such great joy to hear the words of truth and testimony from the many believers in the King of kings. May God richly bless you in your journey to serve Him.
I appreciate the response and the offer. Give me time and I’m sure I’ll have some more questions. Thank you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9AR1Wt3ASc&t=85s
long video, but somewhere within the first half, he gives an answer from his experience to a question very similar to the one ur asking.
I am coming back to God after a ... hiatus so I am in the same boat.
What would happen if God destroyed Satan as soon as he first committed sin in his heart?
Would the angels continue to worship God out of love or would it be out of fear?
Isaiah 55:8-9
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
This is not unusual for our time and place. You can read about the crisis of the Christian church back in the 4th century when Rome was being sacked and the whole world as they knew it was going to pot. Augustine wrote a book called "City of God" that meditates on the intentions of God and his spiritual kingdom that does not depend on the rise and fall of any particular society, nation-state, or empire.
Also, consider the faith of Abraham as described in the book of Hebrews; even though Abraham had a great many promises made by God directly to him, and God swore an oath by His own existence and character that they would be true, all seemed to be contradicted by Abraham's wandering, pilgrim existence. He had no land to call his own, no heir while he had an old and barren wife who was also doubting, and even his own sin and foolishness threatened the fulfillment of God's promises. The NT author to Hebrews says Abraham endured because he did not live by what his eyes saw, he lived by seeking "a better country"; the heavenly realm itself, not just a piece of real estate later called Israel. The earthly blessings were just a preliminary level of what was promised, they paled in comparison to the knowledge that God was preparing a heavenly kingdom and a spiritual seed to conquer all enemies including death itself. That's why Abraham was able to carry through his call to sacrifice his only son Isaac. He knew God would give Isaac back to him somehow to confirm God's promise (faith in a resurrection, i.e. life coming out of death). It's a truly amazing program of divine grace and power that we are called to hinge our faith on.