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.
Repentance is required as an inseparable evidence of faith in Christ. In Romans when Paul is presenting the legal argument for justification by faith, he excludes any form of "doing good" as being a part of justifying faith itself. That would include a genuine resolve to turn from sin. Think of all the examples in the Gospels of characters who have favorable encounters with Jesus, it is their faith that brings about salvation (A petition for mercy in some way, acknowleding their sinful and helpless condition). Repentance is the happy consequence of Jesus' saving act of healing/forgiving sins.
John 8:11-12-KJV -go, and sin no more.
Jesus is the light to shine on things. It gives us a choice and also removes being the victim of darkness. Only Jesus is perfect and perfection is unattainable.
By flying the lgbtq flag on a Christian Church shows they have turned darkness into their light. Some might say flying a lgbtq flag alone is satanism.
Example?
I like watching closer to people things. Like this link. To me this is more real news than any MSM.
Skip to the 21 minute mark. They show us their light is darkness and they are in the open. Should we bow to them?
https://youtu.be/mWNfQRj7sd4?si=sLCJVninT_nd-FnJ
Perhaps not initially, and perhaps by many not intentionally, but nowadays it seems like the alphabet mafia flag is connected to Satanism, and the Satanists and the alphabet mafia always seem poised to protect themselves and each other from the perversely -- and inversely -- named "evil Christians" who are the moral compass of this country.
Regarding the command "sin no more" this happens twice in John and is specific to the two people Jesus was interacting with. In both cases, Jesus knew something of their particular circumstances where some manner of habitual behavior or living had resulted in their extremely dire situation at the time he healed or forgave them. So it is not a universal template on how anyone comes to faith in Christ and repents. The rest of the New Testament is consistent that the life of the believer involves a process of struggling with sin. Paul for instance never tells the churches he writes to for everyone to simply "sin no more". He says now that they have died to sin and been made alive with Christ, they must persevere in the process of putting to death the sinful deeds of the flesh, for this is consistent evidence of our new identity in Christ as a new creation, though we still inhabit corrupted bodies in a corrupted world. But for particular sins that are tearing apart the Church, or scandalizing the Gospel message, Paul gives the pastoral command to deal with it decisively (1 Corinthians examples: the petty divisions, the incestuous relationship a man had with his stepmother, etc. Galatians example: the false teaching to require circumcision and law keeping to be saved. Hebrews example: the temptation to return to Judaism for assurance of salvation, etc)
Of course making an unforced decision is involved in coming to faith in Christ. But unfortunately American evangelicalism has in some ways made mankind's natural ability to "choose" into a work an in some cases even an idol. I used to be in that world. It's a democratic libertarian distortion of Christianity. The NT teaches we in our natural state don't even have the ability to choose correctly without the regenerative and sovereign work of the Spirit upon the heart. Remember in John Jesus also told his disciples, "You did not choose me, but I chose you". Wait, what? They chose to follow him didn't they? Yes, because once they are no longer dead in sin and darkness but are His sheep (sovereign work of the Spirit), they hear His voice and follow.
Yeah I think we are all individuals in both Christianity and the USA constitution.
Being an individual in each should be taught we also have consequences for our decisions. Some decisions I see are lack of courage to stand up against perceived higher authorities in both, while those who claim authority demand Christian’s be silent.
The micromanagement of do’s and do nots becomes a divider. Love is the most important and will cover a multitude of disagreements on lesser issues. The lgbtq is not of Jesus. It is openly satanic with a sword and children as their perceived shield. OP
The only way to move forward in the culture we are heading to in the USA is to allow Christians to be persecuted to the death and claim they are trump supporters to justify the means to the end or to repent and stand with Jesus and the USA constitution.
The line has been there for a long time, however this year we are already seeing people need to repent or harden their hearts.
Sometimes to heal it is required to break. Many fronts in this culture war, but any front claiming to be of Jesus and flying a lgbtq flag is not of Jesus. Those flags should be burned.
I am not angry, I am only observing the inevitable. Now those who want to repent are welcomed and those have repented may still be doing wrong, but with the Spirit of God we have the same foundation and the same forgiveness.
Not dooming here. It is exciting. Many people God has chosen to lead us out of this, but are they willing to stand up?