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| Subject: Have you been saved? | |
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Author: Posted By The Crusader |
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Date Posted: 19:39:25 09/21/02 Sat Have you been saved? By Brother Jim Penney May I ask you a question? Has anyone ever taken a Bible and shown you how you can know for sure that you’re going to heaven? The Bible contains both bad news and Good News! The bad news is something about you. The Good News is something about God! Let’s look at the bad news first: Bad News#1 You are a sinner. In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Roman’s he writes,” All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Suppose you and I were each to throw a rock and try to hit the North Pole. You might throw farther than I, but neither of us would hit it. When the Bible say’s,”All have sinned and fall short,” it means that we have all come short of God’s standard of perfection. In thoughts, words, and deeds, we have not been perfect. But wait, it gets worse… Bad News#2 The penalty for sin is death. Paul continues to write to the Church in Rome.” The wages of sin is death.” Suppose that you worked for me for one day and I paid your $50.00. That money was your wages. That’s what you earned. The Bible says that by sinning we have earned death. That means that we deserve to die and to be separated from God forever. But… since there was no way that we could come to God, God came to us. Good News#1 Christ Died for You! Romans 5:8 tells us,” God demonstrates His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Suppose you are in a hospital dying of cancer. I come to you and say,” Let’s take the cancer cells from your body and put them into my body.” If that were possible, ∙ What would happen to me? ∙ What would happen to you? I would die in your place. I would die instead of you. The Bible says that Christ took the penalty that we deserved for sin, placed it upon Himself, and died in our place. Three days later, Christ came back to life to prove that sin and death had been conquered and that His claims to be God were true. Just as the bad news got worse, the Good News gets better! Good News#2 You can be saved from the bad news through faith in Christ! Ephesians 2:8-9 says,” For by grace (undeserved favor) you have been saved (delivered from the penalty of sin) through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the free gift of God, not of works, so that no one can boast.” Faith means trust. Q. For what must you trust Christ? A. You must depend on Him alone to forgive you for all sins: past, present, and future, and to give you eternal life. Just as you trust a chair to hold you through no effort of your own, just so you must trust Jesus Christ to secure your place in heaven through no effort of your own. But you may say, “I’m religious, I go to church, I don’t steal. I’m a good person, I help the poor”. These are all good, but good living, going to church, helping the poor or any other good thing that you might do cannot get you to heaven. You must trust in Jesus Christ alone, and God will give you eternal life as a free gift! Does this make sense to you? Is there anything that is keeping you from trusting Christ right now? Think carefully. This is the most important decision that you will ever make! Would you like to tell God that you are trusting Jesus Christ as your Savior? If you would, why not pray right now and tell God in the silence of your own heart that you are trusting His Son? Remember It is not a prayer that saves you. It is trusting Jesus Christ that saves you. Prayer is simply how you tell God what you are doing. If you can’t think of what to say, see if these words will help you get started: “Dear God, I know that I’m a sinner. I know my sin deserves to be punished. I believe Christ died for me, was buried in a cold tomb, and rose again from the grave the third day, just as He said that He would. I trust Jesus Christ alone as my Savior. Thank You for the forgiveness and the everlasting life that I now have. Thank you that I am now accepted in your Beloved Son. In Jesus’ name, amen” What has just happened? John 5:24 explains: “ He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed form death into life” Did you hear God’s word? Did you believe what God said and trust Christ as Savior? Do you believe that you have everlasting life now? Does it say,”has passed from death” or shall pass? Eternal life is based upon fact, not feeling! What do you do now? Having trusted in Christ as you only way to heaven, here is how to grow in your relationship with Him: ∙ Tell God what’s on your mind through prayer (Philippians 4:4-7). ∙ Read the Bible daily (II Timothy 2:15). Start with the books of Philippians and Ephesians, and then read the rest of the Books written by the Apostle Paul, which were written to the Gentiles. These are from Romans to Philemon. ∙ Worship with God’s people in a local Church (Hebrews 10:24-25) If you live in the Chicago area or Northwest Indiana, consider Faith Bible Church. We are a warm, friendly Bible church located in Steger, Illinois. Click on the Home page at the left for our address and phone number. If you are from out of town, click on the address below and email us. We will try to find a Bible church near you. You may also request free literature to explain more about the Bible and the Christian life. ∙ Tell others about Jesus Christ (II Timothy 4:2) If you have found this information helpful, why not forward this link to someone about whom you care? From Web-Site: Faith Bible Church http://www.bygracethrufaith.org/pages/588783/index.htm [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
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