Salvation Statement

 

Truly Believe 10.2024       

 

“Why are we here?”  God made us for a relationship with Himself, a relationship meant to carry us into eternity.

Romans 3:23 tells us ”All men have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  This creates a problem.     Our sins separate us from God so there needs to be a way to forgive our sins and wipe our slate clean.

Ephesians 2: 8&9 “By grace we are saved through faith (in Christ’s death on the cross to pay for our sins), and not of ourselves.  It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” 

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” In the Bible, “Believe” means to “place your confidence in, rely on, and believe with your heart.”  Remember, satan believes in Jesus but has chosen not to accept Jesus’ gift of Salvation. 

Matthew 7:14 tells us:  ”Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find (and accept) it.”  We need to make a personal decision to choose God and His plan for our salvation.  Not as part of a group activity, but as individuals.

“Choice” is the second most basic principle of Christianity.  Each man must choose God’s plan of salvation for himself.   In his own time and for his own reasons. 

We have to put aside the life-long notion that our good works can earn Heaven for us.  The world has taught from the beginning that if we’re as good as most people, we can earn eternity with God in Heaven. Those old lessons are hard to let go of, but God has a better plan.  God decided that He would take out His wrath for the sins of the world on His Son, through His death on the cross. 

 He offers us the resulting clean slate as a “perfect gift.”

 ^{John 5:12&13  “}He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. ¹³ These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

If, instead, we choose to be judged on our own merit, our righteousness has to match that of Christ’s. Unfortunately, Isaiah 64:6   “we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags…” 

Have you heard the story of the thief on the cross at Jesus’ side? The thief listened, saw that Christ alone was the way to salvation, then believed and accepted.  A simple decision.  There was nothing else the thief could do--he was nailed to a cross.  No kneeling in prayer, no tithes, no good works.

       Jesus’ assurance: “ Verily, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” Luke 23:43. 

This is the Gift of Salvation including spending eternity with Him in Heaven.  You can base your eternity on the fact that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to die on the cross to pay the full penalty for your sins. 

If you truly believe that Christ died on the cross to provide the full and only way to Heaven, you can accept Jesus as your Savior.  I John 5:13 assures us: You will become a child of God and you will know, based on Christ’s sacrifice alone, that you have eternal life. 

You can do that right now.  Knowing that it’s the accepting that counts, and not the saying, you can tell God, “Father, I know, I confess that I‘ve committed sins that keep me from you and I’m relying on Jesus’ gift of Salvation alone to pay for my sins and provide the bridge that brings me to you and your saving grace.”     

      

 “Whispers from the Holy Spirit”:  Whispers from the Holy Spirit

 

              Experiencing God Daily Devotional:  ttps://blackaby.org/category/devotional/