Posted on 02/16/2012 3:57:28 PM PST by wmfights
You're not here by accident. God loves you. He wants you to have a personal relationship with Him through Jesus, His Son. There is just one thing that separates you from God. That one thing is sin.
The Bible describes sin in many ways. Most simply, sin is our failure to measure up to God’s holiness and His righteous standards. We sin by things we do, choices we make, attitudes we show, and thoughts we entertain. We also sin when we fail to do right things. The Bible affirms our own experience – “there is none righteous, not even one.” No matter how good we try to be, none of us does right things all the time.
People tend to divide themselves into groups - good people and bad people. But God says that every person who has ever lived is a sinner, and that any sin separates us from God. No matter how we might classify ourselves, this includes you and me. We are all sinners.
"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23
Many people are confused about the way to God. Some think they will be punished or rewarded according to how good they are. Some think they should make things right in their lives before they try to come to God. Others find it hard to understand how Jesus could love them when other people don't seem to. But I have great news for you! God DOES love you! More than you can ever imagine! And there's nothing you can do to make Him stop! Yes, our sins demand punishment - the punishment of death and separation from God. But, because of His great love, God sent His only Son Jesus to die for our sins.
"God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
For you to come to God you have to get rid of your sin problem. But, in our own strength, not one of us can do this! You can't make yourself right with God by being a better person. Only God can rescue us from our sins. He is willing to do this not because of anything you can offer Him, but JUST BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU!
"He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy." Titus 3:5
It's God's grace that allows you to come to Him - not your efforts to "clean up your life" or work your way to Heaven. You can't earn it. It's a free gift.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
For you to come to God, the penalty for your sin must be paid. God's gift to you is His son, Jesus, who paid the debt for you when He died on the Cross.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23
Jesus paid the price for your sin and mine by giving His life on a cross at a place called Calvary, just outside of the city walls of Jerusalem in ancient Israel. God brought Jesus back from the dead. He provided the way for you to have a personal relationship with Him through Jesus. When we realize how deeply our sin grieves the heart of God and how desperately we need a Savior, we are ready to receive God's offer of salvation. To admit we are sinners means turning away from our sin and selfishness and turning to follow Jesus. The Bible word for this is "repentance" - to change our thinking about how grievous sin is, so our thinking is in line with God's.
All that's left for you to do is to accept the gift that Jesus is holding out for you right now.
"If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Romans 10:9-10
God says that if you believe in His son, Jesus, you can live forever with Him in glory.
"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
Are you ready to accept the gift of eternal life that Jesus is offering you right now? Let's review what this commitment involves:
I acknowledge I am a sinner in need of a Savior - this is to repent or turn away from sin
I believe in my heart that God raised Jesus from the dead - this is to trust that Jesus paid the full penalty for my sins
I confess Jesus as my Lord and my God - this is to surrender control of my life to Jesus
I receive Jesus as my Savior forever - this is to accept that God has done for me and in me what He promised
If it is your sincere desire to receive Jesus into your heart as your personal Lord and Savior, then talk to God from your heart:
"If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Romans 10:9-10
Awesome, wmfights.
Good News Ping!
You beat my ping.
Reading this I was reminded of Paul writing the Corinthians.
ICor. 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
(23) but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,
I recall a letter to Dr. Billy Graham one time:
“Dear Dr. Graham. I’ve invited Jesus into my heart several times. So far he’s not shown up. What am I doing wrong?”
Dr. Graham treated this as a serious letter and went on to answer it. I laughed.
Because the truth is... There is more to being saved than by simply asking Jesus into your heart and praying the “Believer’s Prayer”.
What more does a Christian have to do to be saved other than believe The Gospel?
What more does a Christian have to do to be saved other than believe The Gospel?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
How about obeying it?
Big difference between believing it and obeying it.
And I think you meant to say what does a sinner have to do.
Do you know what a Born Again Christian is referring to when they say believe The Gospel?
Just curious..Exactly what is The Gospel to you?
Yes I do. It has something to do with water.
See John Chapter 3.
This article you posted? It mentions nothing about water or baptism. Therefore this article on being saved is very incomplete.
Thanks for the input. Great verse!
Man, I could be here all night answering that question!
And to pare it down to 25 words or less would not do it justice.
No this is not what a Born Again Christian is referring to when they say believe The Gospel.
The article does explain what we mean but two passages explain it pretty well. Roms. 10:9 and ICor. 15:1-4.
If you are of the opinion that more is involved you are not yet one of us, but there is always hope.
No this is not what a Born Again Christian is referring to when they say believe The Gospel.
The article does explain what we mean but two passages explain it pretty well. Roms. 10:9 and ICor. 15:1-4.
If you are of the opinion that more is involved you are not yet one of us, but there is always hope.
Luke 10:25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Luke 10:27 He answered: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Seems sort of cut and dry to me. Unless you think Jesus left something out or got it wrong.
What is a christian?...
Just constructing a definition is a bit of dogma..
Did you read John Chapter 3 like I asked you to?
Here. I’ll post it.
John 3
Jesus Teaches Nicodemus
1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.[a]”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[c] must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”[d]
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.[e] 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,[f] 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”[g]
16 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.
more. much more....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anytime anyone tells me they have been “Born Again”; I ask them if they know what that means? Nicodemus didn’t know. But I trust you do.
And as I said. It has something to do with water.
If so did it leave anything out?
As I said before this is not what a Born Again Christian is referring to when they ask if you believe The Gospel.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.