[stuartcr]

I'm not a reformed Christian, but I believe that my knowledge, fruits and every breath, is based on God's will.

I do not understand salvation.

I believe that these are the cards I was dealt.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

I do not understand salvation. I believe that these are the cards I was dealt.

You may be right.

More's the pity.

[DannyTN]

"I do not understand salvation"

Here's the quick version.

• God is a perfect Holy God who knows know sin.
• All men have sinned.
• God said the punishment for sin was physical and spiritual death.
• Man cannot redeem himself, because there is no good that we can do that we shouldn't be doing anyway. Ie. If it's good we should do it. If its good and we don't do it, that's sin. So unlike many of the worlds religions that teach a balance of good vs evil. God judges us according to His own expectation, not some average human expectation.
• Because we have sinned and there is no way to make it up, we are condemned to death.
• However God provided a substitute. God came to earth in the form of Jesus to show us how to live and then to become the substitute payment for us, that we might be free from the condemnation we are under.
• Repentance (agreeing with God that sin is wrong and wanting to change and do what is right), believing in Jesus, accepting Him as your Lord, and putting your trust in Him for salvation and asking for that salvation through prayer, basically constitutes a contract whereby Jesus's death is counted as payment for your sins and you receive a full pardon for sin.

  Any questions?