How To Receive Eternal Salvation is the most important question you will ever ask. You may wonder Why Do I need to be Saved? How can I know God? How can I have a real relationship with Him? These good questions have good answers.
WHY do you need Salvation?
God is our Father, the all-powerful Creator of all things in heaven and earth. (Genesis 1:1, Colossians 1:16. He is Holy, Perfect in Goodness and Righteousness
God originally created us in His image and likeness. Innocent and perfect. (Genesis 1:27)
God’s design was for us to live with Him and enjoy His love, joy, and peace in a beautiful and flawless world.
Imagine total perfection. Peace. Harmony. Bliss. (Wow!)
Yet sin entered the world through Adam. This changed everything, bringing both physical and spiritual death to Adam and all mankind.
Sin now separates us from our Holy God, who cannot be in the presence of sin.
We can do nothing to earn God’s favor. (Genesis 2:17; 3:19; Ephesians 2:1-3).
You and I are not perfect. We sin and therefore are Not Holy. For example- Have you ever lied or only told part of the whole truth? Have you ever acted angrily toward someone? These are SINS! God is perfect and thus Holy. He cannot be in the presence of Sin.
Our sin separates us from God.
You may not think of yourself as particularly sinful. You may think “I am a good person”. By what measure? By human standards or by God’s standards?
Only God says what is truly “holy”. Only God is Holy. (see Resources below)
Do You want a relationship with God?
It is a Choice you must make for God did not create robots. God created you, a human being with free will and he deeply desires
a relationship with you.
God is holy and God is love. He wants every person to be saved. The Bible says:
“He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”–2 Peter 3:9
Who was Jesus? Our great God and Savior!
Jesus said “the father and I are one” – John 10:30
“while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior,Jesus Christ” -Titus 2:13
Some say Jesus was Only a Prophet or Moral teacher:
Here is a famous quote on this issue from Christian author C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity, Lewis explains why this is a flawed way of thinking:
“I am trying to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him (Jesus Christ); ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sorts of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic or on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg or else he would be the Devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at his feat and call him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that option open to use. He did not intend to” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity,The MacMillan Company,1960,pp.40-41.)
Why Do We Need Jesus?
Jesus is God’s plan to save us from the eternal consequences of our sin. The Bible says:
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” -Romans 3:23
“but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he does not hear.” -Isaiah 59:2
Jesus is the Bridge to a Holy God:
You cannot be acceptable to God on your own effort. Jesus bridges the separation between God and man. While here on earth Jesus was sinless. He lived a perfect life and therefore was an acceptable sacrifice to atone for our sins before our Holy God.
No mere man has ever been sinless.
“There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins” -Ecclesiastes 7:20
We all sin! for example, we have sinful thoughts. We speak unkind words at times. We get angry. We can be prideful, think we are better than someone else. What are your sin habits? I suggest you think about this and make a list for yourself. Hmmmm, you might be surprised!
We must receive forgiveness and redemption through Christ alone. He is the ONLY WAY.
“Jesus said to him,”I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” -John 14:6
“for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all men-the testimony given in its proper time” -1 Timothy 2:5-6
JESUS paid the penalty for our sin by dying on the Cross:
He rose from the grave, conquering death!
“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” –1 John 2:2
“For Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned but died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit. -1 Peter 3:18
You need to make a CHOICE:
For God, His salvation in Christ and His ways or for “You and your ways.”
Think about yourself honestly. Are you loving and joyful? Do you have peace? Are you patient and kind. Are you gentle with others. How is your self-control??
God will not force you to choose him, although he could…. after all, He is all powerful. God calls us all to turn away from our sinful behavior and choose the way, the truth and the life he desires for you.
In Acts 17:30 it says, “In the past, God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”– Acts 17:30
God deeply desires for you to choose to come to Him and thus have a full and God-honoring life. God offers the gift of salvation only through Jesus Christ.
“the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” -Romans 6:23
“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
You can receive Eternal Salvation:
Receive His gift, the gift of Jesus.
“to all who did receive him, who believed in his name he gave the right to become children of God.”– John 1:12
HOW do you receive this gift?
There is no magic prayer or specific words. The Bible is very clear and absolutely true and it says:
“If you declare 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 your profess your faith and are saved.As Scripture says,“Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,for,“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”- Romans 10:9-13
BELIEVE in Jesus as your Lord and Savior:
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life” –John 3:36
Billy Graham writes in his book “Steps to Peace with God” as follows:
– What is your decision?
– Will you receive Jesus Christ right now and trust in him alone for forgiveness and eternal life?
-The Bible says that’s the only way to find peace with God!
- Admit your need—that you are a sinner in need of God’s forgiveness.
- Be willing to turn from trusting in anything else for eternal life and trust only in Christ.
- Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross, came back to life from the grave, and is your only way to heaven.
- Accept Jesus’ offer to forgive your sins and come into your life as your Savior.
God will know the sincerity in your heart, but you must talk to God. You may want to tell him in words like these:
“Dear Jesus, thank you for making it possible for me to find peace with God! I believe that when you died you were paying the penalty for my sins. I now receive you into my life as my Savior so I can have forgiveness and never-ending life from God! Thank you for the gift of eternal life!”
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” –Romans 5:1
“For when we were still without strength in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man, someone would even dare to die.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us,
in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us“
– Romans 5:6-8
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
Resources:
God is Love
The JESUS Film – This is a great film to help you understand about JESUS
Personal Relationship with God
“What does it mean that God is HOLY?
GotQuestions.org explains – click here
To God be the Glory- Julie
- Readers Rating
- No Rating Yet!
- Your Rating
What is eternal salvation all about. Why should I care? Read this article explaining Sin, God and Salvation. Begin to understand this vital topic.
Leave a Reply