|
 |
 God's
Gift to You
"For God so loved the
world, he gave his only begotten son, ...that whosoever
believeth in him, shall not perish but have everlasting
life."
(John 3:16)
God loves you and wants you to have
everlasting life with Him by accepting Jesus Christ as
your Personal savior.
How ?
Recognize that you are a sinner.
First you must recognize that
you are a SINNER.
We all know that at some time we have broken God's law (sinned).
The Bible says "All have sinned."
(Romans 3:23)
"There is none righteous, no, not one".
(Romans 3:10)
It also says, "The wages of sin is death".
(Romans 6:23)
Death, in this sense, means spiritual separation from God.
It is sin that separates us from God and keeps us from life with Him.
The bible says, "Christ died for our sins."
(Romans 5:8)
He paid the penalty for our sins on the cross. Jesus said.
"I am the way - no one comes to the Father but through me".
(John 14:6)
Faith
You must have faith in
Christ. Faith is trusting in Christ's
death on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. It is
believing He paid the penalty for your sins on the cross.
There is no other way to come before God but through Christ.
Good works, morality, righteousness can not pay the price for
your sins.
Nothing you can ever do on your own can be enough to remove the
barrier
of sin from between you and God.
The Bible says of Jesus,
"He will save His people from their sins"
(Matthew 1:21)
"I am the way - no one comes to the Father but through me".
(John 14:6)
"Without Faith it is impossible to please God"
(Hebrews 11:6)
The Bible says, "As many as received Christ, to them
He gave the right to become children of God, even those
who believe on his name".
(John 1:12)
Repent
When you recognize that you
are a lost sinner and want Jesus to
be your Savior, you must choose to become a Christian.
This is the point at which belief becomes faith which saves.
The Bible calls this "REPENTANCE".
It means you are now sorry for your sins and ask God to forgive
you
and to strive to turn away from a life of sin.
That means you are willing to let Christ into your heart as Lord
of
your life.
Confess
Once you, by faith has ask Jesus to come into your
heart
as your Savior, Jesus tells you to do two things.
First, you must CONFESS your faith. Jesus said, "Whoever
shall confess me before men, him I will confess
before my Father which is in Heaven".
(Matthew 10:32)
Be Baptized
Then you are told to receive CHRISTIAN BAPTISM.
Baptism is the answer of a good
conscience toward God.
(1 Peter 3:21)
What a wedding is to a marriage, baptism is to
our relationship with God. It provides us with an event
which we publicly celebrate our new union with Jesus
beneath the water, and then raised with Jesus from the
water to walk a new life!
(Romans 6:3-7)
Your old sin life is dead and you are born again, risen with
Christ in a new life with God
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be
forgiven. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit".
(Acts 2:38)
Summary
Recognize you are a sinner, like everyone else, and
need God's
forgiveness.
Put your faith in Christ and trust in His accomplishments on the
cross.
Resolve to be a Christian. To turn away from a life of sin.
Confess your faith in Christ and be baptized into Him.
Pray to God to ask for forgiveness of your sins and to receive
Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.
This is a gift that God has given to you.
You can't earn it in any way, all you have to do is accept the
gift.
The words don't matter God knows what you feel in your heart
you could say something like...
"Dear God
I truly believe Jesus Christ is the living Son of God
that died on the cross for my sins. I am a sinner and I ask you
to
please forgive me of my sins through His accomplishments alone.
I want Jesus to be my Savior and Lord of my life.
Amen"
And then be baptized into Him.
When one becomes a Christian, God adds him to
His church.
(Acts 2:47)
The early disciples met on the first day of the week
to break bread.
(Acts 20:7)
and are told that we should
gather with the church regularly for worship and study
of God's Word so that we may grow spiritually.
(Hebrews 10:25)
If you do not belong to a church, do not wait
to be
invited. Take the initiative; call the pastor of a
nearby church where Christ is honored and His
Word is preached. Start this week, and make plans
to attend regularly.
You can call David, the Minister at Ardmore,
at (336) 765-0675
Want you please Join us so we may grow together?
|
|
