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Realize that you are a sinner
“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 Let’s be honest, we’ve all done things wrong whether it was telling a “white lie” or taking a quarter from your mom’s purse as a child, the Bible says any wrong-doing is sin and all humans are sinners. Realize that God has a payday for sin “For the wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23 Because we are all sinners and God is just and holy, he cannot allow sin to enter Heaven. The payment or punishment for all sins big and little is eternal death in Hell. Realize that Christ paid the debt for your sin “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. ” Romans 5:8 God provided His love to the world even though we are not worthy of His love. He gave Himself as a supreme sacrifice. Realize that you must ask Jesus to come into your heart and forgive you of your sins “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. ” Romans 10:9,13 The only way to enter Heaven is through prayer, to ask Jesus to come into your heart and forgive you of your sins. It is not the prayer that gets you into heaven, but the belief in your heart and acknowledgement of what Christ did for you on the cross. RECAP: So once again, just to review, to go to Heaven you must: •Realize that you are a sinner •Realize that the punishment is Hell •Realize that Jesus Christ paid that for you by dying on the cross •Realize that you need to ask Him, and Him alone to forgive you. Sample Prayer: “Lord, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask you to save me. Come into my heart and forgive me of my sins. I right now accept you as my personal Saviour. Thank you for saving me, Amen.” |
Who is Jesus?
Jesus... One generation after another says good things about Him. People seem to want Jesus on their side. It's been almost 2,000 years since He walked the earth, but Jesus is still talked about as much as ever. Cross necklaces and Jesus-tattoos abound. Some wear Jesus t-shirts. He's even admired by people who don't call themselves Christians. Take a look below to see what the Bible has to say about Jesus. The Most Famous Person in History By any sober evaluation, Jesus is the most famous person in history. No one has been more frequently painted, written about, or sung to. No person has affected human history as much as Jesus. But Who is Jesus really? It's only fair to let Him speak for Himself. Jesus never wrote His own book, but He taught day after day in public, and several of His friends wrote down much of what He taught. What they recorded is our most reliable account of what Jesus really had to say about Himself. More Than a Teacher Jesus was a great teacher, no doubt. Everyone seems to agree on that. He's likely the best teacher Who's ever lived, and many of His sayings are recognized and familiar: "Do unto others as ye would have them do unto you." "Judge not, that ye be not judged." "Our Father, which art in heaven . . ." And the list goes on. But Jesus didn't think about Himself as just a teacher, and it's significant that his friends each record Him saying these things just once. There is only one thing that Jesus' friends Matthew, Mark, and Luke record three times each: Jesus' teaching that He was going to die and then rise again. So, His Death Was Planned? Matthew's 16th chapter is the first place we encounter Jesus explicitly talking about His death: “From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must . . . be killed, and be raised again the third day.” (Verses 21) Then again in the next chapter, Jesus says that He “shall be betrayed into the hands of men: And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again.” (Matthew 17:22-23) Then a third time—this one in Matthew, chapter 20: Jesus said to his disciples, “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem [the city where he was going to be killed]; and the Son of man [talking about himself] shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, And shall deliver him to the Gentiles [the non-Jewish Romans] to mock, and to scourge [to be whipped], and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.” (verses 17-19) And again, both Mark and Luke also record Jesus clearly teaching about His death and resurrection at least three times each before He died—notably more than He teaches on any other subject! (See Mark 8:31; 9:9, 31; 10:33-34; Luke 9:22, 44, 51-53; 18:31-32) Why Did He die? In His perfect love, God made a way to save rebellious, sinful humans—without compromising His perfect standard of justice—by sending Jesus, who was His eternal divine Son, to ...
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) Reprise So why again did Jesus die? He died so that humans don't have to spend eternity apart from their Maker in a terrible place called Hell; but can be brought into a real relationship with Him by trusting in Jesus Christ alone as the all-sufficient payment for their sin debt. Getting Connected Getting connected with Jesus isn't something you can earn. (Ephesians 2:8-9) You can't do anything to gain His favor and get yourself right with God. The only thing you can do is something that really isn't doing: Ask God to forgive you of your sin and turn from trusting in anything other than Jesus alone. Trust that Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross are enough to take care of your sins. (Romans 10:9-10) Our Need for a Saviour The political leaders couldn't find any real fault in Jesus, so why did they kill Him? The ultimate answer is that God wanted it this way and orchestrated the details to bring it about. That's why Jesus knew it was going to happen. But why in the world would God want that—and why did Jesus willingly comply? The reason is this: Because humanity as a whole—and every individual human being—has rebelled (sinned) against God by not living how God, as our Maker, intended. The Bible says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Because of this, we all deserve to be punished forever in hell—that's the appropriate punishment for belittling a God who deserves infinite respect. "For the wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23) |