The most important thing to realize is that God loves you and wants to save you and have fellowship with you, but there's something that separates you from God-sin.
Sin is often thought of as some vile or immoral act, but the Bible helps us understand that it is much more. It is actually an attitude of rebellion against the ideals of God. In other words, it is the nature for all human beings to think, do or say things that violate God's holy standards. According to scripture, this is a condition that was passed down to all the ancestors of Adam, the first man, who allowed sin to alienate himself from God's presence, and which continues to block man's fellowship from the Lord today. The Bible says, “For all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God” in Romans 3:23.
Not only does sin separate us from God in our present time, but it also maintains that separation beyond the grave in a dreadful realm of eternal death and darkness that was never intended for mankind. The Bible says that the Lake of Fire was created as a place of everlasting punishment for the Devil and his angels, who sinned and rebelled against God, and were expelled from Heaven long ago. Unfortunately, this Hellish place will also be the shared destination of all those who remain separated from God when they face death. Revelation 20:15 says, "And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire."
However, the great news is, rather than to abandon the fallen sinful human creatures that God originally created for His fellowship, God loved mankind so much that He devised a plan to redeem us, giving everyone an opportunity to make a choice either to continue in sin and apart from God, or to turn to the Lord, receive His offer of forgiveness and walk in His fellowship. A relationship with the Lord brings new spiritual life and assurance of everlasting life with the Lord in Heaven when we die.
To implement His plan for redemption, however, God also had to find a way to comply with His own righteous standards by fulfilling His law of sin and death. In other words, according to God's values, death is an irrevocable consequence of sin that must be satisfied. So in order to rescue man from death without violating His own principles, He found an alternate means to fulfill the demands of His law by sending His son, Jesus, to die in our place. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” according to Romans 6:23. The only sacrifice acceptable to fulfill this enormous debt in behalf of every man, woman and child on the earth, required a perfect, sinless sacrifice. Jesus, the son of God, was the only one who could take our place, since He is the only man without sin to ever walk on the earth.
So, God makes this amazing offer of forgiveness and salvation available as a free gift to every person, if they will comply with just one thing: To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." To believe on Him means that by faith we accept that Jesus was indeed God's son, who came and died in our behalf on the cross, rose from the dead on the third day, and was exalted by the Heavenly Father as both our Savior and Lord.
The instant you acknowledge this reality in your heart and confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior, something extraordinary occurs-in fact, it is miraculous. The Spirit of Christ is born in your heart and you become a habitation of the Lord's presence. Becoming born-again brings new spiritual life, and God's promise of salvation and everlasting life. The Lord receives you as His child and He writes your name in the Lamb's Book of Life. Luke recorded His words in Luke 10:20 when Jesus said, "Rejoice because your names are written in heaven."
So are you ready to accept this gift of salvation that Jesus offers you right now? The scripture says in Romans 10:9, 10, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Here's a sample prayer that you can put into your own words:
“Dear Lord Jesus, I realize that I am a sinner and that I need of your forgiveness. I believe that you died for my sins on the cross and rose from the dead so you could wash me of sin and give me eternal life. Please come into my heart now, forgive me and save me. I confess you as my Lord and Savior and place my faith in you. I will follow you as long as I live, and trust that I die, you will receive me into Heaven. Thank you for your forgiveness, for coming into my heart and for making me a child of God!”
The very moment you express this prayer to Christ in faith, He enters your heart by His Spirit! He forgives all your sins, He saves you and writes your name in His book of Life! Now, it will be important to open and read the Bible each day to see what God has to say to you and it's equally important to talk to Him daily through prayer. Ask Him to guide your life and to fill you with the fullness His Holy Spirit. Get involved with a good Bible-believing church and attend faithfully. Ask to be baptized in water at your earliest convenience (Acts 2:38), in obedience to what Lord commanded, and by all means continue forever to live for the Lord!
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