How can I be forgiven ?
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You Must Realize that You are a Sinner in Need of God’s Salvation (forgiveness and eternal life).
Romans 3:10,23 say, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
Every man, woman, boy, and girl across the face of this earth is a sinner by birth and by choice.
Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
Psalms 51:5, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
Because Adam (the first man) disobeyed God he became a sinner and passed his sin nature on to every human being. Because God is holy He cannot allow sin into His presence.
Sin is anything that you do or don’t do that displeases God. Lying, stealing, disobedience, hatred, or anything else that God does not like is SIN! Have you ever said something that was not true, or taken something that did not belong to you, or disobeyed your parents or another authority, or had a great dislike or strong anger towards another person? The truth is, we all have sinned.
Because you are a sinner you cannot go to God in the condition that you are in. You need a Savior, someone to take your sin away and give you the righteousness that God requires. This is what Jesus provided for you when He shed his blood and died on the Cross!
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You Must Realize that Jesus Died for You and He Alone Can Save You!
Romans 5:8 says, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
2 Corinthians 5:21, “For he (God) hath made him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
God offers forgiveness of sin and eternal life through Jesus Christ. There is no other way to Heaven! There isn’t any Church that can save you. You cannot save yourself. You must be Born-Again.
The Bible says in John 3:3, “…Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
John 1:12, “ But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
John 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
This is not just believing that He existed and died on a cross. That is a historical fact! Believing in your head is not enough. You must believe with your heart! It is you completely trusting Him for your soul’s salvation. What are you trusting in to get you to Heaven? If you will place your faith in Christ alone He will save you!
James 2:19, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”
Romans 10: 9, 10, 13 say, “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 with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Salvation is a FREE GIFT that you cannot earn! Remember, the wages (what you earn) of sin is death, but the GIFT (what is freely given) of God is ETERNAL life THROUGH Jesus Christ our Lord.
You do not earn a GIFT; you receive it! God is offering it to you TODAY! Do not put it off. You do not know what will happen tomorrow.
Proverbs 27:1, “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”
James 4:14, “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”
Today is the day of Salvation!
2 Corinthians 6:2, “(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)”
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You Must Call on Jesus Christ by Faith to Receive Him as Your Personal Saviour and Lord!
God has done everything necessary for you to be saved. All that you have to do is TURN to Him by FAITH.
Luke 13:3, “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
Repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of action. You need to change your mind about your sin (realize that it is keeping you from God) and turn to God!
Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Faith is you trusting nothing but Christ to save you.
Ephesians 1:7, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”
Grace is God’s favor, which you do not deserve. He freely offers this grace to you because Christ paid for your sin on the cross when He poured out His precious blood. You cannot do good works to be saved. Your goodness comes short of God’s glory and can never reach the holiness required by God. Jesus Christ offers us His righteousness that we might be accepted by God.
Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags…”
Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”
2Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
Someday you will stand at the judgement. It will not matter what others think then! The plans that you have made will not matter! Your eternal future will be all that is important. Why should God let you into Heaven? There is only one answer that He will accept!
Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”
1John 5:10-12, “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: …And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” Do you have the Son? Is Jesus Christ in your heart?
John 5:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
2Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Has there ever been a change in your life? If you are in Christ and He is in you there has had to be a change. Being religious will not do! Being a Church member will not do!
You must be Born- Again!
Matthew 7:21-23, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?”
“And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
Will Christ have to say this to you? It is not God’s will that you die without Christ and spend eternity in Hell. It is His will that you put your faith and trust completely in Jesus Christ and what He did on the Cross of Calvary for you.
2Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
God will not force His salvation on you. You must CHOOSE your way or His. The way that you are going leads to the judgement of God in the Lake of Fire. God’s way leads to everlasting life, peace, and joy!
John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Psalms 9:17, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”
Revelation 20:12-15, “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works… And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
God does not want you to die in your sin. He has paid the price for you to live eternally with Him in Heaven.
Will you right now bow your head and ask Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sin and ask Him to be your Lord and Saviour? He will not turn you away no matter who you are, where you have been, or what you have done. He is waiting for you to turn to Him!
John 6:37, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”
Go to God in prayer right now, asking Him to save you. Ask Him to come into your life and make you a new creature. He has promised to save you if you will call on Him by faith.
Believe His Word!
Now that you have received Christ as Saviour you should find a good Bible-believing Church to attend. It is important that you have fellowship with other Born-Again Believers that can encourage you in the things of God. You should read your Bible and pray everyday. Ask God to lead you to others so that you can witness to them of what Christ has done for you.
If you do not yet understand these things please take time to read this post again and again until God makes it clear to you.
Write to us and let us know of your decision so that we can pray for you.
