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What is salvation?
That's where you become a child of God by accepting Jesus
Christ as your Lord and Savior. It is also called being
"born again" in the Bible. It's like getting a
second chance at life. It is a necessary experience in order
to be part of God's eternal Kingdom.
John 3:3 NLT
Jesus replied,
"I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot
see the Kingdom of God."
What exactly does God "save" you from? Hell
and sin.
What is hell? It is not a fun place. It's not a
place to party with your friends. Hell is a place of
forever darkness and separation from God. It was originally
created by God as a place of punishment for the devil and
evil spiritual beings called demons. The devil and the
demons were once angels that rebelled against God. In fact,
the devil, Lucifer, was originally in charge of worship in
heaven. When they turned against God, He banned them all
from heaven. Since then they have been allowed to roam the
earth working to get people to turn away from God, to
prevent those who don't know God from ever knowing Him, and
to just cause general destruction and evil in the earth.
When the day of judgment comes they will be cast into hell
forever.
Unfortunately,
the devil and the demons are not the only ones who will
reside in hell. Those who have not accepted the gift of
salvation though Jesus Christ, will also spend eternity
there. Why? Because sinners cannot be in the presence
of God for He is holy! The Bible
teaches that sin separates you from God. So you need to get
your sin dealt with so you don't end up in hell.
Fortunately, God is able to save us
from our sin. What is sin actually? Sin literally means
"to miss the mark." Think of a target you are taking
aim at. The way to hit the bull's eye on the target is to
obey the Word of God. The Word teaches us how to live in a
way that pleases Him. That's what it means to be holy.
However, when we violate His Word, we miss the mark, we
don't strike the bull's eye! No human being is actually
able to live a holy life because we all sin. We disobey God
all the time. But there is a solution to this problem.
When God created
man He knew that we were going to sin. In His perfect
love for us, He created a way for us to be saved from that
sin by sending Jesus Christ, His Son, to take the punishment
we all deserve for being sinners. This was a gift of grace
from God. We did nothing to deserve salvation. Jesus did it
all for us.
Titus 2:11-14 NLT
For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation
to all people. (12)
And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful
pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom,
righteousness, and devotion to God,
(13)
while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when
the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be
revealed. (14)
He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to
cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally
committed to doing good deeds.
So when Jesus died on the
cross and was raised from the dead, the entire human race
was given the opportunity to hit the mark, to strike
the bull's eye with God. How do we do that? The Bible says,
"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be
saved." (Acts 16:31)
None of us will ever be perfect in
this life, but we are made holy because of what Jesus did
for us. Through faith in Christ we are made one with
God again. When we turn to Him, we are instantly saved from
sin and eternal separation from God in hell. Those who do
not believe, will not receive the gift of salvation. Jesus
said in Mark 16:16
(NLT)
Anyone who believes
and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to
believe will be condemned.
God is reaching out to you in mercy and
love to give you the gift of salvation that Jesus Christ
made possible for you. Receive it and you will obtain a
priceless inheritance in heaven, an inheritance that is
yours forever. As you invest your faith into Jesus, that
faith will protect you and keep you on track with God's plan
for your life until you enter into the eternal Kingdom.
1 Peter 1:3-5 NLT
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It
is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because
God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with
great expectation, (4)
and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is
kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach
of change and decay.
(5) And through your faith, God is
protecting you by His power until you receive this
salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for
all to see.
So what do you need to do to
experience this great salvation from sin for yourself?
First, talk to God. He is able
to hear you anytime, no matter where you are. Just talk to
Him like you would any other good friend. He loves you and
is waiting to listen to you.
Secondly, admit to Him that you know
you are a sinner, condemned to death because of your
sin. Ask Him to forgive you of all your sins, past and
present. That's all it takes. Just a confession, you
admitting your sin to God. You don't have to tell Him about
each one you can think of. You can if you want to, but He
already knows. The wonderful thing is that the moment you
ask Him to forgive you, He does, immediately.
Third, repent. That's different
than confession. Repent means to turn from sin and turn
toward God. Ask Him to fill you with the power of His Holy
Spirit to enable you to turn your back on your sin and your
past. Tell Him you want to live the right way, according to
His Word, the Bible, from now on. The moment you ask for His
Holy Spirit, He will fill you. From that point forward you
have the opportunity to yield to His power and resist sin.
Fourth, receive. Tell God that
you believe Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for your
sin and that by faith in the Word you now receive the gift
of salvation from sin. Ask Jesus to now be the Lord (ruler)
of your life and tell Him that from this moment on you want to follow
Him. Once you have spoken these things in faith, you
immediately receive so thank Him for what He has done.
Here is a sample prayer if you need
help:
Father, I
come to you right now and and admit to you that I am a
sinner, who deserves to go to hell because of my sin.
Today I choose to repent from all my sin, to turn away
from it and turn to you. Fill me with the power of your
Holy Spirit so I can walk in your truth. I believe your
Son Jesus died on the cross to pay for my sin, so I
receive your promised gift of salvation right now. Jesus, I
invite you to come and be the Lord of my life from now
on. Thank you for saving me and filling me with your
Spirit. I love you for what you have done for me. In
Jesus' name. Amen.
If you have taken these steps, you are
now a true Christian, saved from sin and born again to a new
life in Christ. Please send me an email and let me know
about your experience. If you have any questions about what
is written here you can email those to me, too.
- Life Power Connection
Now I encourage you to watch the two
videos that are shown below. They will go present some of the
things I shared with you already but in a
different way that will bless you.
For information
about your next step as a new believer in Christ, please
read this article.
It's very important!
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