The
Plan of Salvation:
In the Bible, in John 3:16-17,
Jesus said:
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whosoever
believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God
did not send His
Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should
be saved through
Him."
God wants to give us a better
life beginning right now, plus an outstanding new life that begins
after we leave this earth. Because of our human nature, we are all
sinners. The word ‘sin’ means that we ‘miss the
mark.’ Sin is anything that we do, or think, that is contrary
to the character of God. Sin is a part of our nature. We sin by
choice. We live a life that is not up to the standards that God
sets for us. No one except the Lord Jesus, who was the perfect Son
of God, is free from this desire to sin. Our sin has a price. We
deserve death. Romans 6:23 says: "For the wages of sin is death,
but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
God’s provision for our
sins is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is God Himself in person. He
led a sinless life by the power of the Holy Spirit and became the
sacrificial ‘lamb’ to save all mankind. You may ask,
‘Why did He have to be crucified like that?’ Perhaps
this was God’s way of showing us how evil we are without His
grace, and how far we have gone away from His plan, and how much
we need a Saviour. He gave His Son to pay the penalty for our sin.
He loves us so much that He gave His Son to pay the penalty for
our sin. Romans 5:8 tells us, "But God demonstrates His own
love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for
us."
God's amazing love! Without this
gift that God gave us, our only choice is to die, to go to a horrible
place called Hell, and be forever and eternally separated from God.
Jesus died and was buried, but He did not stay dead. Three days
later, God raised Him from the dead. Why is that important? Jesus
suffered one of the cruelest deaths known to man, and if Jesus had
stayed in the grave, He might have been much like any other man.
Every man dies, but Jesus was different.
Jesus did no wrong when He was
alive, but His priceless life became our sacrifice to pay the penalty
for all of our sins. He died, but God was not finished with Him!
God raised Jesus from the dead!
The stone enclosing His borrowed tomb there on Golgotha’s
hill in Jerusalem was rolled away! Jesus defeated death and Hell
and came out of the grave! He walked the Earth for many more days,
and then was taken up to be rejoined with His Father, God Almighty,
in Heaven. What is this eternal life? For one thing, it means that
we don’t have to go to Hell. We have another option. We can
live forever and eternally in a much nicer place called Heaven.
What is Heaven? No one knows for
sure, but Jesus said, in John 14:3, "In My Father’s house
are many dwelling places; if it were not so I would have told you;
for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where
I am, there you may be also."
In Heaven, we can spend forever
with Jesus! I can’t describe Heaven, but if Jesus is there
and Heaven is good enough for God’s own Son, then Heaven is
a place I want to be! In addition, the benefits of that new eternal
life can begin right away. You don’t have to go to Heaven
to start this new life. In John 10:10, Jesus said: "I came
that they might have life, and have it more abundantly."
OK, so, what do I have to do?
It is so very simple that it is hard for many to understand. In
John 14:6 Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the
life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me." Heaven only
has one door and Jesus is the only way. We must do what He says
in Romans 10:9-10, "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus
as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the
dead, you shall be saved, for with the heart man believes, resulting
in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in
salvation."
Complete these very basic steps:
- Talk to God. (Pray)
-
Tell God that you believe in His Son, Jesus;
that He died to pay the price for your
sins; and that you believe that God raised Him from the dead.
(Have Faith in His Salvation!)
-
Admit that you have sinned against Him and
ask for His forgiveness.
(Confess your sins!)
-
Tell God that you want to accept His gift
of eternal life now.
(Follow God’s Great Plan for you!)
It isn’t complicated, but
it does require your utmost sincerity! Here is an example of the
prayer. If you are willing, please pray this prayer in faith right
now:
"Dear God, I know that Jesus Christ is Your Son, and that He
died on the cross and
He was raised from the dead. I know that I have sinned and I am
asking you for Your
forgiveness. I am willing to turn from my sins and I receive Jesus
Christ now as my
Saviour and Lord. Thank You for saving me now. In Jesus’ name,
Amen."
If you prayed this prayer and
meant it with all your heart, our most wonderful and gracious God
has promised to give you a new life, both here on earth and a greater
life when the time comes for you to physically die. You have a new
name. You are a Christian, which means "Christ-like.’
Are you going to be perfect in
your new life? Certainly not! You are still a human. Being a Christian
will not keep you from sinning, but being a Christian does mean
that you want to be more like Jesus. Your new life is just beginning,
and it is certainly OK to tell others about your new life. By closely
following Jesus, your new life will be powerful, wonderful, and
exciting!
In your brand new life, you are
like a newborn child. Read your Bible. If you do not have a Bible,
go get one. Go to a local church that believes that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God. Ask to see the pastor and tell him about your
new life and ask for his prayer and advice.
As you start to grow in your Christian
life, you will have lots of questions. You need to meet with other
Christians. You need their support, to learn from them, and be a
part of continuous Christian fellowship. The important thing is
that you find a good church near you so that you can regularly be
with fellow Christians and learn and grow in God’s great plans
for your life.
In Jeremiah 29:11 , the Lord says
to us, “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring
you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future
you hope for" (Good News Bible)
Please feel free to contact our
ministry and let us know any prayer requests in our Prayer Request
Page. The Lord bless you! |
