Do
you have a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ?
A
personal relationship with Jesus is the most important
decision you could ever make in your life. It is unlike
any other relationship. For if you go into eternity
without this relationship, you will spend eternity apart
from Him.
So, if you will allow me, I'd like to tell you how you
can come into a personal relationship with Jesus.
First you need to recognize that . . .
God
Desires a Personal Relationship With
YouGod
created you (Genesis 1:27). And He didn't just create you
to exist all alone and apart from Him. He created you
with a view to coming into a personal relationship with
Him.
Remember, God had face-to-face encounters and fellowship
with Adam and Eve, the first couple (Genesis 3:8-19). And
just as God fellowshipped with them, so He desires to
fellowship with you (1 John 1:5-7). God loves you (John
3:16). Never forget that fact.
The problem is . . .
Humanity
Has a Sin Problem that Blocks a Relationship With
GodWhen
Adam and Eve chose to sin against God in the Garden of
Eden, they catapulted the entire human race--to which
they gave birth--into sin. Since the time of Adam and
Eve, every human being has been born into the world with
a propensity to sin.
The apostle Paul affirmed that "sin entered the world
through one man, and death through sin" (Romans 5:12).
Indeed, we are told that "through the disobedience of the
one man the many were made sinners" (Romans 5:19).
Ultimately this means that "death came through a man...in
Adam all die" (1 Corinthians 15:21-22).
Jesus often spoke of sin in metaphors that illustrate the
havoc sin can wreak in one's life. He described sin as
blindness (Matthew 23:16-26), sickness (Matthew 9:12),
being enslaved in bondage (John 8:34), and living in
darkness (John 8:12; 12:35-46). Moreover, Jesus taught
that this is a universal condition and that all people
are guilty before God (Luke 7:37-48).
Jesus also taught that both inner thoughts and external
acts render a person guilty (Matthew 5:28). He taught
that from within the human heart come evil thoughts,
sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed,
malice, deceit, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly (Mark
7:21-23). Moreover, He affirmed that God is fully aware
of every person's sins, both external acts and inner
thoughts; nothing escapes His notice (Matthew 22:18; Luke
6:8; John 4:17-19).
Of course, some people are more morally upright than
others. But we all fall short of God's infinite standards
(Romans 3:23). In a contest to see who can throw a rock
to the moon, I am sure a muscular athlete would be able
to throw the rock much further than I could. But all
human beings ultimately fall short of the task.
Similarly, all of us fall short of measuring up to God's
perfect holy standards.
Though the sin problem is a serious one, God has
graciously provided a solution:
Jesus
Died for Our Sins
and Made Salvation PossibleGod's
absolute holiness demands that sin be punished. The good
news of the gospel, however, is that Jesus has taken this
punishment on Himself. God loves us so much that He sent
Jesus to bear the penalty for our sins!
Jesus affirmed that it was for the very purpose of dying
that He came into the world (John 12:27). Moreover, He
perceived His death as being a sacrificial offering for
the sins of humanity (Matthew 26:26-28). Jesus took His
sacrificial mission with utmost seriousness, for He knew
that without Him, humanity would certainly perish
(Matthew 16:25; John 3:16) and spend eternity apart from
God in a place of great suffering (Matthew 10:28; 11:23;
23:33; 25:41; Luke 16:22-28).
Jesus therefore described His mission this way: "The Son
of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28). "The
Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost" (Luke
19:10); for "God did not send his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but to save the world through him"
(John 3:17).
But the benefits of Christ's death on the cross are not
automatically applied to your life. God requires you to .
. .
Believe
in Jesus Christ
By
His sacrificial death on the cross, Jesus took the sins
of the entire world on Himself and made salvation
available for everyone (1 John 2:2). But this salvation
is not automatic. Only those who personally choose to
believe in Christ are saved. This is the consistent
testimony of the biblical Jesus. Listen to His words:
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"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and
only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish
but have eternal
life" (John 3:16).
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"For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the
Son and
believes in him shall have eternal life, and I
will raise him up at
the last day" (John 6:40).
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"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in
me will
live, even though he dies" (John 11:25).
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Choosing not to believe in Jesus, by contrast, leads to
eternal condemnation: "Whoever believes in him is not
condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned
already because he has not believed in the name of God's
one and only Son" (John 3:18).
Free
At Last: Forgiven of All Sins
When
you believe in Christ the Savior, a wonderful thing
happens. God forgives you of all your sins. All of them!
He puts them completely out of His sight. Ponder for a
few minutes the following verses, which speak of the
forgiveness of those who have believed in Christ:
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"In him we have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness
of sins, in accordance with the riches of
God's grace"
(Ephesians 1:7).
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God said, "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember
no more"
(Hebrews 10:17-18).
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"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose
sins are
covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord
does not count
against him and in whose spirit is no
deceit" (Psalm 32:1-2).
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"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so
great is his
love for those who fear him; as far as the
east is from the west,
so far has he removed our
transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:11-12).
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Such forgiveness is wonderful indeed, for none of us can
possibly work our way into heaven, or be good enough to
warrant God's good favor. Because of what Jesus has done
for us, we freely receive the gift of salvation. It is a
gift provided solely through the grace of God (Ephesians
2:8-9). And all of it is ours by simply believing in
Jesus.
Don't
Put If OffIt
is a highly dangerous thing to put off turning to Christ
for salvation, for you do not know the day of your death.
What if it happens this evening? "Death is the destiny of
every man; the living should take this to heart"
(Ecclesiastes 7:2).
If God is speaking to your heart now, then now is your
door of opportunity to believe. "Seek the Lord while he
may be found; call on him while he is near" (Isaiah
55:6).
Follow
Me In PrayerWould
you like to place your faith in Jesus for the forgiveness
of sins, thereby guaranteeing your eternal place in
heaven along His side? If so, pray the following prayer
with me.
Keep in mind that it's not the prayer itself that saves
you. It is the faith in your heart that saves you. So,
let the following prayer be a simple expression of the
faith that is in your heart:
Dear
Jesus:
I want to have a relationship with you.
I know I can't save myself, because I know I'm a sinner.
Thank you for dying on the cross on my behalf.
I believe you died for me,
and I accept your free gift of salvation.
Thank you Jesus.
Amen.
Welcome
to God's Forever FamilyOn
the authority of the Word of God, I can now assure you
that you are a part of God's forever family. If you
prayed the above prayer with a heart of faith, you will
spend all eternity by the side of Jesus in heaven.
Welcome to God's family!
If you've just become a Christian, I want to help you.
I'd like to send you some free materials that will help
you grow in your faith.
If you're already a Christian, I'd like to hear from you
too. I have many free materials that will help you mature
as a Christian.
Please email me and I'll email you a free eBook
to help you get started in your Christian life:
God bless you!
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