Think of it this way... Imagine you're in a
courtroom again, you're guilty of many serious
crimes. The judge says, "It's a fine of $500,000,
or prison." You don't have anywhere near
that amount of money, so the bailiff begins to
walk you out of the courtroom when someone you
don't even know appears. He runs up to the judge
with a check and says, "I've paid the fine
for you." Now that the fine has been paid,
the law no longer has any hold on you. You're
free -- because of the gift you were given.
This is what God did for you by sending Jesus
to die on the cross in your place. So that you
wouldn't have to go to Hell, God sent his only
Son, Jesus, to die on the cross -- suffering the
punishment that justice demands. Then He rose from
the grave, forever defeating death! The Bible
tells us, "For God so loved the world, that He
gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth on Him, shall not perish, but have
everlasting life." (John 3:16)
The Bible teaches that you need to know and
believe four things to settle this matter of your
eternal destination:
-
You must accept that you are a
sinner.
"For all have sinned, and come
short of the glory of God" (Romans
3:23).
No one is exempt from this indictment. Everyone
has sinned. Romans 5:12 says, "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." No one is perfect and no one
can live up to God's perfect standard. We are
sinners by nature.
-
You must accept that as a sinner
you owe a penalty.
"For the wages of
sin is death" (Romans 6:23a). Because of
our sin we owe a debt. This debt is a spiritual
death or separation from God in the lake of fire
known as Hell. Hell is not a figment of
someone's imagination or only a figurative term.
Hell is very real. It is a literal burning
place. It's not a place where you go because
your friends will be there and you want to have
a good time. It is a dark, lonely, seething,
burning place, and it never ends. It continues
to burn for all time. The worst part is, there
is nothing you or I can do on our own to avoid
it. Outside of Jesus, it is our final
destination. If you are depending on your church
membership to get you to Heaven, beware; it's
not enough. If you pray a lot hoping to get to
Heaven, don't depend on that; it's not enough
either. Even if you give a lot of money to a
church, it's not enough to gain Heaven. Many
people think if they are good enough, they will
be able to slip in through the gate when no one
is looking or find a hole in the gate somewhere.
Please, my friend, don't depend on something so
shaky. It can't happen that way. There is only
one way to get to Heaven. How?
-
You must accept that Jesus Christ
has already paid our sin debt. "But
God commendeth his love toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us"
(Romans 5:8).
Christ was not a sinner, and the Bible teaches
that God took all of our sin and placed it on
Christ. While Christ was bearing all our sins in
His own body, God punished Him in our place to
pay the debt we owe. This is not something God
promised to do. It is something He has already
done.
"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" (John
3:16).
It is a fact: Jesus Christ has already paid your
sin debt.
-
You must accept by faith what
Jesus Christ did for you.
"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" (John
3:36).
In this verse, the world is divided into two
groups: those who are believing and those who
are not believing on the Son. Those who believe
have everlasting life, and those who don't
believe shall not see life.
The word "believe" means to trust, to depend on, to
rely on. To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ means
that you accept the fact that you are a sinner, that
as a sinner you owe the sin penalty, and that Jesus
Christ died on the cross, was buried, and
arose again on the third day to pay
the debt you owe. But it means going one step
further: it means that you will completely trust
Christ to get you to Heaven, that you will place the
matter of your salvation in His hands and depend on
Him alone for everlasting life.
The moment you do this, God promises you are not
condemned but have everlasting life and that you
will never perish in Hell.
"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" (John 5:24).
Now, if you will trust Jesus Christ as your Saviour,
pray this simple prayer from your heart:
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and I deserve
to pay my own sin debt, but I do believe that You
died for me to pay the debt that I owe. Today, the
best I know how, I trust You as my Saviour. I will
depend on You from this moment on for my salvation.
Amen.
If you prayed this simple prayer,
Contact Us
so that we may rejoice with you. We would also like
to send you some free information on how to live the
Christian life.
Now read your Bible daily, and obey what you
read. God will never let you down.
What should you read? We suggest that you start
in the book named
"John,"
and then read the one named
"Romans."
Whatever you decide to read, make sure you read
every day.
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