Free Gift of Eternal Life
What does it take to obtain eternal life? Many people are
unclear on how to obtain eternal life. Some think that just
following a set of rules will get them there. Others feel that
they can cancel their bad deeds by performing good deeds. God has
made it very clear in the Bible that we can not obtain salvation
through our own works or will. However, He has made it clear how we can know Him and how we
can accept His free gift of eternal life. God created us in His
image and He wants to have a personal relationship with Him.
God loves you and has a
plan for your life! God created you and loves
you. He wants you to have a personal relationship with
Him. He offers those predestined eternal life through His son Jesus!
Jesus also came so that through Him those chosen could have a
personal relationship with God.
"For God so loved the
world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life (NIV; John 3:16).”
"I have come that they
may have life, and that they may have it more
abundantly (NIV; John 10:10).”
"We have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ (NIV; Romans
5:1).”
What keeps man from
knowing God?
God
created us in His own image to have an abundant life. He
created us with free will. Man chose to disobey God and
go his own willful way. We still make this choice today
which results in separation from God.
"For all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God (NIV; Romans 3:23).”
"For the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord (NIV; Romans 6:23)."
The result of sin in our lives is death; spiritual
separation from God. Although we may try to get close to
God through our own effort, we inevitably fail. Some
think that performing good deeds and have "a good heart"
is enough. This misconception is not sufficient for
salvation as one is still left with his sin and sinful
nature. By
himself, man cannot bridge the gap between sin and God.
"There is a way that
seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to
death (NIV; Proverbs 14:12).”
"But your iniquities
have separated you from your God; your sins have
hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear (NIV; Isaiah 59:2).”
If the wages of sin are
death and all fall short, how can man ever know God?
No bridge
reaches God except one; the Cross. Jesus Christ died on
the Cross and rose from the grave. He paid the penalty
for our sin and bridged the gap between God and people.
"For Christ died for
sins once for all, the righteous for the
unrighteous, to bring you to God (NIV; 1 Peter
3:18).”
"But God demonstrates
his own love for us in this: While we were still
sinners, Christ died for us (NIV; Romans 5:8).”
"For there is one God
and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus
Christ (NIV; 1 Timothy 2:5).”
God provides a way!
God
provided the way, but when God chooses us or draws us to
Him, we must accept His free gift.
We must trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and
receive Him by personal invitation.
"Here I am! I stand at
the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and
opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and
he with me (NIV; Revelation 3:20).”
"Yet to all who received
him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the
right to become children of God (NIV; John 1:12).”
"That if you confess
with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in
your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you
will be saved (NIV; Romans 10:9).”
Is God compelling you to
come to Jesus?
According to John 6:44-45, no one can come to Jesus
unless drawn by God. God uses the teaching/preaching of
the gospel to draw man to his Son. Has God given you the
desire to come to Christ? If so, come to Him right now.
If you do not desire to come to Him, please, confess
your lack of desire and ask to be filled with the desire
to come to Him.
John 6:44-45-- 44No one can come to me unless the
Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him
up at the last day. 45It is written in the Prophets:
'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who
listens to the Father and learns from him comes to
me.
God is drawing me to
accept Jesus; what do I do?
God
provided the way, but when God chooses us or draws us to
Him, we must accept His free gift.
We must trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and
receive Him by personal invitation.
Admit your problem of
being separated from God by sin (I am a
sinner). Recognize that you have sinned and need
God's solution.
Believe that Jesus
Christ died for your sins on the Cross.
Through prayer, invite
Jesus Christ to come into your heart and control your life
through the Holy Spirit.
Receive Him as Lord over
your life and as your personal Savior.)
Be willing
to change and turn from
your sins (repent).
Are you ready to receive
Him? Below you will find a suggested prayer
for receiving Jesus as your Savior. This pray is
just a guideline for you. God knows your heart so please
feel free to pray your own prayer. Remember, you must mean it from your heart
and believe.
Sample Prayer Lord Jesus, I need you. I have sinned and I want to
accept you into my life. Thank you Jesus for dying
on the cross for my sins. I open my heart to receive You
as Lord over my life and as my personal Savior. Thank
You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life.
Please take control of my life and guide me through the
Holy Spirit on the path that is your will not mine!
I accepted God's gift!
If you
accepted Jesus into your heart, along with the angels (Luke
15:10) we are so excited and delighted that you have made this decision!
Please take a moment to drop us an email to let us know
of your decision! This way we can pray for you as you
embark on this new journey. (Ephesians 1:15-18)
If you don’t have Bible, you should try to obtain one.
The word of God, as written in the Bible, is the truth
necessary for understanding what it means to be a
Christian. Owning a Bible isn't necessary, but having
access to the one is essential (ie: you can access the
Bible for free on the Web at
www.biblegateway.com ).
Also seek out a church and/or a youth group where you
can fellowship with other Christians. They can help and
guide you in becoming closer to God. Good Christian
friends can build you up and encourage you, so find a
church as soon as possible.
If you need some further help as you begin to live for
Christ, please let us know.
Scripture References:
Ephesians 1:15-18 --15For
this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the
Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16I have
not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my
prayers. 17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit
of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him
better. 18I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be
enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which
he has called you, the riches of his glorious
inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great
power for us who believe. . .
Luke 15:10 --In the same
way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of
the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Ephesians 2 Made Alive in Christ
1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and
sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the
ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of
the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are
disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one
time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and
following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we
were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his
great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us
alive with Christ even when we were dead in
transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And
God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in
the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in
the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of
his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ
Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through
faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of
God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we
are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do
good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. One in Christ
11Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles
by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call
themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by
the hands of men)— 12remember that at that time you were
separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in
Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise,
without hope and without God in the world. 13But now in
Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been
brought near through the blood of Christ.
14For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one
and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of
hostility, 15by abolishing in his flesh the law with its
commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create
in himself one new man out of the two, thus making
peace, 16and in this one body to reconcile both of them
to God through the cross, by which he put to death their
hostility. 17He came and preached peace to you who were
far away and peace to those who were near. 18For through
him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens,
but fellow citizens with God's people and members of
God's household, 20built on the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the
chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined
together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
22And in him you too are being built together to become
a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Glossary:
Repent: to turn from sin and
dedicate oneself to the amendment of one's life.
