Are you Wondering about GOD? |
I want to ask you the most important question you will ever be asked. Your joy or sorrow for all eternity depends upon your answer. The question: How do you know GOD? It is not a question of how good a person you are, nor if you are a church member, and not even if you have been baptized, but how do you know GOD? Put another way, do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? You may ask why? If you will permit me a moment, I can show you why the answer to this question is so important to you.
ALL HAVE SINNED
In the Bible, it says in Romans 3:10, "There is none righteous, no not one." And in Romans 3:23 it says, "For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of GOD." It does not matter how good of a person we are, we have all done something in our lives that is against the will of GOD. That is sin. And the Bible says that each and every one of us is guilty of it at some point in our lives. And because of that sin, we have been separated from GOD.
You might argue that you are not as bad as John Doe next door, but the Bible does not compare you to John Doe. The Bible says in James 2:10, "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of it all."
THE PENALTY OF SIN
The Bible also tells us that because we are sinners, there is a penalty because of our sin. In Romans 6:23 we are told, "The wages of sin is death." You might think that death comes to everyone anyway so why worry, but this is not physical death that is being talked about. In Hebrews 9:27 say, "It is appointed unto men once to die (Physical Death), but after this the judgment." Now how can we be judged if we are dead? Because this is when GOD will judge the righteousness of our spirit. And those that are not found in the book of life will suffer eternal separation from GOD in the lake of fire.
In Revelation 20:14 & 15, we read, "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (Spiritual Death) And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Now you might be asking the question, How can I get my name in the Book of Life? Or even how GOD could leave us to suffer like this? But He didn't leave us there.
THE PAYMENT FOR SIN
John 3:16 tells us, "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." But how does that take care of our sins? The Bible says in Romans 5:8, "God commended His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 2Corinthians 5:21 also says, "For He hath made Him (Jesus Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."
In simple terms, GOD sent His Son, Jesus Christ to pay the debt that we incurred because of our sin. And even though this payment is available, it still must be applied to our sin debt individually.
ACCEPTING THE PAYMENT FOR SIN
Although we have a hard time understanding how GOD can do this, GOD made it simple for us to have. Romans 6:23 concludes by saying, "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Notice the word gift. A gift is something that you receive from someone. You don't pay for gifts that are given to you. That is taken care of by the person giving you the gift. In this case, the payment for your sins is the gift that you are being offered. 1 Timothy 1:15 says,"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." The only thing for you to do is accept the gift that is being offered you. Romans 10:13 tells us, "Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved." This simply states that all who ask GOD to forgive their sins based upon the gift Jesus offers, will be saved from the penalty of the second death. We call upon Him to ask Him to forgive our sins.
And to call upon the Lord is just simply to pray. Romans 10:9 & 10 says, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." If your desire is to accept the free gift that Jesus offers you right now, pray a prayer and ask Jesus Christ for this gift. It may seem silly at first and you may not know exactly what to say. But there are no magic words to this prayer, just a sincere desire in your heart to have Jesus Christ pay for your sins and become your personal Savior. GOD will hear.
And so I ask you again, How do you know Jesus Christ? Is He your personal Savior or just another religious figure? Many today will take a look at this and just keep going having made a decision not to accept the gift that Jesus offers. I pray that you will not join them.
If you prayed and asked Jesus Christ to be your personal Savior or if you have question about what you have read on this page, please contact the church using the information at the bottom of this page.