God’s Design
You are designed with a purpose. God loves you and wants you to enjoy a close relationship with him and to have eternal life.
“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3).
“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” (John 3:16).
This sounds wonderful. But something stands in the way of experiencing eternal life and having a relationship with God.
Our Problem
All of us have this inborn desire to be the boss of our own lives and to ignore God’s right to tell us what to do. We want to call the shots and control our own lives, and the Bible calls this attitude sin. Sin separates us from God.
“Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2).
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)
Some people think that as long as their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds that they can gain God’s acceptance and gain eternal life. But, the problem is that …
“Without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)
God is perfect—without sin—and all who are stained by sin cannot dwell in his presence. That means that none of us can earn eternal life unless the problem of sin is dealt with once and for all. God must provide a way or else we are doomed. The good news is that God has provided a way for his perfect standards to be met and for us to be restored to a relationship with God.
God’s Solution
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, lived a perfect life. He died on the Cross and three days later the tomb was empty because he rose from the grave. His death was part of God’s plan to fix our relationship with God by paying the penalty for our sins.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
When Jesus died, he paid the penalty for our sins and made a way possible for the righteous (perfect) standards of God to be met in us through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.
“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” (1 Peter 3:18)
Christ’s death and resurrection makes it possible for the perfect life of Christ to be credited to us and our sins to be removed. But this doesn’t happen automatically. We must make a decision.
Our Decision
There are four things you need to do to enter into a relationship with God and receive eternal life:
- Admit that you are a sinner who needs forgiveness.
- Stop doing what is wrong and start doing what is right (repent).
- Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross and rose from the grave.
- Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to become the Savior and Lord of your life.
God promises …
“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.” (Romans 10:9)
Here is a prayer you can pray to receive Christ into your life and confess him as your Lord
“Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and need your forgiveness. I believe that you died for my sins. You are the Savior I need. I repent and turn to you. Come into my life and be my Savior and Lord. Amen.”
If you prayed this prayer,
The Bible says…
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8,9)
“He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:12-13)
