HOW DO I RECEIVE ETERNAL LIFE?
(Admitting, Believing, Committing)
I. WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
We have a natural desire to BE IN CONTROL and ignore God’s plan for living. The Bible calls this attitude SIN.
We must ADMIT we are a sinner and acknowledge who God is and what He has done for us.
"If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. " ( I John 1:8 )
"For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard." (Romans 3:23)
II. WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?
God says in order to go to Heaven, we must BELIEVE and be born again. We must lay aside any thoughts of our own worthiness and come to Him just as we are. We must trust Him and His grace and believe in Him for our salvation.
"For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
God loves us, even though we have rebelled against Him, He has provided the way for our salvation.
Because we are all sinners, we are condemned to die. The Bible says we are born in sin, and if we reject God's forgiveness we will also die in sin and be separated from God forever.
John 3:36 says "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them."
This includes eternal separation from God in Hell.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)
"And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgement." (Hebrews 9:27)
But God loved us so much He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to bear our sin and die in our place.
"For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ." (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Jesus had to shed His blood and die.
"For the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purity you, making you right with the Lord. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible". (Leviticus 17:11)
"In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness." (Hebrews 9:22)
"But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." (Romans 5:8)
Although it is hard for us to understand, God said my sins and your sins were laid upon Jesus and He died in our place. He became our substitute. It is true because God cannot lie my friend!
"God overlooked people's ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him." (Acts17:30)
III. WHAT DOES GOD WANT ME TO DO?
He wants us to make a COMMITMENT to Him.
"Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God's Son does not have life." (I John 5:12)
For "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13)
"If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heat that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved." (Romans 10: 9-10)
Just pray:
"Oh, God, I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus was my substitute, took my place and died on the cross. I believe His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection were for me. I receive Him as my Savior and ask Him to come into my heart. I thank you for forgiving my sins, the gift of salvation and everlasting life, because of your merciful grace. In Jesus Name...Amen.”
"To all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12)
