|
THE
GIFT OF GOD
1. ETERNAL LIFE IS A GIFT FROM GOD.
The Scriptures tell us ". . .
the gift of God is eternal life. (Romans 6:23b)
And because heaven is a gift like any
other genuine gift it must be received......
IT IS NOT EARNED or DESERVED
No amount of personal effort, good
works, or religious deeds can earn us a place in heaven.
"By grace you have been saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. " ( Ephesians 2:8.9)
WHY is it that no one can earn his
way to heaven? Because ...
2. MAN IS A SINNER and cannot save
himself.
"AII have sinned and fall short
of the glory, of God. " ( Romans 3:23)
Sin is transgressing God's law and
includes such things as lying, lust, cheating, deceit, anger, evil
thoughts, immoral behavior, and more.
And because of this .....
WE CANNOT SAVE OURSELVES.
But your iniquities have separated
you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He
will not hear. (Isaiah 59:2)
If you wanted to save yourself by
good deeds, do you know how good you would have to be?
The Bible says you would have to be
perfect. "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in
heaven is perfect. " ( Matthew 5:48)
With such a high standard, no one can
save himself for God also says,
"Whoever shall keep the whole
law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all." (James 2:10)
In spite of our sin, however ...
3. GOD IS MERCIFUL,
and therefore DOESN'T WANT TO PUNISH
US.
This is because ..."God is love.
. . " ( I John 4:8b) and He says,
"I have loved you with an
everlasting love." (Jeremiah 31:3b)
But the same Bible that tells us that
God loves us also tells us that . . .
God is just, and therefore must
punish sin..
He says ...
"I will by no means clear the
guilty" (Exodus 34:7b)
"The soul who sins shall
die." (Ezekiel 18:4)
We have a problem; we have all
sinned. The penalty for sin is death.
We need forgiveness so that we can
have a right relationship with God and eternal life.
God solved this problem for us in the
Person of ...
4. JESUS CHRIST
Who exactly would you say Jesus
Christ is? The Scriptures tell us clearly that He is the infinite God-Man.
"In the beginning was the Word
(Jesus)... and the Word (Jesus) was with God ... and the Word (Jesus) was
God…and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. . ." ( John
1:1,14)
Jesus Christ came to earth and lived
a sinless life, but while on earth
WHAT DID HE DO?
He also shed His blood and died on
the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and rose from the grave and
purchased a place for us in heaven.
"All we like sheep have gone
astray, we have turned, every, one, to his own way, and the Lord has laid
on Him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all." ( Isaiah 53:6)
God hates our sins but because of His
love for us, He has placed them all on His Son. Christ bore our sin in His
body on the cross. Now Jesus Christ offers you eternal life (heaven) as a
free gift.
John 3:16 "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."
This gift is received by ...
5.FAITH
Faith is the key issue it is faith
that opens the door to heaven.
For by grace you have been saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of
works, lest anyone should boast. (Eph 2:8&9)
Many people mistake two things for
saving faith:
1. Saving faith is not mere
intellectual accent; it is not just believing certain historical facts.
The scriptures tell us the devil believes in God, so believing in God is
not saving faith.
2. Saving faith is not mere temporal
faith, that is, trusting God for temporary crises such as financial,
family, or physical needs.
Saving faith is trusting in Jesus
Christ alone for salvation. It is not trusting in Jesus to fill in the
gaps, there are no gaps. In out sin we are totally displeasing and
separated from God. It means trusting upon Christ alone and what He has
done rather than upon what you have done to get us into heaven. The
scriptures point out that this is trusting in the finished work of Christ.
He did every thing that was required to purchase our salvation. Now He
offers it to us as a free gift.
"Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and you will be saved. . . " (Acts 16:31a) Believing on Jesus
in this case means to put your whole, absolute, total and complete trust
on the Lord Jesus Christ in Him and in Him alone for your salvation.
You have just read the greatest offer
that God has ever made to man.
The question now is ...
What will you do? How will you
respond?
Would you like to receive the gift of
eternal life?
Because this is such an important
matter...
LET'S CLARIFY just what this
involves.
It means, first of all, that you
repent, turn from sin. Stop trusting in what good works you are able to do
and put all you your trust in what Christ did for you when He shed His
blood on the cross and rose from the dead.
It means, next, that you RECEIVE THE
RESURRECTED, LIVING CHRIST into your life as SAVIOR.
John 1:12 But as many as received
Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who
believe in His name."
If this is really what you want to do
then turn from your sin repent and put all your trust in Jesus to present
you God.
Acts 1:21 "And it shall come to
pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be
saved."
YOU CAN G0 TO GOD IN PRAYER
Right where you are. You can receive
His gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ NOW
If you want to receive the gift of
eternal life through Jesus Christ, then call on Him, asking Him for this
gift right now. Praying is a means of calling upon the name of the
Lord. Ac 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the
name of the Lord shall be saved.
HERE IS A SUGGESTED PRAYER:
"Lord Jesus Christ, I know I am
a sinner and do not deserve eternal life. But, I believe You shed your
blood, died and rose from the grave and paid the full price for my sins
and purchase a place in heaven for me. Lord Jesus, I call upon you now and
ask that you come into my life; take control of my life; forgive my sins
and save me. I repent of my sins and now place my trust in you for my
salvation. I accept the free gift of eternal life." I call on You for
I see Your promise that declares " And it shall come to pass, that
whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Acts
2:21) I am calling on you now Lord Jesus.
If this prayer is the sincere desire
of your heart, look at what Jesus promises to those who believe in Him.
"Most assuredly, I say to you he who believes in Me has everlasting
life." (John 6:47)
(1 Cor 10:6) The righteousness of
faith speaks in this way.
(Romans 10:8-10) The word is near
you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we
preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in
your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For
with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation.
If you have done this.
WELCOME to God's Family!
"But as many as received Him, to
them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who
believe in His name." (John 1:12)
Remember the day you made your
decision to trust in Christ and in Christ alone for the forgiveness of
your sins, your salvation.
I now give Jesus Christ control of my
life. From this time forward, as He gives me strength, I will seek to
serve Him and obey Him in all areas of my life.
Date _____________________
Signature: __________________________
WHAT'S NEXT?
We are told to become disciples
(followers) of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And Jesus came and spoke to
them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on
earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching
them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with
you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. (Matthew 28:18,19)
And he said to them, Go you
into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that
believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be
damned. (Mark 16:15.16)
CAUTION! Do not try to live out
the life the Christian life by going to the Old Testament for instructions
but start with the book of Acts. We can see what Jesus told the
Apostles to teach starting with the Book of Acts.
Water
baptism is one of the first things in the book of Acts we see
believers doing, as they become Disciples of Christ.
Just as a newborn baby grows
physically, so you will grow spiritually by taking the following steps:
1. Read one chapter of the Book of
John in the BIBLE each day.
"As newborn babes, desire the
pure milk of the Word (of God), that you may grow thereby." ( I Peter
2:2)
2. Spend time each day in PRAYER
conversing with God.
"Be anxious for nothing, but in
everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your
requests be made known to God. ...
Philippians 4:6
3. Find a local church one that
studies the Bible and preaches through the Bible chapter by chapter and
verse by verse not one that only preaches topical sermons. One who will
baptize (immerse you in water) you in the name of the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. For we have this promise. " For as many of you as have been
baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (Ga 3:27) One that teaches giving
of you time and money as God moves upon your heart and not as an act of
the law such as tithing. One that will encourage you to follow in the
teachings of the New Testament.
4. FELLOWSHIPS with Christians who
will help you grow in faith.
"Those who gladly received his,
word ... Were baptized in water and continued steadfastly in the apostles'
doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
(Acts 2:41 & 42)
5. Be a WITNESS by telling others
what Jesus Christ means to you!
Jesus said, "Therefore whoever
confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is
in heaven. (Mt 10:32)
|
