Forgiveness of sin, an awesome new life on earth, eternity in heaven, and the cost has already been paid!
It’s yours for the asking…. if you accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.
If you have not yet claimed the free gift of eternal life in heaven and abundant life on earth, you can do so today…right now. Only God can give you eternal life, and you can not do anything to earn it. God offers it as a free gift; all you have to do to accept it is to believe that Jesus Christ is God’s Son, that He died on the cross to save you, and accept Jesus as your personal savior.
It’s so simple really.
There are only four basic truths you need to understand:
- We are all sinners.
- The penalty of sin is death (our death)
- Jesus Christ died on a cross to pay the death penalty for everyone who has ever lived.
- Jesus Christ will save you today, if you ask Him to.
We’ll talk about each of these four truths a bit more below, but if you’re ready to accept Jesus as your savior right now, pray this prayer out loud.
Lord, I know that I’m a sinner. I’ve done some terrible things. I know I deserve to be punished for them. But I’m sorry for all that, and I know that you loved me enough to bleed and die on a cross to pay the penalty for all my sin. I ask you to come into my life right now, forgive me and make me the kind of person you want me to be. Give me strength to live for you each and every day. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen.
We are all sinners.
You may be rich or poor. You may live in a mansion or in an abandoned car. You may ride a shiny new $23,000 Harley or a beat-up, rusty $700, Kawasaki. You might have the perfect family or live in a crack house with drug dealers and prostitutes. You might be a drug dealer or a prostitute or a respected deacon in a church. Wherever you are in life, you are not all God wants you to be.
No one’s perfect, that’s for sure, including “church people”. You may have seen that TV preacher asking for your money or even been mistreated by a church-going neighbor. Maybe a guy with an “I love Jesus” bumper sticker cut you off on the highway or gave you the finger when you passed him. Well, Christians make mistakes too, and don’t always live the way God wants them to live. They are no better or any different than you are, but don’t judge God by how his children act.
Everyone does stupid and ugly things. The world is filled with pain and heartache because of people’s choices. We can try to live good lives, but in the end, we just cannot do it on our own. That’s because we are all sinners at heart.
The Bible says the following:
Ecclesiastes 7:20 - There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.
Romans 3:10 - There is no one righteous, not even one.
Romans 3:23 - All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The penalty of sin is death.
The Bible teaches what you already know from experience. Doing bad, stupid things will lead to disaster. Lying about it or trying to cover it up, in the end, will only make things worse. Choosing to do wrong will lead to heartache, pain, loss of family and friends, and eventually suffering and death. Oh, it may take awhile, but the end result is always the same…death.
The Bible says the following:
Romans 6:23 - The wages of sin is death.
James 1:15 - After desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death.
Jesus paid the price for our sins.
The stupid, bad things we do may have earned us death, but God loves us. God loved us enough to sacrifice his Son, his only Son, Jesus, on our behalf. That’s right, it is as if God went to the prison our sins had built, opened up the door to the cell on death row that we had put ourselves in, and ushered us out to freedom. Then watched as his only Son was executed in our place and for all our sins. That’s how much God loves you and me.
The Bible says the following:
John 3:16 - God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Nothing you have ever done, are doing. or ever will do in your life can stop God from loving you and wanting to save you. You may have cheated on your wife. Maybe you stole money from work or betrayed a friend. Maybe you’re into pornography in a big way. Perhaps you have a violent temper, and it cost you your job. Maybe you killed someone and it’s been gnawing at you for years. Whatever you have done, God loves you, just as you are, and where you are at. God loves you right now. He loves you as much as He has loved anyone else who has ever lived!
Not only does God love you, but he has also already forgiven you for all the bad, stupid, dumb, mean things you have ever done. ALL of them. That does not mean you do not have an obligation to make things right with those you have hurt, but God does not hold any of that against you.
The Bible says the following:
Romans 5:8 - While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Salvation is for the asking.
You probably have heard of Jesus. He is sometimes called “Christ”. You may have heard about him in Sunday School when you were a child. Maybe you heard his name mentioned at a funeral or in a church service. Maybe the only time you’ve heard the name “Jesus Christ” was when someone got mad or hit their hand with a hammer.
Jesus came to earth over 2000 years ago for one purpose, to pay the penalty for our sins by dying on the cross. Jesus offers the free gift of salvation to everyone, but he will not force it on anyone. To receive all that Jesus did for us, we have to accept the gift of salvation that He freely offers. We do that by confessing our sins, asking Jesus to forgive them and to be the Lord of our lives. It really is that simple. If you ask Jesus to forgive your sins and give control of your life to Him, He will save you.
The Bible says the following:
Psalm 34:4 - I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
Romans 10:9-10 - If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:13 - Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
It’s that easy! If you have prayed the prayer above and meant it, welcome to the Family of God! You have just received something that can not be taken from you ever, no how, no way, never.
Now for the hard part.
Salvation is easy, but it is not for wimps. Living for God is tough. Making right choices is harder than making wrong choices. Getting into trouble is easier than staying out of trouble. Being a Christian is politically incorrect. The “world” will reject you and make fun of you. Old friends will not understand the new you, and they will try to get you to go back to their old miserable way of life because misery loves company.
Living for Jesus takes practice and a constant effort. Sometimes you will still fail. Now don’t get discouraged. God understands. He will pick you up, dust you off, and help you get back on the right path each and every time. You are going to get tired of being a Christian all the time, but Jesus will be there for you each and every step of the way.
The Bible says the following:
1 John 5:5 - Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
1 John 5:12 - He who has the Son has life.
Living for Christ isn’t easy, in fact, it is the toughest job you will ever love. The pay is lousy; working conditions are hard; and there are no vacations; but the retirement plan is AWESOME!
What now?
If you’re ready to experience unconditional acceptance, true joy, complete satisfaction, and real love by accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior (and I pray that you are), then pray the prayer at the top of this page.
Don’t delay. Life is uncertain. God wants to save you right now.
The Bible says the following:
Proverbs 27:1 - Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.
2 Corinthians 6:2 - Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.