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As the Lord has opened the door to a new ministry for my
husband and me (more on that to follow!), He let me know that it would be
important to write out a salvation message in my own words to use in this
ministry and elsewhere as He leads. So here it is:
Bad news: We're all sinners, deserving eternal punishment in hell (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Our good works don't outweigh our sin (Isaiah 64:6), because if we've broken any part of the law, we are guilty of breaking all of it (James 2:10). If we've told a little white lie, stolen a stick of gum, or even looked at someone with lust or lashed out at them in anger, we have broken the law (Matthew 5:21-23;27-28). Perfectly holy, just God cannot allow a sinner into Heaven on their own merit.
GOOD NEWS (The Gospel): God gave Jesus, His perfectly holy, sinless Son, to pay the price for all our sins by dying on the cross (Romans 3:25; Hebrews 2:10; 1John 2:2; 4:10). Then He rose from the dead on the third day, so that all who trust Him will live forever with Him in Heaven (John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). We are saved by believing this (faith) through God's grace, or undeserved blessing, not by any works we can do. Eternal life is a freely given gift -- we can't earn it (Ephesians 2:8-9).
So what can we do to be saved? Believe the Good News in your heart. Realize
we are sinners and ask God to forgive us, and He will. Thank Jesus for dying
for us to pay our sin debt and rising from the dead, so that all who trust Him
will live forever. Ask Him to be Lord of your life. Pray a prayer something
like this:
Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner who deserves to
go to hell. I'm sorry for my sins and I need Your help to keep from sinning. I
don't want to go to hell -- I want to live forever in Heaven with You. I thank
you for dying on the cross for me and rising again from the dead. I believe
with all my heart that You did this for me. Please save me now and give me the
gift of eternal life. I don't deserve it and I can't earn it, but now I want to
devote my life to serving You and telling others about You. Please guide, lead
and protect me in all that I do. Thank You Lord Jesus!
What's next? If you sincerely
prayed this prayer, you have a new life! You are a new creation in Jesus Christ
(2 Corinthians 5:17), and His Holy Spirit has entered your heart (2
Corinthians 1:22) to guide, comfort, and teach you (John 14:16-18).
Commit your life to Him by studying and obeying His Word (2 Timothy 2:15;
James 1:22; Romans 2:13), praying to Him (1
Thessalonians 5:17), getting baptized (Matthew 28:19),
joining a Bible-based church (Hebrews 10:25) and telling others
about how He has changed your life and about how they can be saved (2
Timothy 4:2; 1 Peter 3:15).
If you have just now trusted Jesus Christ as your Lord and
Savior, please leave a comment and we will rejoice with you that you are now a
born-again child of God (John 3:3-8), pray for you (Galatians 6:2),
and help you in any way we can! May you grow in His grace, in faith, in love, and
in Godly wisdom as His ambassador! Let His light shine through you!
Hi Laurie, amen to your lovely prayer, and I agree with all you have said about salvation . God bless you.
ReplyDeleteHi Brenda, Thank you for your encouraging comment. May God bless you too!
DeleteDear Laurie,
ReplyDeleteMany would accuse me of "easy believeism" if I were to say that "believing the facts to be true" is enough to be saved. That was exactly what had occurred to Cornelius and his house while Peter was still preaching to them.
Atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris knew everything about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but hadn't accepted this threefold event as historically true. Of the three, Hitchens has already sadly passed into a lost eternity.
One beautiful story involved Jesus replying to Martha, "I am the Resurrection and the Life...Believe thou this?"
She saith unto him, "Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God..."
The Gospel is such wonderful news.
Blessings to you and Richard.
Dear Frank,
DeleteAmen. As they say, the distance between heaven and hell is about 18 inches -- the distance from your head to your heart. It's one thing to have an intellectual knowledge of Jesus, but that cannot save you. Salvation requires faith in Christ and a personal relationship that starts with inviting Him into your heart to be Lord of your life.
May God bless you and Alex,
Laurie
Thank you so much for sharing your insights into the Lord, Life & Love for the Lord ! It's most encouraging & thought provoking !! Love flowing to You & Richard
ReplyDeleteHi Rick, Thank you so much for your encouragement! Love and blessings for you and Linda. May you both have a blessed week!
Delete