1. What do I have to offer?
Most of us figure that if we can avoid sin reasonably well, do enough good deeds, follow the golden rule, contribute the proper religious requirements we will do all right. After all, we are basically good people, right?
But the Bible tells us that God’s approval and eternal life are absolutely a free gift. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life," according to Romans 6:23. "He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy," Titus 3:5 tells us.
2. But I’m not a bad person, am I?
If we wanted to be acceptable to God by good deeds, we would have to be perfect. Jesus said, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Of course, none of us is perfect. The Bible says, "There is no one righteous, not even one" (Romans 3:10). Not only do all of us violate God’s standards in our words, thoughts, and behavior, but also we have an attitude of independence (even rebellion) against God.
3. What does God think of me?
The Bible tells us that "God is love" (I John 4:8) and that "God so loved the world" (John 3:16). The One who created us does not delight in punishing us. He is a compassionate and merciful God.
But, the same Bible that tells us God is love also tells us he must punish the sin that challenges and violates his own righteous character. The Bible declares, "He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord" (II Thessalonians 1:8-9)
4. How can I escape the results of my sin?
God solved our problem in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus was both God and Man. His purpose in coming to earth was to die on the cross for our sin. He took our place--that is, he suffered the punishment we deserved--so that we could be forgiven. We can be acceptable to God, not because of our own works, but because of Jesus. The Bible predicted Jesus’ death and resurrection for us: "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6). It also assures s that "through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by keeping the law" (Acts 13:39).
5. We receive God’s gift through Christ by faith.
It is not enough to believe in God in some general sense, or to merely acknowledge the facts of Jesus’ life and death. Nor is it enough to believe God in the sense of praying for help in times of need. The faith God is looking for is the faith that gives up all hope of being good enough on our own and that puts our entire confidence in the person and work of Jesus Christ. "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).
6. So, what do I do now?
Talk to God in prayer. Admit to him that you know you have rebelled against him and deserve eternal punishment, despite all the good you have done. Transfer your trust from yourself to what Jesus did in dying for you and rising from the grave. Receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord. Consider the acrostic on the word FAITH: Forsaking All, I Trust Him.
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