1. GOD LOVES YOU
God created us for, and wants us to have a right relationship
with Him now and forever in heaven.
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we
were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
"For 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." (John 3:16)
2. SIN SEPARATES US FROM GOD
Because we have knowingly disobeyed and rejected God's
will, we have chosen to break the bonds of fellowship with
Him. God loves us, but hates sin. So to continue in this
lifestyle leads to eternal separation - hell is as real as
heaven.
"...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God..." (Romans 3:23)
"But the trouble is that your sins have cut you off from
God." (Isaiah 59:2)
"For the wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23a)
3. JESUS OFFERS A RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
Our relationship with God is not restored by anything we
do, but on the basis of what Jesus already did for us on the
cross - dying as the sacrifice in our place. It cannot be
earned. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement
or good works.
"...God is on one side and all the people on the other
side, and Christ Jesus...is between them to bring them
together, by giving his life for all mankind." (1
Timothy 2:4-6)
"...but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord." (Romans 6:23b)
"...there is now no condemnation for those who are in
Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1)
4. YOU MUST RECEIVE JESUS
Salvation is God's free gift to us, but we must accept
it. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God's offer of
forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin's penalty. When we
turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith we
are saved. Those who became Christians in the early church
followed this pattern and we do the same today:
Believe in Jesus
"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in
his name, he gave the right to become children of God...."
(John 1:12)
"So now, since we have been made right in God's sight by
faith in his promises, we can have real peace with Him
because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us."
(Romans 5:1)
"...if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and
believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you
will be saved." (Romans 10:9-10)
"...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)
Turn from sin (repent)
"Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no
means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"
(Romans 6:1-2)
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of
Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. And you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38)
Be baptized
As the identifying act of our union with Christ's death,
burial and resurrection, believers' immersion in water
expresses the biblical model and proper translation of the
original word.
"...don't you know that all of us who were baptized into
Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore
buried with him through baptism into death in order that,
just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of
the Father, we too may live a new life." (Romans 6:3-4)
"Those who believed...were baptized...that day!"
(Acts 2:41)
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