We are all sinners and need salvation
You may think you are a good person, but no one is good except God alone.
What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written:
Romans 3:9-12
“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23
You may think you do a lot of good works, yet the bible says this:
All of us have become like one who is unclean,
Isa 64:6
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags
Think about the things you could do wrong if you let yourself. We are all capable of horrible things. And we have all sinned: have you ever told a lie, talked about people behind their backs, or kept the extra change you were mistakenly given? What about in your thoughts: have you ever wished harm on someone, looked at someone lustfully, or been jealous of someone? Do you hold a grudge towards someone, or have you resolved to “never forgive” a certain person?
I think we could all say “Yes” to most of these questions. This is all sin, and sin separates us from God, who made us and loves us. He is pure, holy, and righteous, and cannot look at or tolerate sin. The consequence of sin is death, that is, eternity in hell.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23
God’s Plan of Salvation
God wants us to spend eternity with Him, so Jesus the Son of God came to earth to show us the way to the Father. He then died a horrible death by crucifixion, for us. After three days He rose again, and forty days later He ascended into Heaven, where He is seated with the Heavenly Father.
He died to pay the penalty for our sins, so that, if we believe in Him and repent of our sins, we will be saved.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
John 3:16
He poured out his soul to death
Isa 53:12
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors
The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Matt 20:28
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:4-7
Titus 3:4-7
Jesus is God, come in the flesh.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
John 1:1-4
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
John 1:14
Jesus died for YOU, because He loves you!
Jesus died so that we can be forgiven completely; and three days later He rose from the dead! Forty days afterwards he went to Heaven!
If we believe in Him and follow Him, we will go to Heaven when we die to be with Him forever.
Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”
John 11:25-26
He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 7:25
He will be with us in our lives, giving us purpose and a reason for living.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jer 29:11-13
I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.
John 10:10
Have faith in Jesus Christ, as your Lord and Saviour.
If we put our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, and surrender our lives to Him, He will give us the ability to live the way He wants us to.
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
I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:35
John 6:35
I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
John 8:12
Let Jesus into your life.
Jesus will always be with us, we can talk to Him every moment of every day, and He will give us His peace, joy and wonderful love.
Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
Matt 28:20
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27
John 14:27
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Romans 15:13
Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:8-9
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39
Let Jesus make you whole.
Jesus totally understands our problems, our feelings, and our pain. He knows what it’s like to feel afraid, depressed, betrayed, lonely, and hurt. He wants to heal us and make us whole.
He was despised and rejected by men,
Isa 53:3-6
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
Repentance is Essential
We need to tell Jesus we are sorry for everything that we’ve done wrong, tell Him that we trust Him to save us, that we want to follow Him and live our lives for Him. He will hear us, and He will come and live inside us!
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
Rev 3:20
Whenever we do wrong after this, we need to truly repent.
We need to say we’re sorry and ask God for His forgiveness. If someone offends us, we need to forgive them. We need to ask Jesus to help us to change.
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
1 John 1:8-10
Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
Rev 3:15
He doesn’t promise to make life perfect.
In fact there may be more hardship and suffering in following him, but He does promise to give us a purpose and a future: a reason to live!
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Luke 9:23-26
Receive Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, and be born again
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old?
John:3:3
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
John 3:5-7
To be born again is to be spiritually renewed. Our spirits were dead in our sin, and when we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, our spirits are renewed. We are given the life of Jesus, and His nature, to replace our sinful lives and natures. We will still have our sin nature, but God will give us strength to fight the sin within us as we continue to surrender to him.
If you want to receive Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, then here is an example of how to pray.
Dear Jesus, I am a sinner, and I need you. I’m tired of doing things my way. Help me to start doing things your way. I thank you for going to the cross to die for me, and for rising again.
I am sorry for everything I have ever done wrong, and I ask you to please wash me clean. I ask you to come into my life to be my Lord and saviour, and I surrender to You.
Please fill the emptiness in me with your Holy Spirit and make me whole. Help me to trust you; help me to love you; help me to live for you. Thank you. Amen
If you have said this or a similar prayer, I would love to hear about it in the comments below.
I suggest you get a bible, and read it often. Start with the Gospels. You also need to find other Christians, and to be baptised by full water immersion.
Ask God to lead you to a good, Bible based church, where you can grow.
Talk to God every day. Be yourself when you pray, and talk about things you would talk to a good friend about.
Thank Jesus often for your salvation, and for the blessings He brings to you.
When you do wrong (which you will), ask God for forgiveness, and surrender afresh to him.
Forgive everyone who wrongs you, and everyone who has ever wronged you.
Jesus wants a close relationship with you!
Share your salvation, and the Gospel, with others.
May God bless you and give you all you need to walk close by Him. May you come to know Him, and to know the greatness of His love for you.
I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
John 10:9
I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6
The Narrow Way 