Having been raised in church as a child, I was understood
what was required of me to go to Heaven. At the age of eight,
I took these necessary steps.
It was late at night, and I was in bed. I knew without a
doubt that if I were to die right then and there that I would
not
go to heaven. I had heard all the right things, and I knew
in my head what the Bible said about the one way, but I hadn’t
done it yet.
I got out of bed and went and knocked on my mother’s
bedroom door and told her I needed to ask Jesus into my heart.
She got up immediately, took her Bible and explained the
only way God has provided for sinful man to be cleansed and
go to
Heaven. There is only one way to Heaven. Some teach that
all religions lead to Heaven. This is a lie of the Devil to
keep
people from learning the truth.
- The first thing we must realize is that we are all
sinners before a perfect and holy God. God cannot
allow sin into Heaven. If He did, it would soon be like
Earth. We are hopelessly
and
helplessly lost. God created the universe, He owns it and
He makes the laws. God gave us His commandments and we
have not
kept them. Isaiah 53: 6, "All we like sheep have gone
astray; we have turned every one to his own way;" Romans
3: 23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory
of God;" Unless a person realizes and admits they
are a sinner, they cannot be saved.
You (and
I) have broken God’s laws and commandments.
This is called sin. God is a perfect God and cannot allow
even one sin or sinner to enter Heaven. Because He is Holy
and Just
He cannot look on sin. So God had a problem. He loves
you and wants you to live with Him but your sin makes that
impossible.
- Secondly, we must realize and admit that the penalty
for our sin condemns us to hell. I Kings 8:46; "there is no
man that sinneth not," Ezekiel 18: 4; "Behold, all
souls are mine; … the soul that sinneth, it shall die." Romans
6: 23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of
God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." We
cannot save ourselves. We are guilty before a righteous
Judge who cannot overlook our sin.
The only thing that can pay for sin is death. In the
Old Testament it was the death and blood of the lamb
that covered
their sins
from God’s eyes. So God Himself became a man (Jesus)
and died on the cross in your place. He is called "The
Lamb of God" in the Bible. However, this lamb was
different. His blood does not cover your sins, it washes
them away forever!
The only problem now is how can I get the blood of Jesus
put on my sin account.
- God loves us and wants to save
us from our sin. John 3:15-16, "whosoever
believeth in him (Jesus) should not perish, but have eternal
life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but
have everlasting life." John 10:28, "And I give
unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither
shall
any man pluck them out of my hand." Since we have
all sinned, only a perfect substitute can die in our place.
An illustration may help here: Suppose you had murdered
someone and were standing before the judge being tried
for your crime.
The judge must be fair and obey the law so he pronounces
you guilty and sentences you to death for your crime.
Then, the
judge takes off his robe, steps down to where you are
and says, " I
love you. I don’t want you to die. I will take your punishment
for you. I will die in your place. This is the only way the
law can be satisfied and you get set free at the same time.
This is what God did. We were guilty of sin and deserving of
death but He took our place." Now, His blood can
pay for our sin if we ask Him to save us. All we need
to do
is believe
that He died for us (and rose from the dead) and receive
His free gift of eternal life.
You received a free gift of physical life from your parents.
You did not pay for it, work for it or deserve it. They
did the work, paid the bills and went through the pain
so you
could get the free gift of life. Jesus did the work,
went through
the pain and paid your sin debt so you could have eternal
life. Romans 6:23 says: "For the wages of sin is death; but
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Jesus
once told a man in John 3:3, "Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of God." The way you get "born again" and become
God’s child is by receiving Him. John 1:12 says: "But
as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the
sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:" The
way to receive Him is to call and ask for His forgiveness and
salvation. The Bible says in Romans 10:13 "For whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved." I
called on the Lord and asked Him to save me Dec. 9, 1974. That
is my birthday into God’s family.
Getting born into a human family or God’s family
only takes a few moments and requires the work of someone
else,
growing up in either family takes a long time and requires
effort on our part. Just as you need to eat, rest, exercise,
etc., to grow as a human, you need to: 1. Read your Bible
(II Peter 2:2), 2. Pray, talk to God like your father 3. Go to
a church that believes and teaches the Bible, 4. Get baptized
to show others you have been saved, and 5. Tell others
about Jesus. These will help you grow in the family of
God.
Many people try to do the things that make Christians
grow when they have never been born into God’s family first.
Some churches even teach that our works somehow make us acceptable
to God. Nothing could be further from the truth. Isaiah 64:6; "But
we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses
are as filthy rags;" Eph. 2:8-9; "For by grace are
ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the
gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Titus
3:5; "Not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to his mercy he saved us," The Bible
is clear that nothing we can do can save us, help save
us or keep
us saved.
There is no magic prayer, God knows and sees your thoughts
and motives, but if you would pray sincerely a prayer
like this you could claim God’s promise of eternal life: "Dear
Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. I have broken your laws and
stand before you guilty and deserving of your judgment.
Please forgive
me and save me right now. I receive you as my Savior."
If you prayed that prayer from your heart, God promised
He would forgive your sin and take you to Heaven. Write
today’s
date in your Bible to remember this day as your birthday into
God’s family. Then, begin doing the things that help
you grow as God’s child.
A simple illustration may help explain what
receiving Christ means:
" The seed and the dirt."
When you put a seed in the dirt it will grow a tree (or plant).
Dirt is 100% stupid. It does not know how to grow a
tree, the seed knows how to grow a tree. If the seed is left on the kitchen
counter it will not grow. A seed left on top of the
ground
will not grow. The dirt must receive the seed. The
two work together in a marvelous way. The seed grows and the dirt
simply provides a place for it to grow.
Jesus is like the seed. He knows how to make a new person
in us, we do not. We are like the dirt, all we need
to do is receive
the seed and let Him grow in us. It is amazing to watch
the changes that happen to a person who receives Christ.
After a person becomes a child of God, it is important
to get involved in a good Bible-believing church. I
have studied
the
subject for years and feel that an independent Baptist
Church like the one I go to is closest to the church
model given
in the Bible. Of course there are good ones and bad
ones in many
different denominations, so ask God to guide you. I
would be glad to answer any questions you may have as you grow
in God’s
family.
________________________________________
Once you have accepted Jesus as your Savior you become
a child of God (John 1:12 and 3:1-7). Welcome to
the greatest family
in the universe! Now there are several things you
should do to grow into a mature Christian:
- Read your Bible even if you don't understand it all.
Babies don't digest everything they eat either but
you will get some
of it. (1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere
milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:). I use the King
James
Version. The entire Bible can be read in about 60 hours.
The more times you read it the more you will understand it.
There
are about 20 old English words we don't use today that
you will need to study but then it is easy.
- Find a church that believes and teaches the Bible and
ask the pastor to be baptized to show others you have been
saved.
Baptism in the Bible is always after salvation and only
by immersion (Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:10; Acts 8:38). Baptism
is
a public symbol of the death burial and resurrection of
Jesus. It is like a wedding ring. It is an outward sign to
others
of an inward change in you.
- Tell others about how to go to heaven.
- Support the work of God with your time, talents and money.
The Bible says that 10% of our increase (called a tithe
in the Bible) is the least we should give to help get others
saved
and growing in Christ.
- Be on the look out for the traps of the Devil. He is not
happy about what you have done and since he cannot get
your soul he will try to ruin your life and effectiveness
for the
Lord. Jesus not only wants to save your soul, He wants
to save your life. (Luke 9:56)
Satan will try to make you doubt or sin. (2 Corinthians 2:11
Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant
of his devices.) Don't get discouraged. (2 Thessalonians 3:13
But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.) If you fall
or fail just tell the Lord you are sorry (1 John 1:9 If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.) and get
going again. You probably fell down many times learning to
ride a bike but you got up, dusted off and tried again.
Contact me if I can help in your new walk with the Lord. I
enjoy e-mails, or you can write to me at:
Steve Benedict
C. Nardos # 8
Jerez, Zacatecas
Mexico
Sincerely,
Steve Benedict
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