Salvation

"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 3:16

We are All Sinners

First, the Bible says in Romans chapter three verse twenty three, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." That means exactly this: we are all sinners. I am a sinner and you are also a sinner. We have all "sinned and come short of the glory of God." That’s the first thing you have to realize in order to be saved. Do you realize that? You’ve done something wrong before in your life haven’t you? So have I. We have all sinned.

The Penalty of Sin is Death

Second, the Bible says in Romans chapter six verse twenty three, "For the wages (payment) of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. " The first part of the verse says, "For the wages of sin is death." We realize that we are sinners, but "the wages of sin is death," and this "death" means separation forever from the Lord Jesus Christ in a place called Hell. But also it means being dead, spiritually, to the things God wants to bless you with, like PEACE and JOY and PURPOSE and POWER over sin. When you get saved, the Bible says you’re brought to life spiritually. (Cf. Ephesians 2:1) So, first of all, you’ve got to realize that, "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God," and second, that the penalty of sin is death—but it doesn’t stop there!

The Gift of God is Eternal Life

The word of God says, "...but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." So it’s a gift. You realize that a gift is something free and you don’t earn a gift. You believe the word of the giver and you receive a gift. If someone gives you a gift at Christmas, you don’t have to get a certain feeling to get that gift. You don’t have to go through some emotional trauma. All you have to do is to believe the word of the giver, that the gift is for you, and receive it. Do you see that?

Christ Died for Us

In Romans 5:8 the Bible says, "But God commendeth (showed) his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." You see, the reason that Jesus bled and died on the cross of Calvary to pay the penalty for your sin is because He loves you. That’s some kind of love isn’t it?

Call on Him by Faith

Now, in Romans chapter ten verse thirteen, the Bible says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. " That means, saved from a wasted life. It also means, saved from a place called Hell, and all you have to do is call on Him by faith. It’s simple faith! In verse nine the Bible says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." You need to believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead. Belief is the key. The Word of God says that if you will believe that God has raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and call on Him by faith, you will be saved.

Will you Receive The Lord Jesus Christ as Your Personal Savior?

Now, wouldn’t you like to be saved? You admitted you were a sinner. You realized, "the wages of sin is death." You realized, "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Wouldn’t you like to receive the Lord as your personal Savior? If you will pray to the living God, He said that He would save you. If you will just call on Him by faith, He will give you the free gift of eternal life through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let me lead you in a simple prayer. Just pray to the Lord,

"Dear Jesus, I’m a sinner, and I’m sorry. Lord, please forgive me. Come into my life, and save my soul. Lord, I believe that you died on the cross just for me. Now Lord, I receive You as my personal Savior. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen."

Did you mean that? According to the Word of God, "...whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord SHALL BE SAVED." So, if you died right now, where do you KNOW that you would go? If you have received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior by faith, you would go to Heaven!

You may be wondering...

"Now That I’m Saved, Can I Ever Lose My Salvation?"

No, it is an eternal gift. Remember, salvation is a free gift. You didn’t earn it. You didn’t get good enough for it. God’s not going to disown you. I have four children, and no matter what those children do, no matter how badly they disobey, I will never disown them because they are my children. Now I may have to discipline them. The Bible says in Hebrews 12:6, "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." Jesus may have to discipline you, but He will never disown you. It’s not a license to sin. It’s a license to love God, because of His amazing grace!

Church is Important!

I hope that you will come to Sunday School and Church, and learn how to grow as a Christian - learn how you can go out and help others to be saved and how you can resist temptation and sin and the devil and be strong in the Lord by faith. Remember, you got saved by faith. Now you’ve got to live by faith. In order to have faith in your Christian life, you need to hear and keep and obey the Word of God. The Bible says in Romans 10:17, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."