God LOVES you and offers a wonderful PLAN for your life.
God's love
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NASB)
God's love is not self-centered, as human love often is. He is constantly reaching out to you, regardless of your past thoughts or actions. By giving His own Son as a sacrifice, God sets the pattern of real love, the basis for all love relationships. When you love someone totally, you are willing to give even to the point of giving up your own life. God paid dearly by allowing Jesus to die a brutal death for your sake. It was the highest price He could pay.
Jesus accepted upon Himself the punishment that was actually meant for us. He paid the price for our sins, and then offered us the new life that He had bought for us through His action.
If your life seems hopeless and miserable, you may not see any value in living an eternal life. But the eternal life God offers is not an extension of your life (with all its problems) here on earth--eternal life is a joyful experience totally free of any grief, sadness or hardship. It is God's life embodied in Christ and given to all believers. In eternal life there is no disease, enemy, evil, cruelty or sorrow. That may be hard to understand, because when we don't know Christ, we act as if the current life we are living is all we have. When you receive the new life God offers through Jesus, you will begin to evaluate all that happens from an eternal perspective.
It is not enough to believe intellectually that Jesus came to earth as the person of God in human flesh. Believing in Him means to put your trust and confidence in Him that He alone can save you from certain death. To believe means to put Christ in charge of your present plans and eternal destiny. You won't have to change anything in your life. God will do it for you, if you give control of your life over to Him. The result will be freedom, joy, and peace in your heart.
If you have never trusted God, let this promise of everlasting life be yours.
God's plan
So Jesus said to them again,Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.(John 10:7-10 NASB)
Christ is our protector, guarding us spiritually from attack, just as shepherds protect their flock by guarding the sheep pen. Many people think Christians are wrong to say that Jesus is the only way to salvation. They seek other ways to bridge the impenetrable chasm between God and man--such as good moral behavior or religious rituals. Yet Jesus Himself said that He is the only way to eternal life. Others have come in the past and will come in the future claiming to be the way to God. Jesus called them thieves and robbers. Only Christ fulfilled all the prophesies concerning the Jewish Messiah written about in the Scriptures.
In contrast to thieves, who are only interested in what they can take, Jesus was only interested in what He could give. He gives life--full of abundance and richness. This life is eternal, yet it begins the moment we give control of our lives to Him.
So why is it that most people are not experiencing the abundant life? Because...
Man is SINFUL and SEPARATED from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God's love and plan for his life.
Man is sinful
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23 NASB)
To most people, some things seem less morally wrong than others. For example, you would probably agree that murder is pretty serious, and likely think of it as a worse sin than hatred or theft. And you probably consider theft a worse sin than lying or jealousy.
But this doesn't mean that because some of us do lesser sins we deserve eternal life. All sin makes us sinners. This includes everything from the smallest white lie to lust to murder. All sin makes us sinners, and all sin cuts us off from our perfectly holy God.
All sin, therefore, leads to death, because it disqualifies you from living with God, no matter how good your life seems in every other respect. Fortunately, God gave you a way--through Jesus Christ--to be forgiven from all your sin, regardless of how small or great. Jesus died to take your sins onto Himself and wipe your slate clean. He gave Himself up willingly for your sake because of His great love for you.
Man was created to have fellowship with God; but, because of his stubborn self-will, he chose to go his own independent way and fellowship with God was broken. This self-will, characterized by an attitude of active rebellion or passive indifference, is evidence of what the Bible calls sin.
Man is separated
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 NASB)
Nobody can live a neutral life spiritually. You may think you can make yourself acceptable to God by living a life of high moral standards. But that isn't neutral. Every person has a master--either God or sin (not recognizing God's authority). You are free to choose between these two masters, but each one comes with a consequence, or "wage." Each of the two masters pays in its own currency.
The currency of sin is death--the end of your natural life followed by eternal separation from God. That's all you can hope for in life without God. The currency of Jesus Christ, on the other hand, is eternal life with God. This is a joyful new life that begins the moment you accept Christ and continues forever. Which would you rather have?
Eternal life is a free gift offered by God because He loves you. All you have to do is gratefully accept it, just as you would accept any gift from a loved one. Our salvation is not the result of any righteousness on our part. Instead, it is given because of God's great mercy. Are you ready to receive God's gift of eternal life?
The diagram below illustrates that God is holy and man is sinful. A great gulf separates the two. The arrows show that man is continually trying to reach God and the abundant life through his own efforts, such as living a good life, following specific philosophies or religions, etc.
Jesus Christ is God's ONLY provision for Man's sin. Through Him you can know and experience God's love and plan for your life.
He died in our place
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 NASB)
He rose from the dead
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep. (I Corinthians 15:3-6 NASB)
He is the only way to God
Jesus said to him,I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.(John 14:6 NASB)
Jesus says He is the only way to God the Father. Some people argue that this way is too narrow, and thus "intolerant." In reality, it is wide enough for the whole world, if the world chooses to accept this free gift, which is offered with no strings attached and no price to pay. Instead of worrying about how limited it sounds to have only one way to God, we should be thanking God for providing a sure way to reach Him and receive eternal life!
The diagram below illustrates that God has bridged the gulf which separates us from Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sins.
We must individually RECEIVE Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.
We must receive Christ
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name. (John 1:12 NASB)
When you welcome Jesus Christ as Lord of your life, you are reborn spiritually and receive new life from God. Eventually, this new birth changes you from the inside out, by rearranging your attitudes, desires, and motives.
Compare this new life to the process you go through as a human being. When you were born you were made physically alive into your parent's family. But you did not yet have spiritual (eternal) life. Being born of God makes you spiritually alive and puts you in God's family. God is perfect--more loving and sensitive to your needs than any human parent can possibly be. When you ask Christ to make you a new person, you will receive a fresh start in life, as you discover spiritual life for the first time.
We receive Christ through faith
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8,9 NASB)
When we receive Christ, we experience a new birth
Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him. Jesus answered and said to him,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? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he? Jesus answered,Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into 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 be amazed that I said to you, You must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.(John 3:1-8 NASB)
We receive Christ by personal invitation
Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.(Revelation 3:20 NASB)
Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins and to make us the kind of people He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of will.
You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer (prayer is talking with God). God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:
Lord Jesus, I need you. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.
Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? If it does, pray this prayer right now, and Christ will come into your life, just as He promised.