JOHN 3:16
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
This is perhaps the most famous verse in the whole Bible. But what does it mean? Well, let's start at the beginning and try to make some sense of it.
The first thing that we need to know is...
ROMANS 3:23
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
This means that everybody has sinned - you, me, the pope, Mother Teresa, Billy Graham, ... everybody. And the problem with our sin is...
ROMANS 6:23a
"For the wages of sin is death,"
JOHN 3:36
"He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
Not exactly great news, eh? - the cost of sin is death. Because God is holy and just, he cannot simply allow our sin to pass without consequence. Someday He will pour out His wrath on all those who reject Him and His free gift of...
ROMANS 6:23b
"but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Awesome! God gives us a free gift: eternal life! You see...
ROMANS 5:8
"when we were in our sin, Christ Jesus came to die for us."
2 CORINTHIANS 5:21
"He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we may be made the righteousness of God through Him."
These verses tell us a few things:
1. Jesus Christ was without sin.
2. Because Jesus was perfect, He was able to pay our debt and die in our place.
3. Christ's death makes us righteous before God.
Sounds too good to be true, right? I bet you're wondering, "What's the catch?"
Romans 10:9-10
"...if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and
believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for
with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth
he confesses, resulting in salvation."
Romans 10:13
"For Whoever will call on the
name of the Lord will be saved."
That's it: all you have to do is ask. First you believe, then you ask.
1. Do you believe that you are a sinner?
2. Do you believe that there is no way you can possibly pay for your sins and earn a place in Heaven?
3. Do you believe that the only way to be made righteous is by accepting God's gift of salvation...by accepting Christ's death on the cross?
If you answered "yes" to these questions, then take a quick second and tell God. Pray something like this:
Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner who needs salvation from my sin and the coming wrath of God against my sin. I can't save myself...I can't "be good enough"...I can't earn my way to Heaven. I need a Savior. I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins, rose from the grave, and lives today at the right hand of the Father. By faith, I accept your gift of salvation. Forgive my sin and come into my life as my Lord. Amen.
But that's not all. Now that you have Jesus Christ in your life, you have a a tremendous power to live life like never before.
1 JOHN 2:6
"Whoever says he abides in [Jesus] ought himself to walk just as He walked."
In other words, now we are able to be like Christ (that's what "Christian" means: like Christ). It won't always be easy, it won't always be fun, and we won't always be perfect. But Jesus promised us...
JOHN 15:5
"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."
So enjoy your new life in Christ! Now, I would suggest that you:
1. Find a good, Bible-teaching church that can help you grow in your walk with God.
2. Read the books of John and 1,2,3 John - that's a great place to start learning about this new life you've begun.
And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to give me a holler.
- Pastor Jon
page updated FEB 2010