Accept the gift of Salvation through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
If there is any page on this website that you read thoroughly, my prayer and hope is that it is this one. I have said in one way or another on this website that we humans are all in the same boat. To be alive, we all must breathe air and blood must flow through our veins. We all have and experience the same range of emotions. We all must eat and sleep. And we all will meet the same physical death we know we are destined for. It would only make sense that after death, we would all be faced with the same truth of what happens then.
If you are reading this, I trust our God that you are here for a reason. I hope that you are seeking the God who created you and wants a personal relationship with YOU! We all know deep down that there must be something more to this life than what we see in the here and now. Deep down we all know there is much more to our existence than this. We all know we make mistakes and do things wrong (sin). We all know we are human, make bad decisions, and pay the consequences of those decisions. We don’t hide from these simple truths and openly admit them daily…but we also need to understand the truth about the God who created us. He is a perfect, righteous, and just God who will not dwell with sin or allow sin to go unpunished. The fact that He is “just” means He must judge our sins accordingly. We would never expect a just judge to let a criminal go free and not pay his debt for his crime. In this simplistic example, God is no different with us. The standard we must live up to is perfection and righteousness which then demands justice. We simply cannot satisfy this on our own.
The good news for you and me is we don’t have to satisfy a standard we cannot achieve on our own. The good news for you and me is God doesn’t leave us trying to satisfy a standard we simply can’t meet. Instead, God is also a loving and forgiving God who offers grace beyond anything we deserve. God did this by sending his Son, Jesus Christ, down to earth to pay the price for our sins by dying on the cross. He then raised him from the dead so that all who repent and accept Christ as Savior now can be reconciled to God and be saved from eternal death. (Who again, is perfect, righteous, and just).
If, with a genuine heart, you are here seeking God, but you don’t know what all this spiritual stuff is about, it’s ok. Part of this journey is God calls on us to have faith in him (Hebrews 11 and Hebrews 11:6). You don’t need to have all this figured out to become saved. You just need faith and a genuine heart to want God. To be transparent and honest with you, I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart at a young age and still, I don’t have it all figured out…but what I do know is I have a personal relationship with the God who made me (and you!). He saved me from eternal death, He loves me more than I could ever love myself, and I am now blood bought by his sacrifice on the cross. My eternity in Jesus Christ is now secure to be reconciled to God and I no longer fear death…and in this life I can face anything knowing that I have God that is with me at all times. If you have never taken this step, you can have this too!
I encourage you to read and walk through these Scripture verses with me and then at the bottom, my prayer is that God will speak to your heart and lead you to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior in your life.
The Word of God tells us the only way for our salvation is through Jesus Christ:
Jesus says in John 14:6 (ESV) …”I am the way, and the truth, and the life, No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 3:16-18 (ESV) “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 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.”
Jesus also confirms that He is the only way for us to have salvation through him when he prays this to God the Father while knowing He is about to be arrested and head to the cross… Matthew 26:39 (ESV) And going a little further he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
Jesus then confirms the price was satisfied and paid in full when he said in John 19:30…”It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
The book of Romans walks us through the steps we need to take to be saved (often called the Roman’s Road to Salvation). This set of Scripture verses lay out our need for redemption through Jesus Christ very clearly:
Romans 3:10 (ESV) – as it is written: none is righteous, no, not one
Romans 3:23 (ESV) – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 5:12 (ESV)- Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned
Romans 6:23 (ESV)- For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 5:8 (ESV)- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us
Romans 10:9-10 (ESV)- because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved
Romans 10:13 (ESV)- For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved
You and I are not assured of tomorrow or even our next breath. What that means is there is never a better time than right now to call upon our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to save you from your sins. Right now, with a genuine heart and mind, I encourage you to pray a prayer like this:
“Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I know the wage of my sin is death. I repent of my sins. Your word tells me if I call upon You, You will save me. So, right now, I am doing just that. I believe You came off the throne of Heaven and came down to earth to die on the cross to pay the price for my sin so that I may have eternal life in You. Please, Lord Jesus, at this very moment, I am asking You to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. Please save me from my sins. I want to know you. I want to have a personal relationship with you. I want to seek you in my life. I ask this in Jesus’ name I pray, amen.”
If you said that prayer, I ask that you let me know. I want to pray for your journey with our God and King and I want to thank God for your decision. I would love to hear from you! Email me at: [email protected]
If you didn’t accept Christ’s gift of salvation but will at least give it some thought, I too would like to hear from you also so that I can pray for you as well.
If you are someone who read this but simply reject it, I just want to thank you for reading this far. You are highly valued here!
Finally, accepting Christ is the start of your relationship with God, not the end. Your eternal life has been secured through Christ. Now get to know God more intimately. I am here to tell you there is no other relationship more worth it than this one! I would recommend:
1.) Get a Bible if you don’t have one. I recommend the New International Version (NIV) or English Standard Version (ESV). I would start your reading in the book of John which is the 4th book of the New Testament on the life of Jesus.
2.) Pray daily and often. God is with you always and He wants to hear from you. Through prayer and reading the Bible, your relationship with God will grow. Ask God to reveal himself to you as you seek him in your life.
3.) Search for a Christ-following Church. If you know of any Christians in your life maybe seek them out in helping you find a good Church.
4.) Get baptized. This is a step of obedience to profess to the world that you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior. Jesus says in Luke 12:8-9 (NIV) “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.”
If you have read all the way here. You have truly been a blessing to me! God bless you and I encourage you to go Have Character!
J. Noah Russell