Nobody likes the idea of death, but we all know one day, if nothing happens to change the natural order, it will happen. The Bible tells us as much:
"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."
Hebrews 9:27
The Bible says that God loves you, However the Bible also says: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
Romans 3:23
We Are All Sinners
"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like:... they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."
Galatians 5:19-21,
According to Scripture:
WE HAVE BROKEN GOD'S LAW AND ARE GUILTY BEFORE GOD
Some may say "I have only committed a few sins.", others may say "I have only committed small sins." And while one or both of those may be true for you, sin is sin. and according to scripture ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God
"For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not."
Ecclesiastes 7:20
"They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one."
Psalms 14:3
"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:"
Romans 3:10
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
James 2:10"
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
1 John 1:8
"But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."
Isaiah 59:2
"For the wages of sin is death."
Romans 6:23a
YOUR SINS HAVE SEPARATED YOU FROM GOD.
1.- The Bible Says that: The wages of sin is death... If you have ever heard of minimum wage then you can understand what a wage is. It is simply something owed based on one's actions.
According to the Bible we will die as a result of our sins.
2.- In the Bible, there are two kinds of death that are mentioned: physical death and spiritual death.
Physical death is the separation of the soul from the body.
(This we see at the moment of what we commonly call "death")
Spiritual death is the separation of the person from God.
(The Bible teaches that the soul is eternal and will live forever somewhere)
3.-The Death talked about in these verses is speaking of the spiritual death:
You are separated from God by your sin.
If a person dies (physical death) separated from God by his sin, (spiritual death) he must spend eternity separated from God for the wages of sin (what is owed) is death.
If you were to die right now in your present condition with your debt of sin unpaid could you go to heaven?
We have mentioned briefly that while our bodies will die ("And as it is appointed unto men once to die...)"
and that our soul will then go to one of two places ("...but after this the judgment.")
What does the Bible say happens when we die separated from God by our sins?
Christ tells us in the Bible, the story of the rich man and Lazarus. After their deaths, it tells us what happened to the one that did not listen to what God says about sin:
"And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments."
Luke 16:23a
The Bible Also says:
"And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
Revelation 20:15
"And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."
Matthew 25:46
THAT MEANS IN HELL FOREVER!
I do want to take a moment to explain what the bible has to say about a place of temporary punishment or cleansing, that many refer to as "purgatory"...
...Between that last sentence and this you can find all scriptural reference to a place of "temporary punishment" for the soul.
There is no typo there.
No missing text.
Put plainly, the idea of a place of temporary punishment for the soul does not exist in scripture.
If you die and go to hell, will you be there forever?
If you died right now with your sin, where would you go?
2 Thessalonians 1:9
"These shall be punished with everlasting destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,"
Matthew 25:41
"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:"
With the bad news of what happens to those separated from God by sin explained, the question of "What can we do to avoid that fate?", is what comes to mind for many.
To put it plainly. There is nothing "we" can do:
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
John 14:6
JESUS CHRIST IS THE WAY TO HEAVEN!
The way to escape eternal punishment (hell) and go to heaven is not found in a church, nor baptism, nor good works, but it is only in Jesus Christ.
According to scripture, only through Jesus Christ can you go to Heaven. It is not something that is earned, or that can be bought.
"But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Romans 6:23
GOD HAS A GIFT FOR YOU!
This gift is eternal life. It is only found in accepting Christ.
Eternal life means forgiveness of sin, communion with God, and going to live with God after death.
Only through Jesus can we find forgiveness of sin and eternal life.
Is Jesus Christ the only way to heaven (eternal life)?
John 3:16-18
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. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Acts 4:12
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
John 3:36
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1 John 5:12
He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
The Bible teaches that Christ died in our place. that He lone paid what we owed.
Christ is the One Who died for you on the cross.
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."
Romans 5:8-9
I could never pay for your sins; I already owe for my own sins. Likewise, you could never pay for my sins, as you already owe for your sins.
2 Corinthians 5:21
"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
There is no other option to pay for our debt of sin because Christ is the only one who died, not owing any sin.
Perhaps the simplest way to understand this concept is to ask yourself this question.
"Who died for me?"
The answer according to scripture is Jesus Christ the Son of God.
If He died then who saves?"
Once again according to scripture, the answer is Jesus.
Nearly 2,000 years ago, Christ was nailed to a cross. By a miracle, God took all your sin and placed it in the body of Christ and Christ died for you. He suffered your hell for you. God Punished Him for you. Christ paid 100% for your sin by His blood. He was buried and rose again the third day. For this reason, salvation is only in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Is Jesus Christ the only way to be saved?
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out,
Acts 3:19
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out,
Acts 3:19
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out,
Acts 3:19
The Bible teaches us that Jesus Christ is "God with us."
Remember the Christmas story:
"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."
Matthew 1:23
Also --
God the Father called Jesus Christ "God."
"But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom."
Hebrews 1:8
THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT JESUS CHRIST IS GOD IN THE FLESH!
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
John 1:1,14
"For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."
Colossians 2:9
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Titus 2:13
Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
Matthew 14:33
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Luke 2:11
And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
1 John 5:20
Christ died for all, but all will not go to heaven.
Do you know why?
"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."
John 1:12
Though He died for all, it is a gift, and each person is given the choice of whether they will receive that gift or reject it.
To get to Heaven you must:
1. UNDERSTAND that salvation is only in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Your faith and trust must be in what Christ has done. Belief that our good works will outweigh our bad, that avoiding certain sins, or that being better than others is good enough, will only deceive ourselves.
"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
To get to Heaven you must:
2. BELIEVE that Christ died for your sins.
He wants to save you, and it is for that reason that he died on the cross
"He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
John 3:18
To get to Heaven you must:
3. REPENT of sin...
Repentance is more than saying sorry, it means to turn away from, or leave behind the wrong actions. it is to genuinely seek forgiveness.
"Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."
Acts 20:21
To get to Heaven you must:
4. RECEIVE Christ into your heart as your personal Saviour.
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.
Romans 10:9
Acts 16:31
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,
Acts 4:12
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Hebrews 7:25
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
John 3:36
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Titus 3:5
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us,
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me."
Revelation 3:20
Christ is here and He wants to come into your heart and forgive your sins.
He cannot come in until you invite Him. For example, if I were at the door of your house knocking and wanting to come in, I could not come in without your invitation.
Neither can Christ save you and give you eternal life until you are willing to turn from sin and invite Him into your heart as your Saviour.
YOU ARE ONLY SAVED IF YOU PERSONALLY RECEIVE THE GIFT
With this information in mind, now that you have heard this, you must make a decision either to follow sin or receive Christ. The choice is between Christ and sin.
Here is perhaps the most important question you will ever answer:
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WITH CHRIST?
Some do not want to receive Christ and the gift of eternal life, because they do not believe they can change.
To be saved, you do not change yourself. You simply must be willing that God change you.
Others do not want to receive Christ because they do not believe that God can forgive them. The Bible says:
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness."
1John 1:9
Not even God will force you to accept the gift of eternal life. Like we discussed before, each person must make a choice. I can't make it for you, and you can't make it for me. If this is the decision you wish to make right now, the door is open for you to change this decision.
That door will not be open forever. One day you will enter eternity, and the time to accept Christ will be past. once in eternity whatever you chose in life will be your "final answer" without opportunity to change it.
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me."
Revelation 3:20
When you are ready to open the door to Christ, you can come back here and continue. If you have questions please reach out to us, and we would be glad to help you.
Christ is here in the Person of the Holy Spirit.
Christ wants to enter your heart. He wants to forgive you and save you from Hell. He wants to be your Saviour.
BUT YOU MUST INVITE HIM.
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Romans 10:13
We talk to God in prayer. You must talk to Him and tell Him your desire.
Before you pray, let me ask you...
YOU PRAY TO RECEIVE THE LORD
RIGHT NOW, if you sincerely want to repent of your sins and be forgiven, if you sincerely want to receive Christ, The Bible tells us what to do.
"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. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Romans 10:9-10
You have told me in your answers to these questions that you believe in your heart.
The Bible says that you must confess with your mouth to God what you believe in your heart to be saved. To talk to God we pray.
Right now, you need to pray and tell Him your desire. If you do not know how to pray, pray the following prayer with all sincerity from your heart.
Did you pray?
To Whom did you pray?
What did you ask Him to do?
If you are unsure about how to answer these three questions I would recommend going back to the beginning of this study and reading over it again. If you can answer these questions, then I have some wonderful news for you.
The Bible makes it very clear that salvation is just that simple.
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,
Acts 16:31
But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved,
Acts 15:11
According to the Bible:
"And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."
I John 5:11-13
According to the Bible there are only two groups of people in the world:
1. Those who have not received Christ
2. Those that have received Christ.
From the verse we just read, we know that those who have Christ have eternal life, while those who do not have Christ do not have eternal life. The life is in the Son (Christ)!
According to the Bible:
If you have received Christ, what do you have?
That never goes away!
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
John 10:28
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 7:25
The Bible teaches that those who receive Christ are adopted into the family of God. That makes you His child:
"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."
John 1:12
All those who have received Christ are God's children, and that makes other believers brothers and sisters in Christ.
ONLY THOSE WHO RECEIVE CHRIST ARE TRUE CHILDREN OF GOD.
When a child disobeys, he is still a child, but the fellowship is broken and one of two things must happen:
1. The child confesses his wrong to the father, or
2. The father must discipline the child.
Let me explain it like this:
If I tell my daughter to clean her room, and she says "NO" "I don't want to" Does she stop being my daughter? Of course not! She continues to be my daughter regardless of what she does.
With that being said, her actions have consequences. and she can either
1. Repent and make it right. (restoring the fellowship)
2. I must correct her and help her learn (discipline)
CHRIST WILL NEVER LEAVE YOUR HEART.
(Find in your Bible Hebrews 13:5)
Like all children you will not be perfect. You will sometimes sin and disobey God after you have received Christ. You are still a child of God and are still going to heaven...
BUT
One of two things must happen:
1. You must go directly to God and confess your sins to Him,
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness."
1John 1:9
OR
2. If you don't confess your sins, then God must discipline you because He loves you
(Study Hebrews 12:5-11)
1. Read the Bible every day.
I recommend you read at least one chapter a day and that you start in the book of Saint John. Also look up the Scriptures used in this lesson and underline them in your Bible.
2. Pray each day to God.
He is now your Father and like any good father he wants to hear from you and meet your every need. You only need to ask Him.
"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"
Matthew 7:11
3. Share this Good News with the people you love.
You now have a place in heaven and eternal life there. God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (look up 2 Peter 3:9) and He wants them to have the opportunity to hear the same thing you just heard and make the same decision you just made. (Mark 16:15)
4. Get together with other believers.
One of the best places to get together is in a local church.
As much as we may like to act like we are tough enough to handle everything that life throws at us. Jesus knew that we would face trials and tribulation in life, and He gave us each other to help one another
"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
John 13:35
THIS SUNDAY At the end of the service, go forward and let the preacher tell the people you have trusted Christ.
"If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest." - Acts 8:37a
"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized." - Act 2:41
"...Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway." - Acts 16:30-33
1.-COMMANDED BY CHRIST:
"Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." - Matthew 28:19
2.-CHRIST OUR EXAMPLE:
"Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of Him." - Matthew 3:13
3.-BELIEVER SHOWS OBEDIENCE:
"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized." - Acts 2:41
Baptism by immersion pictures our position with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. (Romans 6:3-5)
1. BAPTISM IS WITH WATER
"John answered them saying, baptize with water." - John 1:26a
2. BAPTISM IS BY IMMERSION (UNDER THE WATER)
"Jesus was baptized by John in Jordan." - Mark 1:9
"And straightway coming up out of the water..." - Mark 1:10a
...they both went down into the water..." - Acts 8:38b
FOLLOWING SALVATION
- "When they believed they were baptized." Acts 8:12
- "And the eunuch said, 'See. here is water: what doth hinder me to be baptized?' And Philip said, 'if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.'" - Acts 8:36-37
- "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: ... and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." - Acts 2:41
- See also. Acts 16:25-33
- DISOBEDIANCE: "...to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not to him it is sin." - James 4:17
- LOSS OF TESTIMONY: "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed." - John 8:31b
- LOSS OF FELLOWSHIP: "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." - John 15:14
Baptism is a symbol of the decision we made in salvation. It reflects Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. It is a symbol, like my wedding ring. If I take off my wedding ring, I no longer have the symbol that I am married, but I do not stop being married. Likewise, if my daughter puts my wedding ring on, she is not suddenly married. You can be married with no ring. and not married with a ring. Baptism is the same. it is a symbol. you can be baptized and not saved, and you can be saved, and not baptized.
The wedding ring says to the world "I am married" If you never wore your ring the question would be asked "If you are married why not wear the ring?" The answer is usually because you want to hide that you are married. Equally if you are saved Baptism says to the world "I believe in Christ"
Matthew 10:32-33
"Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven."
I am rejoicing in the decision you made today, and I would love to hear from you. We have many resources that will be a great help in your life as a believer and follower of Christ. Please take a few moments to fill out the following information and we will reach out to you to help with any questions you may have.