It goes all the way back to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Because of their stumble, the Bible says we’ve all been born with “original sin.” It’s been passed down from parent to child since the creation of man. We all know it too! Who of us ever had to be taught how to lie... or to do any one of the other things we do wrong? Show me one child that needed to be taught selfishness, or a person who can truly say their thoughts are always pure. Almost funny, isn’t it? It seems like everything we need to learn in life is in an attempt to counter something we were born with. I guess that’s why the Bible can so clearly say “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. (Romans 3:23)

It’s because of this sin that the Bible says we are all destined to spend eternity separated from God in the fiery depths of hell. (Mark 9:43)


Why is there a hell?
People often wonder why a loving God would create hell. Why would He condemn us to such a terrible place? The answer may surprise you. Hell was not created for mankind. Hell was created for the fallen angel, Satan, and the evil angels that were cast from heaven with him. It’s this ancient struggle between good and evil, i.e., God and Satan, that has us trapped. Adam and Eve chose to listen to Satan and disregard their heavenly Father when they ate that fateful apple. In doing so, they gave the devil a hold on all of us. Without God’s intervention, we’ll all spend eternity separated from Him!


But, God still loves us!
O.K, so we’ve sinned! Not just the “original” kind, but we’ve sinned personally as well. We know we’ve fallen short of perfection. So what can we do about it? Where can we turn?
The Bible says there isn’t anything we can do on our own to get back into God’s grace. But God loves us anyway. He loves us so much that he put a plan in action to get us out of our predicament! Right in the first book of the Bible only a few words away from the story of the first sin, God outlines His incredible plan to have a savior come from the womb of a woman (Mary), to literally “crush [Satan’s] head”. (Genesis 3:15)


God with Us
And so God put His plan into action... placing His only begotten Son in the womb of a young girl. (Luke 1). God even had Mary’s fiancee’ Joseph name the child “Immanuel” (Jesus), which means “God with us.” God, in the form of a man! He was coming to do what we couldn’t do ourselves!

 

 

 

Who would die for the ungodly?
The Bible tells us that since there was nothing we could do to release sin’s hold on us, God did it Himself...“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8)


Salvation!
The only way to salvation is through God’s perfect sacrifice...His only Son, Jesus Christ!

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” John 3:16-18


So now what?
So, you’ve accepted the fact that you’ve missed God’s perfect mark...You know that you can’t do it yourself and you believe Jesus came to pay your penalty. You’ve heard and believe the story of His incredible resurrection on that first Easter morning. What do you do now? What’s the next step?

The Bible says that once we believe in our hearts that Jesus is our only hope for salvation we must take action. We must “repent of our sins” (agree with God about them), and “turn to God” so that “refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, even Jesus.” (Acts 3:19)

And check out this powerful scripture... “That if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” Romans 10:9-11


Heaven’s only got one door
That’s it friends! It’s just that simple. Still, sadly, many will turn away and try to make it into heaven on their own. Listen to the words of Jesus answering that mentality. “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” (John 3:3) Jesus goes on to say that we must be born of “water” (earthly birth), and born of the “Spirit” (heavenly birth), by accepting the Spirit of God into our hearts through Jesus Christ. (John 3:5-6)

In another powerful statement, Jesus tells us that all other doors to heaven are closed. In fact, there are no other doors to heaven. Jesus, answering an apostle wanting to know how to follow Jesus into heaven... “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

If there was any other way into heaven...if we could possibly earn salvation for ourselves...why would God send His only Son to die that horrible death?

Believe and confess
God loves you, and he wants a relationship with you, through His Son, Jesus Christ. If it’s the desire of your heart to accept God’s gracious gift, then, following the model given in the book of Romans, you need to “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord”. You can do it through a simple prayer like this:

Heavenly Father, I know I’ve sinned and fallen short of your perfect mark for my life. Father, I accept the sacrifice of your Son, Jesus Christ, as my only hope to spend eternity with you in heaven. As best as I know how Lord, I give my life to you. I pray that your Holy Spirit will enter my heart and begin to change me from within. Thank you, Father. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.


Congratulations!
If you’ve prayed the “sinner’s prayer,” accepting Jesus’ sacrifice for your life, the Bible says that all the angels in heaven rejoice! Please take a minute to let us rejoice, too. Send us a quick note... We’d love the opportunity to send you some free information to help you as you start your incredible journey as a Christian! Email Pastor Jim