God's Plan of Salvation
Click to hear the plan of salvation in other languages.
HERE
Dear Friend,
If you should die now, do you know that you would go to heaven? If you cannot answer ‘yes’ to this question, then this message is for you. The important question is not whether you are a church member, or if you live a good life and do the best you can, but if you have ever believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is only ONE way to Heaven, and that is by Jesus Christ. 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) You must believe what God’s word teaches us about salvation. From God’s word you can learn what it is that God wants you to know about how to be saved. Are you willing to believe what God wants you to know?
God Wants You To Know You Are A Sinner
“There is none righteous, no not one…. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:10, 23)
If all have sinned, then I am a sinner and you are a sinner. Our very nature is such that a holy God cannot admit us into His presence as we were born. You must be born again, made anew by a power not your own, but by the supernatural power of God. (John 3:3-7) No one has committed so few sins that he doesn’t need to be saved, and no one has committed so many sins that he cannot be saved. You must realize that you are a sinner.
God Wants You To Know Why You Are A Sinner
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." (Romans 5:12)
"For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." (Romans 5:19)
Because of Adam’s disobedience to God he died spiritually. By his sin all mankind sinned, and was separated fromGod. This passed-on sin is known as inherited sin. Just as we inherit physical characteristics from our parents, we inherit our sinful nature from Adam.
God Wants You To Know The Penalty For Sin
“For the wages of sin is death...” (Romans 6:23)
When Adam sinned, he died, yet he kept on living! (Genesis 2:17, 3:6,7) This shows that death does not simply mean to cease to exist, nor that it is merely the death of the body. Death of the body is one result of that spiritual death, but the real meaning of death is separation. Adam was separated from God; he lost fellowship, spiritual life, everything, and became subject to eternal death, and that death sentence was passed on to all of us like a deadly disease. [Romans 5:12] This means that if one lives his life in sin and dies without being born again, he will be separated from God forever. That is hell, the second death. (Luke 16:24; Matthew 25:41, 46; Revelation 21:8) Do not stop to reason on man’s opinions about hell—believe what God’s word says about it. You do not want to go where there is no light, no water, and be eternally separated from God and all that is good and beautiful, do you? You do not have to. God has provided a way of escape.
God Wants You To Know What He Did For You
Here is the good news: Jesus paid those wages for you.
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
"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)
When Jesus was on the cross, He suffered the agony of Hell for you and me. He was separated from God the Father. He was banished from God’s presence because He had your sins and mine on Him! Remember, the wages of sin is death, and death is separation. Jesus paid those wages for you. That is why we sing the hymn,
“Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe,
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.”
More good news - Jesus offers this salvation to you. “...but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) A gift is something you do not work for. Therefore, you cannot earn your salvation by doing good works, such as joining the church, being baptized, deeds of charity, etc. Those are good works that Christians do, but good works are the result of salvation, not the cause of it. (Ephesians 2:8-10) You must avoid the mistake that so many people make of trying to ‘save yourself’ by works. Salvation is a gift given to you when you receive Christ. (John 1:12) The only thing you can do with a gift is accept it or reject it.
God Wants You To Know How You Can Be Saved
There are two commandments in the Bible for the sinner to obey in order to be saved. They are not outward deeds, but decisions of the heart and mind. These commandments are repent and believe.
“Repent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.” (Acts 3:19)
To repent is to confess that you are a sinner, turn from sin to God and pray to Him for mercy and forgiveness through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. (Luke 18:13; Romans 3:25) Remember how you told your parents or spouse you were sorry and asked forgiveness, or how you made up to a friend you had wronged? Well, you have done wrong before God, and you must make thingsright with Him. You must be willing to turn from your sin, but you cannot do this in your own power—that is where faith (believing) comes in. "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
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” (Acts 16:30,31)
You must not only believe facts about Him, you must believe on Him. Saving faith, then, is to receive Jesus Christ, to trust Him to take you to Heaven, and believe that He will. Once you put your soul into His hands, you are His responsibility. He takes your sin, and you take His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). You will then become God’s child, born again by His Spirit, sealed forever! (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30) You will then be saved—and saved means “to be made safe.”
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
Whosoever means you—just put your name there. This is a crucial moment. Do you believe God’s promise? It will do no good to pray to Him unless you believe Him, and He will do just what He says. Please consider this question very carefully. Do you believe that if you called upon the Lord, He would save you? If you do, then will you call upon the Lord now, and ask Him to save you? You may sincerely pray something like this:
“Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner. I am sorry for my sin, and ask You for mercy and forgiveness through the blood of Your Son, Jesus. I believe He died for me and rose again. I now accept Him as my Savior. I believe Your promise, that from this moment on, according to Your Word, I will be Your child and You will reserve a home in Heaven for me. Thank you, Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
If today you have prayed to receive Christ, please call us at (828) 686-4726 or email us to let us know. If you are a new believer, you probably have a lot of questions! What should you do next? How can you learn more? Where can you find answers? We would love to help you with this by sending you a gift that will help you learn more about God and His word.