WHY JESUS CHRIST?

The central theme of the Bible is God's love for you and for all people. This love was revealed when Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into the world as a human being, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and rose from the dead. Because Christ died, your sins can be forgiven, and because He conquered death you can have eternal life. You can know what will become of you after you die.

You have probably heard the story of God's love referred to as the "Gospel." The word Gospel simply means "Good News."  The Gospel is the Good News that, because of what Christ has done, we can be forgiven and can live forever.

But this gift of forgiveness and eternal life cannot be yours unless you willingly accept it. God requires an individual response from you. The following verses from the Bible show God's part and yours in this process:

God's love is revealed in the Bible "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" (John 3:16).  God loves you. He wants to bless your life and make it full and complete. And He wants to give you a life which will last forever, even after you experience physical death.

We are sinful

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

You may have heard someone say, "I'm only human--nobody's perfect." This Bible verse says the same thing: We are all sinners. We all do things that we know are wrong. And that's why we feel estranged from God--because God is holy and good, and we are not.

Sin has a penalty

"For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).

Just as criminals must pay the penalty for their crimes, sinners must pay the penalty for their sins. If you continue to sin, you will pay the penalty of spiritual death: You will not only die physically; you will also be separated from our holy God for all eternity.  The Bible teaches that those who choose to remain separated from God will spend eternity in a place called hell.

Christ has paid our penalty!

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, has paid the penalty for all your sins. You may think you have to lead a good life and do good deeds before God will love you. But the Bible says that Christ loved you enough to die for you, even when you were rebelling against Him.

Salvation is a free gift

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The word grace means "undeserved favor." It means God is offering you something you could never provide for yourself: forgiveness of sins and eternal life, God's gift to you is free. You do not have to work for a gift. All you have to do is joyfully receive it, Believe with all your heart that Jesus Christ died for you!

Christ is at your heart's door

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20).

Jesus Christ wants to have a personal relationship with you. Picture, if you will, Jesus Christ standing at the door of your heart
(the door of your emotions, intellect and will). Invite Him in; He is waiting for you to receive Him into your heart and life.

You must receive Him

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12).

When you receive Christ into your heart you become a child of God, and have the privilege of talking to Him in prayer at any time about anything. The Christian life is a personal relationship to God through Jesus Christ. And best of all, it is a relationship that will last for all eternity.

Our problem--separation

God created us humans in His own image and gave us the ability to have an abundant and enjoyable life. He did not create us as robots that would automatically love and obey Him. He gave us freedom of choice. Unfortunately, Adam and Eve, the first humans, chose to disobey God and go their own willful way. And all humans who have lived since then have made the same
choice. As the drawing shows, our choice to sin and to go our own way means we are separated from God:

And that includes all of us. The Bible says...

"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

Throughout all of human history, people have sensed their separation from God. They have tried to bridge the gap in many ways... without success...

There is only one remedy for this problem of separation:

God's remedy--the cross

Jesus Christ is the only answer to the separation between sinful humans and their holy God. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, He paid the penalty for our sins and bridged the gap between God and us.

The Bible says...

"There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).

"Jesus answered, `I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'" (John 14:6).

God has provided the only way.... You must decide whether or not to choose that way....

Our response--receive Christ

We must trust Jesus Christ for forgiveness and eternal life. And we must receive Him by personal invitation.

The Bible says...

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12).

Is there any good reason why you cannot receive Jesus Christ right now?

What you must do:

   1. Admit your need. Be willing to say, "I am a sinner."
   2. Be willing to repent and turn away from sin.
   3. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross.
   4. Receive Him as Savior and Lord. Through prayer, invite Him to come in and fill your life.

The Bible says, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13).

Just now, when you received Christ, the following took place:

     Your sins were forgiven (Colossians 1:14).
     You became a child of God (John 1:12).
     You inherited all the many blessings God promises to His children (Romans 8:16-17).
     You now possess eternal life (John 3:16).

You have eternal life

"He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the narne of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:12-13).

If you sincerely prayed the prayer of commitment, you can know for sure that you have eternal life. It is a fact, not a feeling.  Don't trust your feelings, for they will change; take God at His Word and believe His promises.

Memorize 1 John 5:12-13 (above) and review it whenever doubts arise. You should be able to say with assurance, "Because I have received Christ, on the authority of His Word I have eternal life."