| I. Why do we need a Savior? When God created the Heavens and the Earth, He did so with complete perfection. There was no sin, there was no sickness, there was no death, there was nothing to be afraid of, to speak. God gave only one, seemingly simple rule: "And the Lord God commanded the man, �You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.�" (Genesis 2:16,17). There was an angel, Lucifer, who aspired to be greater than the Lord our God, so God cast him and his other fallen angels out of Heaven, and gave them a place called Hell. Anyway, Satan came into the garden in the form of a serpent and tempted Eve with fruit from the forbidden tree of knowledge. He tricked her using this line: "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:5). Of course no one would take Satan�s product, death and eternal separation from God, if he sold it to us straight. He has to camouflage it with things that will entice us. In this case, the attractiveness of the fruit and the supposedly good abilities it would bring to anyone who ate it. This unfortunately was directly against a commandment of God, and no sin goes without punishment. From this point onward, man was doomed to a life of sin, corruption, and eventually physical and spiritual death apart from God. Anyone who believes they are somehow exempt from accepting the Lord Jesus; anyone who thinks they will cruise on into Heaven on their good work alone, remember this: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:23). "Jesus answered, �I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.�" (John 14:6). These 2 verses say this: No one is exempt, we all have fallen short of the Law He set before us; there is no other way to Heaven except by accepting His perfect lamb, Christ Jesus as our lord and savior. This should fairly well cover the question of why we need a savior. Next, on to some other points. II. Some common myths about Heaven, God, and the like 1. God doesn�t want me for Heaven I�ve heard many people say things to attempt to defend their belief that they are unwanted in Heaven, or that they won�t be missed in Heaven. This is simply not true; it is a position taken by those who are afraid to take the stand against Satan, and to say yes to eternal life with the creator of the universe! "The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9). This promise that is spoken of in this verse is Jesus� second coming to Earth to set up His reign on Earth. All throughout the Bible, it talks of the Lord�s soon return for His church, commonly called the Rapture. God is saying that He is not slow in keeping this promise as he sees it. He is trying to give our hard-hearted generation every opportunity to come to repentance, that we might enjoy the wonderful gift of eternal life He is offering each one of us. This means that no one is too bad, or too little, too worthless, too insignificant to come into His heavenly family. If your position is one that presumes to know the thoughts of God, one that assumes you are too insignificant to go to Heaven�..try another defense. Yours is full of holes and is absolutely not true. Don�t go to hell hanging on to a lie. 2. God will see that I�m a good person/ I�ve been good; He�ll let me in on that. This is another popular argument our generation likes to use in its strive for tolerance. No one wants to step on anyone else�s toes, so they accept everyone�s religions and assume they are all they same, that they all lead to the same place, and that even the non-religious will get into Heaven if they simply apply themselves to live a good life filled with good works. This, by the way, is also nonsense. "There is no one righteous, not even one." (Romans 3:10). There is only one way to be saved, and that is through Jesus Christ; "I am the way and the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6). "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8,9). Not even our faith is our own doing! It�s all Him! He created us, He gave us the faith. You might ask why God doesn�t just make us worship Him. This is because out of His infinite love for us, He gave us free will, that we might look all around and see His glory, and naturally come to worship and love Him. This verse clearly states that we are not saved by anything but the grace of God. What is grace? That�s a good question. In my dictionary there are several definitions, but obviously not all apply here. Grace in this instance refers to "mercy." This is mercy that we have not earned, and definitely do not deserve, but God gives to us anyway. Wow! What an awesome God! "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." (Matthew 7:24-27). This should satisfactorily debunk the claims that people have about their works being good enough to get into Heaven. 3. I�ve never heard about God before or how to get into Heaven, so I�m exempt. This is another claim that is popular, but is not true either. This is not as common in America, or at least it shouldn�t be, since we are the nation with the most "professing" Christians in the world. This is a country where there is a Bible in every hotel room, and most families have more than one. This is not to say that we have the most Christians in the world, but just that a lot of people claim to be. I have plenty to say about people who claim to be Christians, but then produce no fruit for the kingdom of God. This, however, will be saved for another time. The law of God is written on our hearts. "the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness�" (Romans 2:15). People can tell right from wrong, whether they have been exposed to God or not. This is the reason for this innate sense of what is right/wrong�God has written it on our hearts, and our consciences are testimony to this fact! Have you ever had a guilty conscience?! God is visible, even to those who have not been shown the way through Christ Jesus. "Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God�s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." (Romans 1:18). This means that God has made Himself evident in all of creation. The vastness of the universe, the complexity of the human genome, the incredible diversity among the living organisms�.all of this points to a creator. This realization by those who have not known God or Christ should lead them to search for Him. Once their search begins, He will reveal Himself and provide the path of salvation for them. I have heard several stories of remote tribes in Africa where there were people who realized there was a God and worshipped and prayed to Him; prayed for Him to bring someone who would teach them about Him, that they might learn more. And then how God would send a few missionaries seemingly out of the blue to go and minister to them. The most amazing thing is that when the missionaries arrived, the tribes already knew they were coming because they had been praying for it. If you don�t believe this to be divine in nature, I doubt most of the things I have to tell you would do otherwise. "But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you look with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deuteronomy 4:29). For most people, however, this topic is merely esoteric; most people who are reading this will have at least heard of God and of Jesus Christ. I will not dwell on this point anymore, because it is simply not worth mentioning anymore, considering my probable audience. 4. The Bible is an old book with no truth to it. The Bible is very old, that part is true. The Bible, however is not one book. It is made up of many books, 66 to be exact. The Old Testament was written between the years 1400-400BC, and the New Testament was written from 45-100AD. The books of the OT were not even bound together as one book until 90AD. The NT was first decided around 300AD. The first "Bible" was not completed until 382-405AD. This is truly remarkable if you consider how much the authors repeat each other, sometimes word for word. This is not because they read each other�s writings (OT was written in Hebrew; NT in Greek), but because they were all speaking about the same thing: the revelation of God�s plan for humanity�s salvation since its fall. People often use the excuse that the Bible is full of errors, and that it isn�t dependable. The scribes who copied the Bible did so with such meticulation, we should be ashamed to think otherwise. Scribes read aloud what they were writing as they wrote; if anything was messed up in translation along the way, the ENTIRE manuscript of that book was destroyed. This was the level to which they worked. The errors that did happen to slip past the scribes account for less than one percent of the Bible, and it does not change the message. Many things are stated on several occasions, so the chances of an error being precipitated on each occasion of a topic are miniscule. Things were written about in the Bible hundreds, sometimes thousands of years before they came to pass. This is absolutely amazing. Isaiah, in Isaiah 44:28, and Isaiah 45:1, mentions that Cyrus, the king will be the one who restores the city of Jerusalem and the temple. This is all fine and dandy, but what is its significance? The book of Isaiah was written around 700BC; he mentions this guy named Cyrus, who will eventually become king and do all those things I just stated. Cyrus wasn�t even born yet! Not until 539BC did this come to pass. Another incredible thing about this was that at the time Isaiah wrote this, the city of Jerusalem and the temple were still standing. How on Earth could they be rebuilt? More than one hundred years later, in 586BC King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple and the city. This is documented by secular historians as well, if you don�t believe the Bible just yet. This single prophecy is merely a single event foretold by the Bible; there are literally thousands of prophesies; over 300 on the first coming of Christ! All have been fulfilled and not one has faltered. The only prophesies yet to be fulfilled are those concerning the second coming of Christ, which will happen at an hour that we do not expect. (Matthew 24:44). 5. The Bible is sexist and devalues women. At first glance, this might seem like it holds some truth. But, alas, this too is a lie. ABSOLUTELY!!! If you take certain passages out of context, then of course you can make the Bible say just about anything you want it to. Once the context of the passage is taken into account, however, this argument clearly doesn�t hold water. God compares a man�s love for his wife to the way that Christ loved the church! This is how it�s meant to be! Christ went to the cross for our sins, for the church! Church refers to those who are believers in Him; He is our high priest�the head of our church. "Such a high priest meets our need-one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever." (Hebrews 7:26-28). "The wife�s body does not belong to her alone, but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband�s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife." (1 Corinthians 7:4). "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So that they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined let man not separate." (Matthew 19:5,6). "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28). These verses clearly illustrate the notion that women are not devalued or seen as worthless by Scripture. When we are commanded to love our wives as Christ loved the church, remember, that�s no easy task to uphold!! There are people out there who will say otherwise, who will devalue woman and do so in the name of Jesus, but know that this is not what the Bible teaches, and they are therefore false teachers. They will receive their punishment in full. Do not concern yourselves with them. 6. The Bible is of no use to me. "Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." (Joshua 1:8). Although this book was written thousands of years ago, it still has useful information, and it still can help us in our daily lives. This is the handbook of life, written by the creator of the universe. This is the word of God, and is the only way we have to have concrete answers to our questions. Sure, God can speak through prayer and dreams, but this is the only thing that we can have physically before us that is the word of God. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16). This is the inerrant word of God, as proclaimed by Scripture itself. "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." (James 1:22-24). This verse points out the fact that the Bible is not a book merely for reading, for good stories and nothing else. No, this verse says that anyone who reads the Word, and then does not heed its instruction is like a man who can�t even remember his own face. You can�t seriously call yourself a Christian and then refuse to live by the written Word of God. "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God�s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:12,13). The Bible covers every topic that we must deal with, and gives an answer to all questions. It is a matter of prayer and guidance to apply these teachings to our lives and situations today. The Bible is rather unique from many books in that it doesn�t paint an ideal picture with ideal characters. No, the Bible uses prostitutes, murderers, kings, peasants, poets, bigots, adulterers, incarcerated people to convey the message of God. The Bible leaves no one�s negative traits in the dark. It brings light, that we might see and learn to see things as He does. Most secular books present ideal characters with no flaws, or if they have flaws, they are villified�.not used as a positive instrument. "I warn everyone who hears the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book." (Revelation 22:18,19). This is a warning to reiterate the point that the Bible is a stand alone message. It doesn�t need the help of man to alter it to the present day situations. This book is more than adequate to handle anything we will encounter, and coupled with prayer it will be a great tool in our lives. In fact, this book is so capable and perfect in instruction that we are specifically warned not to alter it in any way, for if we do, the wrath of God will descend upon us. 7. If God loves everyone, why is there so much pain? This is a commonly asked question, and I will do my best to answer it in a way that makes sense. Sometimes this is difficult to understand, even for Christians. We read passages that claim God is love; all things that are good come from God, and we wonder where on earth all this pain and suffering fits into the picture. Here�s an analogy: the ingredients of a cake are eggs, flour, sugar, spices, cooking oil�..Any one of these things by themselves are nasty and we would never think of eating them, but when combined into a cake by someone who knows how to bake, they taste wonderful, and you can�t tell all the bad-tasting stuff that went into it. This is like our lives. God is trying to bake a cake out of our lives. This must be done with ingredients. Some of the ingredients are sweet tasting, like our first kiss, but others are bitter-tasting, like the death of a loved one. We question God because we cannot see the end product. He is the baker, let Him bake! Many times, the negative points in our lives are meant to gently guide us toward Him. Too often we look to things of this world to satisfy us and bring us happiness; when this happens, He must get our attention so He can reveal himself to us. For some people this simply takes a gentle nudge (a bad day at the office, a sermon at church that really hits home). Others have established their grasp so firmly on the things of this world that it takes an emotional earthquake (loss of a job, loved one, bankruptcy) to get their attention. He does this in hopes that in our time of greatest need we will look up to Him for salvation and protection. Also, when we stray, He will not let sin go unpunished. He does this out of love, for what father would not punish his child if he did something wrong? A father punishes out of love and instruction; only a father who does not love their child will let wrong-doings go uncorrected. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28). Some situations are very difficult to bear, and require us to simply step back and allow God to do His work, realizing and trusting that He will work all things for His glory. We don�t always understand what He is doing, but that�s all right. "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." (1 Corinthians 2:9). "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8,9). We can�t understand everything that He does; this involves a little bit of trust that the God who created the universe and everything in it can handle our relatively simple lives. 8. I�m going to wait to accept Him. This is a very bad idea. Bad because of so many things, but bad mainly because no one can know when their time is up. Nor can we know when He will return for His church. "Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them." (Ecclesiastes 9:12). "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (Matthew 24:36) "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come." (Matthew 24:42). "So you must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him." (Matthew 24:44). "For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." (1 Thessalonians 5:2). "Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed." (Revelation 16:15). These are only a few examples of this point, but there are plenty more. We can never know when He will return, so it is crucial for us to dutifully stand as watchmen, waiting patiently and lovingly for His soon return. III. How do I accept Christ and become saved?! The first thing you must do if you want to become a child of God, is to realize that everyone is a sinner, and we all fall short of His perfect will for us. (Romans 3:23). The next thing you must believe is that the sins of the world had to be atoned for somehow, and God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to fulfill that will. "For God so loved the world, that He gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16). "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved." (Acts 16:31). Another thing you must believe, for it is the tenet of the Christian faith, is the resurrection of Christ Jesus. This is emphatically stated in each of the Gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) and its importance is preached about in the NT. "By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:2). "And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith." (1 Corinthians 15:14). "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins." (1 Corinthians 15:17). The whole point of Christ being resurrected is that He conquered death so that we never have to taste it. What good is it if Jesus didn�t raise from the dead? He would have been just another person, like everyone else who eventually dies. There would be nothing to draw us to him, nothing to demonstrate to us that he is who he says he is; then nothing he said to us would have been useful to us, for it would have been a lie. Soften your heart and receive His perfect gift of grace, that you might be saved. Pray this from your heart: "Lord, I thank you for being who you are despite who I am. I am a sinner, and I don�t deserve the mercy and grace you freely give to me. I accept your son, Christ Jesus, and the fact that he went to the cross to die for my sins, and that You raised Him again on the third day. Please send your Holy Spirit into my heart, that I might receive your blessing and instruction in my life. Thank you for your amazing grace and love. I pray this in the most holy name of Christ Jesus. Amen." If you prayed that from your heart, you are a saved, born again Christian!! Congratulations if that�s you, and welcome to the family. IV. How do I live as a Christian? It�s a good thing to accept the Lord�s gift of salvation; there is no other decision in your life as important as that one. But, what on earth does this mean? Are you the same person? How are you supposed to live? "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God�s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship." (Romans 12:1). You should live your life in such a way that will honor and please the Lord. How is that? Model your life after that of the Lord Jesus. He lived a perfect life, and the Lord even states that He is pleased with Jesus. The books of the Gospel recount the life of Jesus, and give us a glimpse of how He lived when he was here. Another way to know how to live is to constantly read the Bible! No tree can grow without water, and this is a form of spiritual water. You can�t know the will of God if you don�t read His word! This book should serve as your instruction book. Whenever you have a question, consult the Bible, and pray; He will most surely give you the answer. You are not the same person you were before you accepted Christ; you are a new man/woman! "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17). "You put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4:24). Another way to develop your growth in Him is to join a Bible-teaching church, and talk with the pastor. This is a great way to learn under the guidance of those who may have more spiritual resources available to them, and who may be more familiar with the Scriptures. I say "Bible-teaching" because there are many churches who claim to be Christian churches, but there doctrine is not derived straight from Scripture. In fact, some make up their own rules and then claim they came from Scripture! Some will alter who God is, who Jesus is; some will deny the existence of the Holy Spirit; many will ignore certain teachings of Scripture simply because it is more convenient for them to do so. Be very careful in your selection of a church home, and pray for spiritual guidance in this matter; He will deliver you. May God bless you, and teach you the way. "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, �This is the way; walk in it.�" (Isaiah 30:21). V. Scripture to start off with: John Matthew Mark Luke Ephesians Phillipians James Proverbs Psalms Acts Romans |
| The most important decision you'll ever make... |