NEED TO KNOW
If you think about it, whatever we do and whatever
decisions we need to make, we need to know certain things in order to do a job
right or in order to make an intelligent decision.
The most important decision that anyone can make is to
trust the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sin and eternal life.
We usually refer to it as being “saved”.
If you ask someone who has not trusted Jesus as their
Savior if they are saved, they, in many cases won’t understand what you talking
about. They may respond saying they
don’t know what you are talking about.
Or, they respond with a “no”. Or
they may say “yes”, thinking that being saved is something entirely different
from what you know it is.
If someone is going to make a decision to trust Christ
as Savior, there are certain things they need to know.
1. THEY ARE SINNERS WHO DON’T DESERVE HEAVEN
Before a person can be saved, he or she must realize
that he is lost! That is, that they
aren’t going to Heaven in their current state.
Many people have a wrong idea about what sin is.
Many will refer to sin as just being human or simply
making a mistake.
If you ask them if they are sinners, they will say
“no”.
If you ask them why God should let them into Heaven,
they’ll tell you because they are basically good people who try to do good
things.
Many people think that sin is what murderers, bank
robbers, drug users and adulterers do.
They do not consider themselves to be sinners, who
need help.
But the Scriptures paint a totally different picture.
Romans
If you compare yourself to other human beings, you can
usually come to the conclusion that you are not such a bad person. You can always find people who are more
immoral, more nasty, more dishonest or more
hypocritical than you are.
But when we compare ourselves to God we find that we
are definitely inferior. We have “fallen
short” compared to a righteous, holy, God.
This is bad news. But it gets worse as we examine
Isaiah 64:6.
But we are all as an unclean thing, and
all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we
all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
This verse is very graphic.
We are all dirty.
And though we may think ourselves to be very
righteous, our righteousness is like filthy rags.
You have probably met people who thought they were
smartly dressed, when in reality their clothes were not nice at all.
Anyone who is trying to get to Heaven based on their
own righteousness or goodness is dressed in filthy rags because they are trying
to place their righteousness on the same level as God’s. It doesn’t work.
It says that all fade like a leaf. Leaves eventually shrivel up, so does our
righteousness fade in proportion to God’s righteousness.
And our iniquities are so bad, that they carry us away
like a good stiff wind!
So, basically put, we do not deserve to be in the
presence of God because of our sin. He is holy and we are not. We don’t deserve to go to Heaven because God
is holy and we are not.
So why is this a
problem? Ezekiel 18:4 answers that
question.
Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul
of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Because He is creator, God owns everyone.
The rich, the poor, the famous, the infamous, the showy,
the bland, all belong to God.
That means every one of us will answer to God.
Romans
And then the verse adds, the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Death is separation.
A dead body is separated from life.
A dead soul is separated from God.
A dead soul suffers in Hell
And Romans 6:23a tells us more - For the wages
of sin is death;
If we are paid what we deserve, everyone
of us has earned spiritual death, spiritual separation from God.
God is a righteous God, and therefore requires that
payment be made for our sins.
But there is good news for all sinners.
2. THERE IS A SAVIOR WHO DIED FOR THEM
We just said that God is a righteous, holy God,
requiring payment for sin.
But the good news is that not only is God righteous
and holy, but God is a God of love.
God in His love made a way for our sins to be paid for
as Romans 5:6-8 tells us. - For when we
were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. [7] For
scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some
would even dare to die.
[8] But God commendeth
his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
When we were without strength Christ died for the
ungodly.
We have already showed you that the ungodly is all of
us.
And when Christ died for us it was in “due time” or as
the NASB says, “in the right
time”.
Paul goes on to state that it would be understandable
if someone might die for someone who was righteous or good, but we are neither.
But God’s love was so strong that He sent His Son to
die while we were yet sinners.”
2 Corinthians
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.
Jesus, God’s Son, did not deserve to die, but He died
in your place and mine.
He was sinless - You and I are not.
He was perfect – You and I are not.
He did not deserve to die – You and I do.
He did not deserve to suffer for our sins – You and I
do.
3. THERE IS SALVATION THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST
First of all, we must remember to tell those who are
hearing the Gospel, that Jesus is alive from the dead!
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 - For I delivered unto you first of all that
which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the
scriptures; [4] And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day
according to the scriptures:
Salvation, or being rescued from the penalty of our
sin, is not based on what we do, but on what we believe.
Romans 5:1 - Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
To be justified is to be declared right with God.
Notice we don’t earn being right with God, we are declared
right God, based on our faith.
We end up with peace with God and actually become His
children
John 1:12 - 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:
We mentioned the first part of Romans
But now look at the whole verse.
For the wages of sin is death; but the
gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Salvation is a gift based on what Christ did to die
for our sins.
Ephesians 2:8-9 - 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.
Grace is God giving me what I don’t deserve as a gift.
It is “God’s Riches At
Christ’s Expense”!
I accept this gift by faith.
Of course, the Gospel has been summed up nicely by
John 3:16
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.
We need to realize that God has provided each
individual a choice. If we decide to
believe on Jesus Christ and accept his free gift, we have eternal life and a
new life now.
If we fail to accept His free gift, we have a problem.
John
There are many who have heard the Gospel and have
failed to act on it. Failing to believe
is rejecting Christ’s free offer.
I can’t help it if somebody fails to trust Christ for
forgiveness and eternal life.
However I am responsible to share what I know with
others, so they have the opportunity to believe.
Romans
Your unsaved friends and loved ones need to know three
things in order to make a decision to trust Christ as Savior.
1. THEY ARE SINNERS WHO DON’T DESERVE HEAVEN
2. THERE IS A SAVIOR WHO DIED FOR THEM
3. THERE IS SALVATION THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST
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