Dec 04 2008
PLAN OF SALVATION
What Is God’s Plan Of Salvation?
God loves you just as you are without you doing a single thing. We as humans long for God. God has placed a desire to live forever within the heart of every person.
Most people think that one must be Holy in order for God to love them. That simply is not true. It is true that we feel the separation from God and the longing for Him. It is like some major part of you is missing and we will begin searching for that missing part. Until we find God, and accept His plan of salvation and His plan for our life, we will continue to experience the longing.
The “Good News” or “Gospel” tells of God’s love for each and every person on the face of the earth through out all time.
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
The world here means every one.
Romans 5:8 tells us that God loved us so much that: “when we were in our sin Christ Jesus came to die for us.”
Romans 3:23
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
This verse tells us that every person has sinned at sometime and fallen short of God’s intended purpose for us. God made us to know Him…. to receive His love and to love Him in return.
We can choose to accept God’s love for us or we can choose to continue down our path to destruction. God loved us first and hopes that we will return that love but He will never force us.
Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Wages are something that is earned in reward for what you have done. We have earned the reward of eternal death by the sins that we have performed.
A gift is something that is not and can not be earned. A gift is given from the heart of the giver to an unsuspecting, undeserving, and willing recipient. God’s gift to us was His only Son as our only means to Salvation. we can not earn this gift. Our only requirement is to accept the gift that God offers us.
How can God remain true to His holiness and forgive unholy sinners? Because Jesus, His Son, has paid the price for sin by His death on the cross.
II Corinthians 5:21 says, “He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we may be made the righteousness of God through Him.”
Jesus arose from the grave to conquer sin and death for all who receive Him as God’s free gift.
How can you receive God’s free gift of love and life?
Romans 10:9-10
“that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
A person receives God’s free gift of love and life by placing faith in Jesus Christ. To believe is simply to take God at His Word. With our whole heart we believe that Jesus is God’s Son who died for our sin on the cross and arose from the grave to live in us as Savior and Lord.
To believe in Jesus will result in confessing that faith with one’s mouth.
Do you acknowledge that your are a sinner?
Do you believe by faith that Jesus, God’s Son, died for your sin on the cross?
Will you now confess Him as your Savior and Lord?
Romans 10:13
“for Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
This verse says that any person who will call upon the name of Jesus, the Lord, shall be saved.
To call means simply to ask in prayer. The verse does not require one to know more… do better… clean up one’s life… or in any way try to add to what Jesus has done for us.
Will you now call upon Jesus to save you from your sin so that you can know God’s love and forgiveness?
Pray like this: “Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner, and I am sorry. I need a Savior. I know I cannot save myself. I believe by faith that Jesus, your Son, died on the cross to be my Savior. I believe He arose from the grave to live as my Lord. I turn from my sin. I ask You, Lord Jesus, to forgive my sin and come into my heart. I trust you as my Savior and receive you as my Lord. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me.”
When anyone calls on the Lord in this manner, that one is saved according to God’s Word. If you pray a prayer of repentance and faith, you are saved. You have God’s word on it.
If you have prayed this prayer to receive Christ as your Lord and Savoir, why not record your decision to follow Jesus as follows. Often times, a good place to write this would be inside the cover of your bible:
Believing by faith that God loves me and sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for my sin and arise from the grave to live in me, I, _______, do this day, ________, repent of my sin and accept Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. According to the promise of God in Romans 10:13, I have called upon His name and have His word for the assurance of my salvation.
