The Bible teaches that there are two prerequisites for salvation: repentance and faith. In Acts 20:21 we read, “testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” Every person born on this earth, except for the Lord Jesus Christ, was born in sin. We aren’t sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners. God gave the Ten Commandments to us as a standard to live by. Because He is a holy God, He requires us to be holy also. We would not know His standard of holiness if it wasn’t for the Ten Commandments. The Bible says in Romans 3:19, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. The Bible also says in Galatians 3: 24, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” Every one of us has broken at least one of His commandments and the Scripture tells us in James 2:10, that if we have broken one commandment, we are guilty of breaking all of them.
In order to be saved, we must recognize the fact that we are sinners and fall short of the standard that God has given us to live by. We cannot be good enough to get to Heaven on our own merits. Romans 3:23 tells us, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” That is why God sent His only Son to live on this earth and then die for our sins. He lived a perfect life, the life you and I couldn’t live, and then died on a cross to pay for all of our sins. In 2 Corinthians 5:21, the Bible tells us, “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.” Everyone of us were separated from God by our sins, but Jesus paid for those sins so that we might be justified in God’s eyes. Romans 3:24-25 states, “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” Jesus did for us what we cannot do for ourselves and made salvation available to all mankind.
crossHow do we obtain this salvation? That is the best part of all! Jesus paid for our sins when he died on the cross, and then made salvation a free gift to all who would receive it. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” A gift is not earned or paid for by the receiver. It is just received. God’s gift to us is salvation through Jesus Christ. All we have to do is receive that gift by faith.
If you would like to be saved, all you have to do is agree with God that you have broken His laws and have sinned. Repentance, from a Biblical perspective, means to change your mind and agree with God about your sin. It is more than being sorry. It is a conscious act to do something about it. Once we recognize our sin and repent of it, all we have to do is call upon the Lord to save us. Romans 10:13 tells us, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Jesus provided everything that we need so that we can be saved.
If you have never repented of your sin and called upon the Lord to save you, wouldn’t you like to do that today? If you really mean it, you can pray a simple prayer like this one. “Lord, I know I am a sinner and have broken your law. I cannot do anything on my own to get to Heaven. I know that Jesus died on a cross to pay for my sins. I ask you now, the best I know how, to come into my heart and saved me. Thank you for hearing my prayer and giving me eternal life through your Son, Jesus Christ.”
heavenIf you are serious with God, He will certainly hear and answer your prayer. The Bible says in I John 5:13, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” The Bible tells us that we can know for sure that we are going to Heaven when we die. If you have prayed to receive Christ as your personal savior, please contact us so that we can rejoice with you and send you information about your new life in Christ.