Prayer at 9:00am / Worship at 10:00am
Plan of Salvation
What would you say is the most important decision a person will ever make?
What their job is? Who they will marry? Where they will live? What investments they will assemble?
We could list several important decisions that a person must make in this life, but there is only one decision that will determine where we will spend eternity.
Each of us has the choice to live in heaven forever, or be confined to hell forever. This means eternal joy, or eternal suffering when we leave this world. We get to choose!
Please don’t be confused, religion won’t save you, only a relationship with the Lord will, (Matthew 7:21-27). This means we don’t get to go to heaven based on how “good” of a person we are, what church we belong to, (or don’t), or how much money we have given to charity.
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
This simple verse has been called the “gospel in a nutshell” because it gives us all the important facts about our salvation. Please read it again and look for the “who”, “why”, “what”, “where”, and “how” of eternal life.
There is an example in the Bible where the apostle Peter was preaching to a crowd and telling them about this “gospel truth” and the people cried out, “What shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-” (Acts 2:37-39)
Friend be assured that this “plan of salvation”, this blue print for eternal life also applies to you and to me!
The Bible tells us that God loves all people, (regardless of what we’ve done), He is patient with us and that He doesn’t want any one to perish, but wants all men to be saved from an eternity in hell. (John 3:16, 1st Timothy 2:3-4, 2nd Peter 3:9)
If we look at Peter’s words he first says that we should repent. To start this process we need to admit that we are sinners. (If you have ever sinned, you are a sinner. Romans 3:23).
After we realize our sinfulness we must acknowledge that the Bible says the wages of sin is death, (Romans 6:23). This includes eternal separation from God, (going to hell). (2nd Thessalonians 1:8-9) These truths should create in us a Godly sorrow for our sins that leads us to repent, or desire to turn away from our sins. (2 Corinthians 7:8-11).
Because God loves each of us so much, He sent Jesus to bear our sin and die in our place. (John 3:16)
Romans 5:8 says it this way, “God demonstrates His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Although we can’t understand how, the Bible says that our sins were laid upon Jesus and He died in our place as our substitute. On Easter morn He rose back to life and thereby conquered sin, death, and the devil. It is Christ’s blood and resurrection that assures us of everlasting life when we make Him our Lord and Savior. This is God’s “plan of salvation” for us.
Romans 10:9-10 shows us how easy it is to implement this plan. It says, “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
If you understand that you are a sinner, and you believe that Jesus came for the purpose of saving us from the penalty, power, and presence of sin, then you understand God’s “plan of salvation” for us. It is available to all who would accept it. Faith is the only condition and this is not from ourselves, it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8)
The question is, have you accepted this gift? Have you made Jesus your Lord and Savior? Do you realize that the spirit inside of you will either spend eternity in heaven, or eternity in hell?
You might think that you don’t have to make this decision today. Be Careful!!! Some of the people reading this have less time left on this earth than they might think. Please understand that this is not some lame scare tactic, it is the simple truth. Things beyond our control can happen in the blink of an eye. Just pick up any newspaper for the proof.
If you desire to take God up on His offer, then just pray a simple prayer like this:
“Dear God, I know that I am a sinner. I am sorry for all the things that I have done wrong and I ask for your forgiveness. Jesus I want you to be my Lord and Savior and I yield my life to you. Please send your Holy Spirit to live inside of me and guide me for the rest of my days. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.”
If you decided to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, congratulations and welcome into God’s family! Please feel free to contact us and let us know you have placed your faith in Jesus. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:44
Your next step should be to get baptized as commanded by Jesus. Find other believers that can answer your questions, support you, fellowship with you, and disciple you to know Jesus.
Get involved with a local church where you can regularly worship the Lord.
Read the Bible and pray daily so that you will mature in your relationship and grow closer with the Lord.
May God bless you and your relationship with Him.