Do You Know Jesus?

The gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone. It does not matter what your ethnicity is, where you were born, or where you live. God loves you, Jesus died for you, and you may have eternal life through Him.

GOD LOVES YOU

God loves you so much. He wants you to experience peace and everlasting life. His love for you is unconditional. He created you. He knows all your thoughts, behaviors, attitudes, heart, and mind. He knows that we all have sin in our lives. He knows that we all have flaws. He knows that we all have thoughts and destructive behaviors, and yet, He loves us anyway. He knows all your thoughts and destructive behaviors, and yet He loves you anyway. The only love that most of us ever experience is human, and it comes with conditions and restrictions. God’s love does not come with any conditions or limitations. His love for you is boundless and unconditional.

You may be wondering if there is anything in your life that will remove you from God’s love. Romans 8:37-39 tells you, “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” See? There is nothing and no one that can ever separate you from God. He has always loved you, and He will always love you. He loves you regardless of who you are. Still need convincing? Jesus tells you in John 3:16, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

OUR SIN SEPARATES US FROM GOD

God is perfect. Jesus is perfect. We, however, are far from perfect. Jesus knew no sin. We are all sinners, and we have been since Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command in the Garden of Eden and allowed Satan to trick them into eating the forbidden fruit. (Genesis 3: 1-24). That moment in the Garden of Eden separated us from God. The Bible says that there is nothing that will separate us from God’s love; however, our sin does separate us from God. Romans 3:23 tells us that, “everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” By nature, your sins have separated you from God. He is holy, and you are not. Your sinful nature comes with a penalty of death. All of us are separated from God because of our sinful nature. We are told in Romans 6:23 that the “wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The wages of your sin is death. That may sound bleak and hopeless to you, and it should. If you continue down the path you are on without Jesus Christ in your heart and your life, you will spend eternity separated from Him. But don’t worry—God has a plan! He has a plan of redemption for you, and His name is Jesus Christ!

GOD’S PLAN FOR REDEMPTION IS FOR JESUS TO DIE ON THE CROSS FOR US

Remember that Jesus told you in John 3:16 that God loves this world so much that He gave His only Son so that anyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. That means that God loves you so much that He sent his only Son to this earth to bear the penalty of your sins. The Bible tells us in Romans 5:8 that “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Jesus is God’s son. God sent Jesus so that He could bear the enormous weight of all our sins. Jesus died on the cross so that you do not have to spend your eternity in Hell with Satan. You can spend your eternity in Heaven with Jesus!

Another way to look at this is that your sin created a debt with God, but God’s plan of salvation is for Jesus to serve as the bridge from your sins to God. When Jesus died on the cross and then rose from the grave three days later, your debt was paid in full. Jesus paid your debt for you. 1 Peter 2:24 tells us that “He carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.”

You may be wondering how to gain eternal life with Jesus, because you don’t want to spend eternity in Hell. So, what should you do? It’s simple! If you invite Jesus into your heart, repent of your sins, confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, and trust in Him, you will be saved from your sins!

YOU MAY HAVE ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST

You may have eternal life through Jesus Christ by repenting of your sins, putting your faith and trust in Jesus, and confessing with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord. The Apostle Paul puts it this way in Romans 10:9-10, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” So, if you openly declare that Jesus is your Lord, and you believe in your heart that Jesus is your Lord, and that he was raised from the dead, you will be saved. That invitation for Jesus to enter into your heart, and the belief in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, is what gives you eternal life in Heaven with Him instead of eternal life in Hell with Satan.

GOD HAS FORGIVEN YOU

Just like there is nothing that will separate you from God’s love, there is nothing that God can’t forgive. No matter what you have done, what thoughts have lurked in your mind, God can forgive you. God is ready, willing, and able to forgive your sins, as long as you ask Him. When God forgives you, He puts your sin away, and it’s never brought up again. He has already forgiven the things that we can’t forget. As David says in Psalm 103:12, God “has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” Your sin is gone once you ask Him to forgive you. His forgiveness has set you free!

ONCE YOU HAVE ACCEPTED JESUS AS YOUR SAVIOR, THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES INTO YOUR LIFE

God loves us so much that He will not leave us alone to fend for ourselves. We have a sinful nature, and if left to our own devices, we will keep on sinning. God sent Jesus to save us from our sins, and He sent the Holy Spirit to guide us as we live as Christians. The Holy Spirit comes to live with you as soon as you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Think of the Holy Spirit as God’s helper in your life. There is nothing you can do that the Holy Spirit doesn’t already know about. There are no hidden thoughts, no secrets in your life that the Holy Spirit isn’t aware of. The Holy Spirit knows everything. The Holy Spirit helps you grow in the Word, grow as a Christian, show love to those around you, and gain confidence to share Jesus with everyone in your life. In John 14:15-17, Jesus said, “’If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.” The Holy Spirit is only for Christians. You must accept Jesus as your Savior in order to receive the Holy Spirit.

THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST

The good news about Jesus Christ is that He loves you, and He wants to be a part of your life. You do not have to sacrifice your life for Jesus Christ. Jesus already did that for you. He died for you, and then he rose on the third day. Jesus is a living God! There is no other living God other than Jesus Christ. The only thing you have to do for Jesus is to (1) repent of your sins, ask God to forgive you, (2) confess that Jesus is your Savior, and (3) believe that He died for your sins and rose from the grave three days later, and finally (4) ask Him to come into your heart so that you can receive the Holy Spirit. Will you invite Jesus into your heart today?

PRAYER OF SALVATION

If you are ready to repent of your sins, ask God to forgive you and accept Jesus as your Lord, you can pray this simple prayer:

Dear God:

I am a sinner. I know that I’m a sinner. I know that I need to turn away from my sins. I understand that the penalty for my sins is death. I ask that You forgive me of my sins. I believe that you sent your only Son, Jesus, to die for my sins. I believe that He died on the cross for my sins, and that He rose from the grave. I invite Jesus into my heart and my life. I put my trust in Him, and I want to follow Him from this day forward. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The Billy Graham Evangelism Organization is an excellent resource for you if you need additional information on salvation, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, Sin or the gospel of Jesus Christ. The BGEO is also an excellent resource for archived Billy Graham sermons and online training programs.

Turning Point Ministries by Dr. David Jeremiah is also another excellent resource to help grow your faith. He has resources that will explain what a Christian is and how to use the Romans Road for salvation. He has daily radio and television broadcasts., as well as daily devotionals. To learn more about Turning Point Ministries or to become a Bible Strong Partner, may visit his website.

Awana is a global discipleship training program for children to help them learn about Jesus Christ, grow in their faith, and become lifelong followers of Jesus. Even though Awana is geared towards children, the core beliefs are the same for adults and new followers of Jesus.