The Apostle Paul presents, in a plain and simple way, what you must do to be saved:
“Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:31)
To “believe” in something means to accept it as absolutely and indisputably true.
So according to Paul, you must believe, by grace through repentance and faith, in Jesus Christ.
Repentance turning away from sin and toward Christ. Faith is turning to, trusting in, and relying on Christ because of His love for you displayed through His death and resurrection.
Here is a question and answer narrative describing who He is and what He has done.
Read the narrative “as if” it is you responding to the questions. For example, if someone asked you “Who is Jesus?,” you could respond by saying that “Jesus is….”
Who is Jesus?
Jesus is the only begotten Son of the one true and only living, Creator God, God the Son, the Christ, the long awaited Messiah, the Anointed One, the Chosen One, the Perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He was God incarnate, the deity of God in human form, the Word of God in the flesh, truly God and truly man who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin named Mary and the only human being who ever lived a sinless, righteous life. Jesus is also the only human who was not born of the seed of Adam and therefore not cursed with the sin nature like all of us. His name means, “Savior. He will save His people from their sins.” That’s why he came. That’s why He was born. And that’s why He died. Jesus is my Lord, my Redeemer, my Savior and my Master.
What did Jesus do for you?
He was arrested, beaten, falsely convicted, had His hands and feet nailed to a cross, His side pierced with a spear, bled and died to pay the penalty for my sins and the sins of all mankind. On the third day, God raised Him in a victory over death to grant me eternal life in Heaven.
Why did Jesus do this?
He did it for just one reason… love. Love, not only for me, but for everyone. Nobody else could or would ever do that in a million years.
What did it cost you?
It cost me nothing. My debt was paid in full. I didn’t have to do a thing except accept His grace.
What did it cost Him?
It cost Him his life. He willfully suffered beyond belief, He bled and died and His body was placed in a tomb.
Were you there? Did you witness it?
No. It happened almost 2000 years before I was even born.
Did anything else happen?
Yes. On the third day God raised Him from the dead and He walked out of that tomb.
Were you there? Did you witness that?
No. I did not see it, but many others did. I heard about it and read about it though.
Do you believe this really happened? How?
Yes, I do. “The apostles were either deceived or deceivers, but they were neither… “for it is not possible to mistake a man raised from the dead.” (Pascal) They saw him die, placed in a tomb and raised from the dead. Jesus was a real person and all these things that happened were not only prophesized thousands of years before they happened, but also witnessed by many people and recorded in various historical documents, many by those who knew Him and followed Him. King David, in the Psalms 22, prophetically described aspects of Jesus’ crucifixion 1000 years before it happened, even though crucifixion was not a method of execution used during David’s time. Jesus even foretold of his own death and resurrection. Some wrote accounts in the Bible of His life and ministry, His miracles, His crucifixion, His resurrection and His ascension into Heaven and more.
But, I really believe it, by faith, not only because I read about it and heard it from others, but because God actually revealed it as the “Truth” through His Spirit. It was not the audible voice of God, but His Holy Spirit who communicated with my spirit that I was indeed a child of God and an heir to eternal life. It’s hard to explain this, but it’s happened to a whole lot of people through the years.
What is your response for what He did for you? What do you have to do?
What He did was a free gift of God’s grace. By His grace, God gave me what I needed (a Savior) and not what I deserved (death and eternal punishment). It was the Holy Spirit who provided “sufficient light” as He drew me closer to Him and convicted me of my sins and made me realize that I was dead in my sin and needed what only God could provide.
The only thing I had to do was to accept His gift by repenting of my sins and believing in my heart that Jesus was the Son of God who died on a cross to pay the penalty for my sins and that God raised Him from the dead so I could be granted eternal life. The Holy Spirit took it from there as He transformed me into a spiritual rebirth, where I was born again (for the second time), as a new creation in Christ.
A lot of other wonderful things have happened in my life since then. I made a personal decision to accept Jesus as my Lord and live my life for the One who lost His own life when He died for sinners like me. I am a Christian, a born again believer, a follower of Jesus Christ, a child of God and an heir of eternal life in that holy city and I’m not ashamed of it in any way and I’ll tell anyone who will listen… and even some who won’t.
What are the benefits of accepting His free gift?
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, to name a few; the content of the character of Christ. I’m not the man I used to be, that’s for sure. You cannot be born again and still be the same person you were. My sins have been forgiven and forgotten and I have a righteous, love relationship with the God of the Universe through His Son and have been granted eternal life when that day comes, as a perfect person in God’s perfect new creation. And all of my loved ones who accepted Christ will be there, too!
What are the consequences of not accepting His gift?
The consequences? If I refused to accept His grace, I would still be condemned and have to pay the penalty for my own sins in the lake of fire, the abyss, the outer darkness… Hell, with all the other fools who are there, where I would be tormented along with everyone else, without ceasing, forever and ever; permanently and irreversible for eternity. And eternity is a long, long time to be wrong.
How does anyone make that fatal mistake? How can you live you whole life on this earth and still miss the mark when God Himself paid the penalty of sin for all? Too many do and too many have and too many more will. Fools. God does not send anybody to Hell. Sin does. And He gave us all a way out of that mess because of His love and grace through the death and resurrection of Christ. How can you reject the Good News of Jesus Christ simply because you don’t want to believe it? When we reject Christ, Satan rejoices. The sad truth is that more will reject Him than accept Him.
Don’t be wrong. Do not be deceived. Keep traveling on the narrow road which leads to the small gate. We have no excuse!
Thank you Lord Jesus!
This is the absolute and indisputable “Truth” and it is the “Truth” that will set you free!
Reading Assignment:
Read the Gospel of John in its entirety, for it tells us of Christ, of the ‘greatest life ever lived,’ and what He has done for us… because faith comes from from hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ (the gospel). And people hear the Good News when someone tells them about (or when you read about) Christ.” (Romans 10:17 ERV; emphasis added).
Remember that faith requires a knowledge of what God has said through His Word. It is by hearing the the Good News that the Holy Spirit begins to do His work in you. It is the Holy Spirit who grants you the gift of faith, enabling you to believe in Jesus Christ, and then transforms you into a spiritual rebirth, born again, as a new creation in Christ. This is absolutely essential for you to know and understand.
With the Bible App, your Bible will always be with you because your phone is always with you. We also recommend the app because you can choose the translation of the scripture you are reading. For this assignment we are recommending the Amplified Bible (AMP). “Amplifications” are words or phases intended to more fully bring out the meaning of the original text, but distinguished from the translation by a unique system of brackets, parentheses and italics.
Earnestly and persistently seek the Holy Spirit while reading God’s Word.
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