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My Friend: I am asking
you the most important question of life. Your joy or your sorrow
for all eternity depends upon your answer. The question is: Are
you saved? It is not a question of how good you are, nor if you
are a church member, but are you saved? Are you sure you will go
to Heaven when you die?
God says in order to go to Heaven, you must be born
again. In John 3:7, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Ye must
be born again.”
In the Bible God gives us the plan of how to be born
again which means to be saved. His plan is simple! You can
be saved today. How?
First, my friend, you must realize you are a
sinner. “For all have sinned, and
come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Because you are a sinner, you are condemned to
death. “For the wages [payment]
of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This
includes eternal separation from God in Hell.
“ . . . it is appointed unto men
once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
But God loved you so much He gave His only
begotten Son, Jesus, to bear your sin and die in your place. “
. . . He hath made Him [Jesus, Who knew no sin]
to be sin for us . . . that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Jesus had to shed His blood and die. “For
the life of the flesh is in the blood”
(Lev. 17:11). “ . . . without shedding of blood is no
remission [pardon]” (Hebrews 9:22).
“ . . . God commendeth His love
toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for
us” (Romans 5:8).
Although we cannot understand how, God said my
sins and your sins were laid upon Jesus and He died in
our place. He became our substitute. It is true.
God cannot lie.
My friend, “God . . . commandeth all
men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). This
repentance is a change of mind that agrees with God that one is a
sinner, and also agrees with what Jesus did for us on the Cross.
In Acts 16:30-31, the Philippian jailer asked Paul and
Silas: “ . . . ‘Sirs, what must I do to be
saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved . . . .’ ”
Simply believe on Him as the one who bore your
sin, died in your place, was buried, and whom God resurrected. His
resurrection powerfully assures that the believer can claim
everlasting life when Jesus is received as Savior.
“But as many as received Him, to
them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to
them that believe on His name” (John 1:12).
“For whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
(Romans 10:13).
Whosoever includes you. Shall
be saved means not maybe, nor can, but shall be
saved.
Surely, you realize you are a sinner. Right now,
wherever you are, repenting, lift your heart to God in prayer.
In Luke 18:13, the sinner prayed: “God
be merciful to me a sinner.” Just pray: “Oh God, I
know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus was my substitute when He died on the
Cross. I believe His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection were for
me. I now receive Him as my Savior. I thank You for the forgiveness of my
sins, the gift of salvation and everlasting life, because of Your merciful
grace. Amen.”
Just take God at His word and claim His
salvation by faith. Believe, and you will be saved. No
church, no lodge, no good works can save you. Remember, God does
the saving. All of it!
God’s simple plan of salvation is: You are a
sinner. Therefore, unless you believe on Jesus Who died in your
place, you will spend eternity in Hell. If you believe on Him as your
crucified, buried, and risen Savior, you receive forgiveness for all of
your sins and His gift of eternal salvation by faith.
You say, “Surely, it cannot be that simple.” Yes,
that simple! It is scriptural. It is God’s plan. My friend,
believe on Jesus and receive Him as Savior today.
If His plan is not perfectly clear, read this
tract over and over, without laying it down, until you understand it.
Your soul is worth more than all the world.
“For what shall it profit a man, if
he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Mark
8:36).
Be sure you are saved. If you lose your soul, you miss
Heaven and lose all. Please! Let God save you this very moment.
God’s power will save you, keep you saved, and
enable you to live a victorious Christian life. “There
hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is
faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able;
but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be
able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Do not trust your feelings. They change. Stand
on God’s promises. They never change. After you are saved,
there are three things to practice daily for spiritual
growth:
- Pray -- you talk to God.
- Read your Bible -- God talks to you.
- Witness -- you talk for God.
You should be baptized in obedience to
the Lord Jesus Christ as a public testimony of your salvation,
and then unite with a Bible-believing church without delay. “Be
not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord . . . .”
(2 Timothy 1:8)
“Whosoever therefore shall confess
[testify of] Me before men, him will I confess
also before My Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32).
Though it is by no means necessary, the Pastor
of Hilltop Baptist Church (also the webmaster of H,B,C) would be
encouraged to hear that you have been saved by grace through faith in
Jesus Christ and His finished work.
Please drop him a short e-mail and
tell him so by Clicking
Here
To
see God’s 'Simple Plan of
Salvation' in other languages
click
here.
'God’s Simple Plan of
Salvation', used with permission. Copyright: Robert Ford Porter, 1991.
Lifegate, Inc. http://www.godssimpleplan.org. This on-line e-tract is
available in 30 other languages. Printed copies in more than 100
languages may be ordered from Lifegate, Inc. |