Eternal Life

December 14, 2006 @ 10:34 pm by Pressed

What is the meaning of this life on earth?
Do you know where you will spend eternity?
Do you know what happens when you die?

It is a fact that all people who have existed on this planet have eternal life. There is never a point that we just don’t exist anymore. When we die we still exist, but the real question is where will we exist. Will we be in an eternity apart from God, or will we be in an eternity with God.

God wants you to be sure.

God created this world and he created people in this world with a purpose, to glorify himself. God’s people are created to glorify his most holy name. There is no other God, there is only one. And that one God has created you and me and everthing on this planet.

God himself has given meaning and purpose to life. Yet our sin keeps us from fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives. Thus…

OUR NEED IS TO UNDERSTAND OUR PROBLEM.

What is sin? Sin is our crimes against God. God has a set standard of rules and morlas, and when we break those we break the law of God, therefore we sin.

We are all sinners by nature and by choice. “all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). From birth we are sinful. We cannot fulfill our purpose in life because we were born with a sinful nature.

We cannot save ourselves.“Not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:9). Man is not the center of all things God is. Mad did not create the heavens and the earth. Man did not cause the birds to fly and the rain to fall. Man cannot control the wind because man is not God. There is no work or job that man can do to save himself. There is nothing that man has or can possess on his own strength that can get him to heaven. It is God and God alone who saves people.

We deserve death and hell.“The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Just like people who commit murder deserve to go to jail, people who commit crimes against God deserve to be punished. Why is this?

1. God is an eternal God, he has always existed and always will.
2. God’s laws and rules are eternal and true because God is eternal and true.
3. Any crime or sin that is against the laws of an eternal God deserve an eternal punishment
4. We have all sinned against an eternal God so we all desrve an eternal punishment.

It is true that:
God is holy and just and must punish sin, but he wants to fulfill his purpose through us, so he has provided forgiveness for his people and a way for us to fulfill the purpose he created us for.

GOD HAS PROVIDED A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM.

The Bible states it this way, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16) God sent Jesus to take our punishment so that we don’t have to.

This is a gift from God that we do nothing to earn. “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23) Man doesn’t earn this gift through doing anything on his own strenght.

There is only one way to receive this gift, and that is through Jesus. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

We can live a full and meaningful life right now as God intended.“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). Since God created us with a purpose in life, and we cannot fulfill that purpose because of sin, then it is through Jesus Christ dieing for our sin that gives us the opportunity to fulfill that purpose.

When we receive this gift it means that we will no longer be seperated from God, and we will spend an eternity with him in the place he has prepared for us. “I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:3)

WHO IS THIS JESUS CHRIST AND WHAT DID HE DO?

Jesus is God and became man.“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:1,14).

Jesus died for us on the cross.“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).

Jesus was resurrected from the dead. “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:25).

THERE IS ALWAYS A CHOICE?

It is good news that Jesus died for us,…but the only way Jesus can affect our lives is for us to receive Him. The Bible says,”Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). It is through our beleiving in God, and having faith that Jesus rose from the dead to save us from sin that we can receive this gift.

The choice is ours, Thus…

WHAT IS OUR RESPONSE TO GOD?

We must repent of our sin. “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out” (Acts 3:19). Repentance is not just feeling sorry for our sin it is completely turning from our sin, so that we will not do it again.

“They should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds” (Acts 26:20).

Repentance is turning to God through Jesus and away from our sin. It’s like making a U-turn.
As we turn…

We must place our faith in Jesus.“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

Faith is not just believing facts about Jesus. “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and they shudder” (James 2:19)

Faith is trusting in something you have not seen, having faith in Christ even though you did not see him die with your own eyes.

To trust in Jesus means…

We must surrender to Jesus as Lord. “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” (Romans 10:9-10).

Jesus tell us in order to be saved we must take up our cross, deny ourselves and follow him. Which means we have to deny ourselves in order to serve God. You may have to give up things in your life.

Surrendering to Jesus as Lord is not just saying we give our lives to Jesus. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

Surrenderingto Jesus as Lord means giving Jesus control of our lives. That is, we just give all we know of ourselves to all we know of God.

To give Jesus control of our lives is like driving down the highway with another person. As long as you are driving, you are in control. If you realize you don’t know the way, but the other person does, you might say, “You take the wheel and drive.” Then the other person is in control and the two of you take the route he or she chooses.

As evidence of giving Jesus control, you will want to identify with Him. The New Testament way of identification is to confess Jesus publicly (Matthew 10:32-33) and to follow Him in baptism and church membership (Acts 2:41).

THREE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:
1. Does what you have been reading make sense to you? If not feel free to e-mail me with any questions you may have at craig@goneapeweb.com.
2. Do you feel conviction and sorrow for the sins that you commit against God?
3. Are you willing to turn from your sin and place your faith in Jesus right now?

The Bible says,”Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

If you answerd yes to these three questions then you need to ask the Lord Jesus to save you.

Read this prayer and see if it says what you want to say to God.
Dear God, I know that Jesus is Your Son, and that He died on the cross and was raised from the dead. I know I have sinned and need forgiveness. I am willing to turn from my sins and receive Jesus as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for saving me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Call on the Lord in repentance, faith, and surrender, using these or similar words of your own; and Jesus will become your Savior and Lord.

REMEMBER it is not the prayer that saves you, its God himself who changes you and forgives you.

Welcome to the family of God. If you sincerely felt the presence of God convicting you of your sin and you prayed this prayer, you have just made the most important decision of your life. You can be sure you are saved and have eternal life and you are now a child of God

YOUR ASSURANCE….You know you have eternal life
because:

God keeps His promises.
God brought you to confessed and repented of your sin (Acts 3:19).
God placed in you faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9).
God brought you to surrender to Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9-10

God himself has saved you!

God heard your prayer. “For, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).

God recorded your commitment. “rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20).

WHAT DO I DO NOW?

You need to grow as a Christian.
The Bible calls new Christians “babes in Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:1). Without certain essentials, babies will not develop normally.

The church is to a new Christian what the home and family are to a baby.

You identify with your new family by confessing Jesus publicly and by experiencing believer’s baptism. “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day” (Acts 2:41).

Attend a church Sunday. Find a church that beleives in the inerrant bible as God’s holy word and who beleives in Jesus Christ as lord, and share with the pastor that you want to be baptized and become a member of the church.

Praying is to spiritual life what breathing is to physical life.

Breathing must be regular and continuous. The Bible says, “Pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Learn to be specific in your praying. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

God’s Word is to a new Christian what good food is to a baby.

Good food is a daily requirement for proper growth. “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation” (1 Peter 2:2).

My best time for daily prayer and Bible reading is

Learning to witness is to a Christian what

learning to talk is to a baby. Christ commands us to share the good news with others “You will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8).

If you prayed that prayer then please e-mail me or let me reffer you to a church that will help you in any way that they can! Check out Temple Baptist Church at http://www.tbcsullivan.com and contact the pastor or e-mail me at pressed (aht) avoidingevil (doht) com.

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