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WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED???

Most people have heard the scripture from John 3:16.  It says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."

There are some things about God you must understand to fully understand this verse.  One is that He is just.  That means that no sin goes unpunished.  If He allowed some sin to go without consequence, then that would be like Him saying that some sin is okay.  But God is also holy, which means He is separated from sin and cannot look on sin and He's just so sin has to be punished.

With that in mind, the Bible tells us in Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."  Since we have all sinned and God is just, all of us deserve punishment.  Punishment for sin is death.   Romans 6:23 tells us: "For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."  We would have to die to be able pay for our own sins.  This leads us to the another part of God that we should be so thankful for.  This is His love for us.  John 3:16 says that He loved the world so much that He gave His only Son.  His Son is Jesus Christ.  God saw that we had all sinned and that sin must be punished, but He loves us too much to let us all die.  To account for our sins, He sent Jesus to come into this world to die so we wouldn't have to.  We have done nothing to deserve this, but it is a gift from God.   Jesus came to this earth and not only revealed more to us about the character of God, but, took our place in death for our sins.

This was a gift from God.  We didn't deserve it and did nothing to earn it.  God loves us all and there is not a person out there to whom this gift of salvation is not available for.  The Bible says that God is no respecter of persons. Because of the love of God and the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins, we do not have to die, but we can have eternal life with God.  And God made it easy for us to be saved. John 3:16 says all we have to do is believe and we will not perish but have everlasting life.  Sound too good to be true?   It is too good but it's still the truth.  All we have to do is believe that Jesus died for our sins and we are saved!  It's as easy as that! 

After we become saved, then we are to try to live a life that God wants us to live.   When we believe that Jesus died for us, that saves us from our sins and it is our responsibility to make Him Lord of our lives.  This doesn't mean that we are earning our salvation, but it is our duty to make Jesus Lord of our lives for saving us.  He gave His life for us and we must give up our lives for Him.  Sound hard?  We can make it hard, but the great thing about God is that He helps us to live the life that He wants us to live.  I Corinthians 10:13 says, "There hath no temptation 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."  Not only does He keep us from dying for our own sins, but He helps us to live a holy and pleasing life for Him. 

Now, it's up to you.  You want a deal that is too good but true?  All you have to do is say this prayer and mean it from your heart:

"Father, I thank you so much for Jesus who you sent to die in my place for my sins. I know I don't deserve this gift but I thank you that I am able to accept it because of Your love for me.  I believe that Jesus sacrificed His own life for my sake and I want to place Him on the throne of my heart.  I want to live in a way that is pleasing to You and I ask You to help me do that.  I also ask that you help me to share this wonderful gift with those who are around me so that they may know Your gracious love.  Thank  you for saving me and loving me.   In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen."

That's all there is to it.  You are now a Christian.   Start living a life that pleases God and allow Him to help you.  Find a church family that you can worship with and pray with and that will help you grow spiritually by studying the Word of God.  If you have any questions or would like someone to be praying for you, send us an e-mail!  May God bless you!!!