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Your presence on this page indicates an interest in having a right relationship with God. I want to thank you for coming to this page. My prayer is that you will quietly reflect, ponder, wrestle, and you may even become angry or emotional, and that is fine. I have been there. In fact all of us who are Christians, reborn supernaturally by the Holy Spirit, we have all been there. Don't worry if you do not have a Bible because the text will be right there on the page. There are resources that you can use right here as you seek to know God. Better yet, if you have a Bible you can look up the specific books in the Table of Contents and read along.
May I ask you a question? "If you were going to die tonight...are you sure you would go to heaven?" Any less than 100% certainty is a sign that you need to consider what I am going to say. I could show you how you could know from the Bible the answer to this question, I am sure you would allow me the privilege of showing you. On that assumption I would like to take you to the Book of Romans, found in the New Testament. In Romans 3:10 we read "as it is written: "There is none righteous, no not one;" This verse points out that I am not righteous and that every person born into this world since Adam and Eve are sinners. In fact when we go to Romans 3:23 we read "for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God," which means that all of us fall short of God's standards. There is nothing that you and I can do to measure up to God's perfection. Like the old saying goes, "we are only human." And being human means we are far from God. We find in Romans 5: 12 that "Therefore, even as through one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed on all men inasmuch as all sinned:" which shows that the entrance of sin in human history had a beginning. Originally God and Adam's hearts were knit together. But through Adam's disobedience the perfect relationship between God and Adam was broken. The result was that Adam died both spiritually (right away his heart became separated from God) and physically (died over time until his appointed time to die). Now as a result we, the descendants of Adam and Eve, inherit spiritual and physical death. When we read Romans 5:8, we find that "But God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." Here we find Christ died on the cross and became our substitute by taking our place. That is how much God loved us! In Romans 6:23 we see that "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Most of us work for wages. Just like getting paid for work we do, our pay for being a sinner is death! The good news is that "...the gift of God is eternal life." If someone gives you a gift and you receive it, you know you have it, right? Romans 10:13 is a promise. "For everyone, "whoever shall call on the name of the Lord will be saved." If we call on the name of the Lord, we will be saved...not maybe! But...will! How does this all take place? In Romans 10:9-10 we read "Because if you confess the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation." This means that there is a need to recognize that God gives you the gift of faith and the gift of repentance in order that you would believe. You are made a new creature, a new person so that you will desire God. Your desire to believe and receive this gift of eternal life which is a gift from God. You receive it by grace which means "unmerited favour". The Bottom line is you cannot earn it. God gives it to you. This allows you to repent, which means to "turn away from" how you lived before, when you were apart and separated from God. Romans 3:24 states " being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus;" and Romans 3:38 tells us "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the works of the law." In Romans 5:1 we read "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." And we can conclude with Romans 5:9 that "Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." Now as you respond to God's grace through trusting (what the Bible calls "faith") in God, it is God Himself who declares you to be justified (an exchange whereby all your sins are placed upon Jesus, and all His righteousness is placed upon you so that when God looks at you, He sees what Jesus Christ has done for you) and you receive forgiveness when you call upon the Name of the Lord in sincere repentance. Another verse in Revelation 3:20, which is the last book of the Bible, reads: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him and he with Me." This is a promise which shows Christ outside our lives. He wants to come into our hearts and become the centre of our lives. He says He will come in, IF we ask Him! Friend, you have patiently made your way down this page and you have read the words...but they are more than words...they words that bring life to those who believe. If your heart has been stirred and you desire to receive a dynamic relationship with Christ in your life, you can do so NOW and you can know that you are saved. I do not believe in formulas for salvation. But, I also believe that we can be of help to those who desire God in their lives. So I want to help you. If you mean business with the Lord, you talk with Him as you would with any other person and share words like these, "Lord, I know I'm a lost sinner. I'm asking you to forgive me of my sins and to come into my heart and be my Lord and Saviour. In the Name of the Lord Jeus Christ. Amen." If you have asked Christ into your life, then according to Romans 10:13 "whoever shall call on the name of the Lord will be saved." You are now a Christian and if you died tonight, you would go to heaven. Now that you have become a Christian it is important for you to do a couple of things. First should tell someone what has happened. This is being a witness or giving testimony of what God has done for you. You can tell a friend or even another Christian that you know. It is important that you share what God has done. Matthew 10:32 says "Then everyone who shall confess Me before men, I will confess him before My Father who is in Heaven." Second, it would also be good for you to gather with other believers and make a public confession of your newfound faith. Remember that you have been born again spiritually and you will benefit from an environment that encourages you to grow up spiritually. Your spiritual nourisment will come from reading the Bible and being around other believers in an interactive and interdependent relationship that will offer encouragement and a place to grow and develop and use your spiritual gifts. Maturity comes about in community with other believers. Pray and seek after a place that will be these things to you. If you made this decision to respond to God and receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, would you let me know. You can email the office. Just let me know what happened. If you want help in finding a church I would be happy to be of assistance. Welcome to the Family of God! God bless you! Sam Buick |
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