HOW TO ACCEPT GOD’S FREE GIFT

No matter who you are or what you’ve done, God loves you. And, He has a wonderful gift to share with you – Eternal Life. The Bible teaches that, because of sin, man is separated from God. He’s lost, and needs to be saved.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE LOST?

1. The “Lost” Are Excluded From The Family Of God

Some people have the mistaken idea that everyone is automatically a child of God. While it’s true that we’re all God’s creation, the Bible makes it plain that not everyone is God’s child. The Bible teaches that there are two spiritual families in the earth: There is the family of God, and there is the family of the devil.

Jesus said to some of the most religious people of His day – (they were religious, but they didn’t know Christ as Savior) – “You are of YOUR FATHER THE DEVIL …” (John 8:44)

1 John 3:10 reminds us, “You can tell GOD’S CHILDREN from the DEVIL’S CHILDREN, because those who BELONG TO THE DEVIL refuse to do right or to love each other.”

These verses reveal that not everyone is a child of God! Only those who have accepted God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ are a part of God’s family. Everyone else, by default, according to Jesus, “belongs to the devil” and is a “child of the devil”.

2. “Lost” People Do Not Have God’s Nature

In the natural, we know that children bear the nature and characteristics of their parents. This is true, even in the animal kingdom. A puppy, although it is small, has all of the characteristics of its parents. From the moment of birth, a piglet displays the nature and characteristics of a pig. That’s just the way it works.

Now, you could pull a pig out of the mud and give it a bath. You could put a bow around its neck, and spray it with the finest perfume. You could give it “commandments”, and tell it to stay clean. But, the moment you turn it loose, it’s going to head right back to the mud. Why? Its nature hasn’t changed! On the inside, it’s still a pig, and it’s going to act like a pig!

In the same way, you could take an unsaved person and give him “commandments”. You could give him a Bible, and tell him how God wants him to live. You could put him into the finest suit of clothes, and make him a member of the best church in the community. But, the moment he gets outside of the church building, he’s going to go right back to his old ways! Why? His nature hasn’t changed! The most important question you will ever ask yourself is this: Has my nature changed? Have I become like God on the inside?

You see, man doesn’t go to hell because of what he does - (drinking, smoking, committing adultery...) - he goes to hell because of what he is – he’s separated from God, and is a member of the wrong spiritual family! In order to change his destiny, man first has to have his nature changed. Unless he experiences (what the Bible calls) the New Birth, he’s in the wrong spiritual family, and is on his way to the wrong eternal destination.

THE CROSS WAS GOD’S SOLUTION TO MAN’S PROBLEM

The Bible makes it clear that, in ourselves, none of us is good enough to be accepted by God. Our sins have created a gulf between us, and have separated us from God. We can’t earn our way back to God through good works, because even our best efforts “are as filthy rags” in God’s sight - (Isaiah 64:4). It took something more than good works to solve man’s dilemma.

The only way the gulf between God and man could be bridged, is through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. On the Cross, man’s “sin debt” was paid in full. Jesus took the punishment that should have been ours, satisfied the claims of Divine Justice, and made it possible for man to come back to God.

HOW YOU CAN BE SAVED

Just the fact that Christ died for you is no sign that you’ll spend eternity in Heaven. God has made salvation available, but He leaves the choice with you.

If you’d like to receive this change of nature, have your sins forgiven, and become God’s child, you must receive Christ into your heart and make Him the Lord of your life. If you want to be born again, pray this prayer:

“Lord, You said in your Word that if I would come to You, that You wouldn’t turn me away for any reason - (John 6:63). I believe You meant what You said, and so I’m coming to You, today!

God, I know I’m a sinner. I’m sorry for my sins, and I’m willing to turn from my sins, to the best of my ability. I believe that Jesus died on the Cross, and was raised from the dead so I could come back to God. And, right now, I receive Him as my Lord and my Savior. I give my life to You, Jesus, and I ask You to come into my heart.

Thank you for making me a child of God. According to the Bible, Jesus is in my heart! Heaven is my home! And, I am saved! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”