How
You Can Know God's Love
"There
is a God in Heaven who loves you as you are and
not as you should be."
Yes... you are right... there is a God. You know
that must be true. The heart of the human being
longs for God, and logic demands divine
existence.
While everyone believes God is... most sense
separation from God. We know God must be holy and
good. We see ourselves as unholy and not good. We
conclude that God is angry with us and we cannot
know Him.
Good News! This Testament of God's love is His
Word to tell us that He loves us as we are. That
love will save us from our sin and make us what
we should be as God's children.
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John 3:16
"For
God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but
have eternal life."
We hear Jesus say, "God so loved the world." God's love has no limitations. He loves
"so". More than we can imagine. He loves
everyone - not just some ones.
Romans 5:8 tells us that God loved us so that "when we were in
our sin Christ Jesus came to die for us."
Romans 3:23
"for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"
This verse tells us that all people have sinned. We have
fallen short of God's intended purpose for us. God made
us to know Him.... to receive His love and to love him in
return.
For love to be love... for God to be God... and for
humans to be humans.... God gave us a choice. We can
choose to love ourselves and turn to our selfish
pursuits. That is sin. In our sin we cannot know God and
His love. The result of sin is that we are lost...
separated from God.
Romans 6:23
"For
the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Wages are just payment... due reward... what one has
coming because of labor. The just payment for our sin is
death.
Death here means spiritual insensitivity. When we are
still in our sin, we have no life with God. We are alive
physically but dead spiritually. If we continue in that
condition, we will be separated from God for all
eternity.
The wages of sin is death. but God's free gift is eternal
life. While wages are earned, a gift is offered... no
strings attached. God says He will give us eternal life -
life with Him - in the place of sin's payment of death.
How can God remain true to His holiness and forgive
unholy sinners? Because Jesus, His Son, has paid the
price for sin by His death on the cross.
Second Corinthians 5:21 says, "He who knew no sin
became sin for us, that we may be made the righteousness
of God through Him."
Jesus arose from the grave to conquer sin and death for
all who receive Him as God's free gift.
How can you receive God's free gift of love and life?
Romans 10:9-10
"that
if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe
in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will
be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting
in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses,
resulting in salvation."
A person receives God's free gift of love and life by
placing faith in Jesus Christ. To believe is simply to
take God at His word. With our heart (whole believing) we
believe that Jesus is God's Son who died for our sin on
the cross and arose from the grave to live in us as
Savior and Lord.
To believe in Jesus will result in confessing that faith
with one's mouth.
Do you acknowledge that your are a sinner?
Do you believe by faith that Jesus, God's Son, died for
your sin on the cross?
Will you now confess Him as your Savior and Lord?
Romans 10:13
"for
Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be
saved."
This verse says that any person who will call upon the
name of Jesus, the Lord, shall be saved.
To call means simply to ask in prayer. The verse does not
require one to know more... do better... clean up one's
life... or in any way try to add to what Jesus has done
for us.
Will you now call upon Jesus to save you from your sin so
that you can know God's love and forgiveness?
Pray like this: "Dear God, I
confess that I am a sinner, and I am sorry. I need a
Savior. I know I cannot save myself. I believe by faith
that Jesus, your Son, died on the cross to be my Savior.
I believe He arose from the grave to live as my Lord. I
turn from my sin. I ask You, Lord Jesus, to forgive my
sin and come into my heart. I trust you as my Savior and
receive you as my Lord. Thank you, Jesus, for saving
me."
When anyone calls on the Lord in this manner, that one is
saved according to God's Word. If you pray a prayer of
repentance and faith, you are saved. You have God's word
on it.
If you have prayed this prayer to receive Christ as your
Lord and Savoir, why not record your decision to follow
Jesus as follows. Often times, a good place to write this
would be inside the cover of your bible:
Believing by faith that God loves me
and sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for my sin and
arise from the grave to live in me, I, _______, do this
day, ________, repent of my sin and accept Jesus Christ
as my personal Lord and Savior. According to the promise
of God in Romans 10:13, I have called upon His name and
have His word for the assurance of my salvation.
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