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By Gary Oster
John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have
ever lasting life."
Well, if there is a God and He supposedly loves this world,
then WHY IS THIS WORLD IN SUCH A MESS?
WHY don't my dreams come true?
WHY is there so much suffering and sickness? WHY poverty and
wars? WHY so much stealing and rape and unfaithfulness? WHY are so many things
just not fair or honest?
WHY!!!
The answer is really very simple.
The answer is a three-letter word—SIN—that is disobedience to
God's commandments. Many find this hard to accept; too simplistic but SIN is
SIN. God hates it.
The hardships we all deal with are a direct result of Adam and
Eve choosing to sin in the Garden of Eden. That sin DNA and the problems it
brings with it have filtered down to the entire human race.
Romans 5:12 says, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered
into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all
have sinned."
The letter "I" in the middle of the word sin
represents "ME." "I" am surrounded by sin, and I am a
sinner myself.
All men have a God-given knowledge of right and wrong as
declared in the 10 Commandments.
Whether we care to admit it or not, none of us live up to God's
standards. God HATES sin. Sin has consequences.
So what's next? Well, this is where God's LOVE comes in.
Our loving heavenly Father did not want us to be forever
suffering the consequences of our wrong doings.
He sent Jesus Christ, His only Son, to take our punishment.
Jesus suffered and died on the cross of Calvary and rose again to save you and
me from the punishment we deserved for our sins and free us from our guilt.
Jesus Christ is God, one with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
His sacrifice is perfect and therefore acceptable to the Father.
The fact that He is the only one of all the prophets of all
religions, who rose from the grave, victor over death, proves this.
We have to understand that a dead prophet is just that—a dead
prophet.
Our Lord and Savior is alive and well and preparing a place in
heaven for all the people who have confessed their sins, repented and accepted
Christ as their only Savior.
Protestants and Roman Catholics must confirm the saving Gospel
of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Methodists, Baptists, Anglicans, Brethren, Pentecostals,
Presbyterians, Catholics, Seventh Day Adventists, and other Christian
fellowships may have different practices and ideas about baptism, communion,
etc., and how things are to be practiced in their churches, but the GOSPEL, the
good news that Jesus, and only Jesus saves, never changes.
Acts 4:12 says, "Neither is there salvation in any other:
For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved."
I was a strict Roman Catholic and in a monastery in my youth,
but I discovered that I was not a true believer. I had to place my life in the
hands of a personal Savior. Jesus called it getting saved.
A name on a church membership card does not and never will save
a soul. We must personally decide to receive Jesus.
So what must I do to be saved? In faith, we must turn to our
loving Father in Heaven and pray something like this:
Dear God:
I am a sinner.
Others have sinned greater than I have. But,
nevertheless, I stand before you now as a lost sinner, deserving of Hell.
I choose to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God
who became a man.
I choose to believe He allowed Himself to be put to
death, arose again on the third day, and is alive today.
The Bible says our sins are washed away by the blood of
Jesus Christ, and I believe that.
Father I want to be cleansed of all my sins right now.
I know I am not right with You, and I want to be
forgiven. I want to go to Heaven when I die.
Right now at [say date and time], I bow at the foot of
the cross of Jesus Christ, and I am dumping all of my sin there. ALL of it!
I ask that the blood of Jesus Christ wash away all my
sins—past, present, and future.
I am sorry for my sin, and I accept your forgiveness.
Right now I declare that I am a Christian.
I ask, Father, that you will make me aware of when I want
to sin, and give me the courage to say No.
I ask, too, that you will help me understand the Bible,
and to make the rest of my days on earth count for eternity.
I pray all of this in the name of Jesus Christ—my new
Lord and Savior. Amen.
If you have personally never asked Jesus to forgive you and be
your Savior and Lord, it would be wise to do it right now.
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