Salvation takes place when a person . . .

IF YOU ARE NOT ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN which of the six answers is correct, then please take the next few moments to learn, from God's Word, how a person is saved.   To begin with, We are all sinners before God . . . People often ask why God allows so much evil in the world.   They even question God's willingness to do anything about it.   However, God can't be blamed.   We human beings, for the most part, don't live according to God's instructions.   Our rebellious attitude toward our Creator is the real cause of our problems.   Our rebellion is what God calls SIN. It is our sin that separates us from God.   "Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities [sins] have SEPARATED BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR GOD, and YOUR SINS HAVE HID HIS FACE FROM YOU, that he will not hear."   Isa. 59:1 We not only sin by choice, we also sin by nature.   Sin comes natural to us.   We are all, therefore, sinners before a holy God.   "As it is written, THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, no, not one" (Rom. 3:10).   "FOR ALL HAVE SINNED, and come short of the glory of God."   Rom. 3:23 God must judge our sin . . . God simply can't ignore our sin.   In His eyes we have all broken His laws (the Ten Commandments, for example): "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and ALL THE WORLD MAY BECOME GUILTY BEFORE GOD."   Rom. 3:19 How many commandments must a person break to be found guilty?   How many times do you have to break the speed limit to be guilty of driving too fact?   How many people do you have to kill to be guilty of murder?   Furthermore, would all the people you didn't kill make up for the one you did?   Of course not! It doesn't matter how many commandments you've kept.   You only have to break one to be considered guilty before God.   "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, AND YET OFFEND IN ONE POINT, HE IS GUILTY OF ALL.   For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill.   Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou are become a transgressor of the law."   James 2:10-11   (see also Gal. 3:10.)

The penalty for our sin is death . . . When someone breaks a given law, there is normally a penalty, a price to pay. In the case of sin, the penalty is death.   "For the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23).   "The soul that sinneth, IT SHALL DIE."   Ezek. 18:4 The death spoken of here means eternal separation from God in a place called Hell.   Jesus Christ warned: "The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity [sinners]; And shall CAST THEM INTO A FURNACE OF FIRE: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."   Mat. 13:41 Many have questioned whether a loving God would actually send anyone to Hell . . . anyone, other than the devil, of course.   But you see, if God were to excuse us, He'd have to excuse the devil, which He is not about to do since Hell was originally created for the devil.   (On Judgment Day, Jesus will say to those condemned to Hell: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."   Mat. 25:41) Hell is the place for rebellious creatures who don't want to obey their Creator. Now, if the devil's rebellion is worthy of eternity in Hell, why should rebellious sinners such as we get any lesser punishment.   If God gave us "a break," He would have to give the devil one also, out of fairness.    Of course, no one would want that; If the devil ran around loose in the universe, Heaven wouldn't be Heaven.   (In fact, if we sinners were allowed to run loose as well, Heaven wouldn't be Heaven either.   God's future plans encompass Heaven AND earth.   (See the last chapters in Revelation.) God's love provides a solution . . . People will ask why God doesn't just forego judgment and "forget the whole thing."   After all, they'll argue, He's God; He can do anything He wants. However, precisely because He's God, He cannot compromise the judgment upon sin that His holy nature demands: "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity" (Heb. 1:9).   "For our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29). "Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things [sin] are worthy of death."   Rom. 1:32 However, at the same time, God is "not willing that any should perish" (2 Pet. 3:9).   So He came up with a non-compromising solution: "But God commendeth [proved] his love toward us, in that, while WE WERE YET SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US."   Rom. 5:8 CHRIST DIED IN OUR PLACE, SHED HIS BLOOD, TO PAY OUR PENALTY!

Now you know the correct answer . . . Many will teach that one must "redirect" or "dedicate" their lives to Christ, or "commit themselves to God," or perhaps "confirm their vows."   Some will even encourage someone to make a "decision for Christ."   But the key to getting saved is DEATH.   Shed blood is the only payment God will accept for our sin.   And it was for OUR SINS that Christ died.   Therefore, when Christ hung on the cross, it was as if we were hanging there ourselves! The Apostle Paul said: "For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.   I AM CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST."   Gal. 2:19-20 "Knowing this, that our old man IS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.   FOR HE THAT IS DEAD IS FREED FROM SIN."   Rom. 6:6-7 But it doesn't end there.   "Now if we be DEAD WITH CHRIST, we believe that WE SHALL ALSO LIVE WITH HIM" (Rom. 6:8).   The person who trusts Christ as Lord and Saviour not only dies with Him, they are resurrected with Him again, unto A NEW LIFE.   Christ calls it being born again.   (See John 3:3,7) "For if we have been planted together in THE LIKENESS OF HIS DEATH, WE SHALL BE ALSO IN THE LIKENESS OF HIS RESURRECTION."   Rom. 6:5 The person who is "crucified with Christ" is a new creature: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, HE IS A NEW CREATURE: OLD THINGS ARE PASSED AWAY; BEHOLD, ALL THINGS ARE BECOME NEW."   2 Cor. 5:17 This new creature has a new orientation toward the things of God, not the things of the world: "IF YE THEN BE RISEN WITH CHRIST, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.   SET YOUR AFFECTION ON THINGS ABOVE, NOT ON THINGS ON THE EARTH.   FOR YE ARE DEAD, and your life is hid with Christ in God."   Col. 3:1-3 Now, friend, ask yourself . . . "Have I died with Christ?   Did I ever call upon Him to save me, recognizing that He died in my place?   Did I even know that the only payment for sin God would accept is death and shed blood?   Have I been born again?   Am I a new creature in Christ?   Do I pursue the things of God, living according to His Word, instead of living a sinful lifestyle?"   Friend, if the answer is no, then please, read the back.   Take the time to find out how you can RECEIVE what Christ has done for you.   We also offer a FREE at-home Bible study course you can take at home, at your own pace.   Simply write to us, and we'll mail you lesson one. There are seven lessons, and you can stop at anytime . . .

IF you were to die today, are you 100% SURE
you would go to Heaven?   The Bible says
YOU CAN BE SURE (1 John 5:13).

BUT FIRST, you must realize that what keeps you from going to Heaven are your sins, because:
"...your iniquities [sins] have separated between you and your God," Isaiah 59:2.
In fact, in God's eyes YOU ARE A SINNER: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Romans 3:23.

SECONDLY, you must realize that there is NOTHING you can do to save yourself and earn Heaven: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."   Eph. 2:8-9   Baptism, good deeds, church membership, self-righteousness are all examples of good works that cannot save you, because: "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he [Christ] saved us," Titus 3:5.

THE ONLY WAY you can get saved is through Jesus Christ.   He said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."   (John 14:6)   THAT'S WHY: "...while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."   Romans 5:8-9

THEREFORE: You must REPENT (change your mind); admit that you are a Hell deserving sinner and can't save yourself.   And call upon Christ, and Him alone, to save you.   "if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus [REPENT], and shalt believe in thine heart [TRUST] that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."   Romans 10:9

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