We make tons of decision everyday. What to wear or eat? Who to marry? What school should my kids go to? Every decision is important in its own way, but there is one decision that will affect every aspect of your life. That decsion has to do with God.
By now you may have discovered that all roads do not lead to God, and life is not as simple as you once thought. For those who are at this crossroad, the Bible offers a new direction...one filled with purpose, fulfillment and acceptance.
Here's what you need to know:
1. God created me and loves me deeply
(Genesis 1:1, John 3:16)
GOD - the one and only, Jehovah, man's Creator
ME - and every human who ever lived - heathen, moral, religious (Rom.1-3)
2. I have rebelled against God with my sin
(Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23)
SIN - to miss the mark, to miss the way, to fall short of
3. My sin has separated me from God, and the penalty is that I will be eternally punished and separated from Him (Romans 5:12, Romans 6:23, Genesis 3:6, 7, Revelation 21:8)
PENALTY - sin has a price that must be paid
DEATH - eternal separation from God
physical death
spiritual death - hell
4. There is no action I can take to save myself from sin- not religion, good works, wealth, education, morality, etc. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
5. God loved me so much that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to live a perfect life on earth, to die on a cross to take my punishment, to be buried, and to rise from the dead 3 days later. (1 Peter 3:18, Acts 4:12, Romans 5:8, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8)
It took a righteous person
Only Jesus could do this
He was our substitute, took our punishment
God's wrath was appeased (propitiation)
Satan's power and ownership of us defeated
6. By faith, I ask God to graciously forgive my sin debt and I invite Jesus to be my Savior. (Romans 5:1, Romans 10:9,13)
FAITH - put our full trust in Jesus; believe God even this is a gift of God, not our own work
FORGIVE - this is repentance, that God turns us from rejecting Him, to accepting Him
INVITE - to call to Him, a literal request based on our heart attitude
