How can I be right with God?
1. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). Because He created everything, God is also the ruler and owner of everything. "The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains; the world [is the LORD'S], and those who dwell in it" (Psalm 24:1).
2. God is perfectly holy. "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.(Isaiah 6:3). This means there is nothing about God's person or character that has even a hint of evil or sin. He is so pure and holy and good that He can never look on sin with pleasure or indifference.
3. Because God is holy and because He created everything including you, God requires that you be perfect in everything you do. "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). You must keep His law perfectly, from the first moment of your existence to the very last moment of your life.
4. You have broken God's law. The Bible tells us that there are two commandments that summarize all the rest of God's law. First, you must love God with all of your heart, mind, souls, and strength (Mark 12:30). Second, you must love others and look out for them the same way you do yourself (Mark 12:31). That means that any time you have put your own plans and desires ahead of God or others, you have broken God's law. Sin includes every unkind thought, every angry word, every self-serving action, and every moment that is not lived with a total 100% effort to love God. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Everyone, including you, has come short of God's perfect standard.
5. God must punish sin. Because God is so good and pure He cannot allow sin to go unpunished. There must be justice for every wrong action, word, and thought. The punishment for sin is death. "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). This punishment is an eternity of suffering and separation from God. Sin is so terrible that this is the only just punishment for it. Since you have broken God's law, your just punishment will be to suffer forever.
6. You cannot save yourself by your good works. No matter how hard you try, you will never be able to live a perfect life where every thought, every word, and every action is spent serving and loving God. Even if you could somehow do it, nothing can undo the sins you have already committed. You have already broken God's law and deserve eternal punishment. "By the works of the law no flesh will be justified" (Galatians 2:16). No matter how many good deeds you can perform, you can never get to the point where you are just or righteous before God.
7. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth as both God and sinless man. Jesus became a man without giving up His deity. "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form" (Colossians 2:9). He lived a sinless life and was the only man who ever lived His whole life without committing a single sin. He is the "One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).
8. Jesus Christ demonstrated his love for us by dying to pay the penalty for sin. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Because Jesus lived a sinless life, He did NOT deserve to die. Yet He took the sins of the world upon Himself and died on the cross in our place. "[God] made [Christ], who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). He was sinless but took our sins so that He could give us His righteousness. The eternal suffering that every sinner deserves was poured out on the infinite Son of God who was able to pay the penalty.
9. Jesus rose from the grave and is alive today. "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). The resurrection of Jesus was witnessed by hundreds of people and proves that the payment of sin's penalty was complete. If Christ's death had not accomplished the full justice that God's holiness required of sin, than Jesus would still be dead.
10. Salvation is a free gift to anyone who will believe in Jesus. "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" (John 3:16). You must acknowledge to God that you are a sinner and cannot save yourself. You must repent of your sins. "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent" (Acts 17:30). To repent means that you turn away from sin as you turn to Christ in faith. You cannot hold on to your sin and trust in Jesus at the same time. To believe in Jesus means more than just knowing the facts about Him. To believe in Him means you no longer trust in anything else. You can no longer rely on who you are or what you are able to do, but you must place your complete trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).
11. You have two choices. You can either pay for your own sins or you can accept the payment that Jesus made by His death on the cross. If you wish to place your faith in Christ, you can express that by praying to God. Ultimately the words of a prayer cannot save you because God looks at your heart, but if in your heart you want to turn from your sins and turn to Christ for salvation, you can express that in a prayer like this one:
God, I know I am a sinner and deserve eternal punishment. I repent of my sins and beg you to forgive me. I thank you that Jesus died on the cross in my place, to pay the penalty for my sins. I give my life to you. Help me to renounce my sins. Please enter my life and help me to love and obey you. Amen.
2. God is perfectly holy. "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.(Isaiah 6:3). This means there is nothing about God's person or character that has even a hint of evil or sin. He is so pure and holy and good that He can never look on sin with pleasure or indifference.
3. Because God is holy and because He created everything including you, God requires that you be perfect in everything you do. "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). You must keep His law perfectly, from the first moment of your existence to the very last moment of your life.
4. You have broken God's law. The Bible tells us that there are two commandments that summarize all the rest of God's law. First, you must love God with all of your heart, mind, souls, and strength (Mark 12:30). Second, you must love others and look out for them the same way you do yourself (Mark 12:31). That means that any time you have put your own plans and desires ahead of God or others, you have broken God's law. Sin includes every unkind thought, every angry word, every self-serving action, and every moment that is not lived with a total 100% effort to love God. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Everyone, including you, has come short of God's perfect standard.
5. God must punish sin. Because God is so good and pure He cannot allow sin to go unpunished. There must be justice for every wrong action, word, and thought. The punishment for sin is death. "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). This punishment is an eternity of suffering and separation from God. Sin is so terrible that this is the only just punishment for it. Since you have broken God's law, your just punishment will be to suffer forever.
6. You cannot save yourself by your good works. No matter how hard you try, you will never be able to live a perfect life where every thought, every word, and every action is spent serving and loving God. Even if you could somehow do it, nothing can undo the sins you have already committed. You have already broken God's law and deserve eternal punishment. "By the works of the law no flesh will be justified" (Galatians 2:16). No matter how many good deeds you can perform, you can never get to the point where you are just or righteous before God.
7. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth as both God and sinless man. Jesus became a man without giving up His deity. "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form" (Colossians 2:9). He lived a sinless life and was the only man who ever lived His whole life without committing a single sin. He is the "One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).
8. Jesus Christ demonstrated his love for us by dying to pay the penalty for sin. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Because Jesus lived a sinless life, He did NOT deserve to die. Yet He took the sins of the world upon Himself and died on the cross in our place. "[God] made [Christ], who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). He was sinless but took our sins so that He could give us His righteousness. The eternal suffering that every sinner deserves was poured out on the infinite Son of God who was able to pay the penalty.
9. Jesus rose from the grave and is alive today. "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). The resurrection of Jesus was witnessed by hundreds of people and proves that the payment of sin's penalty was complete. If Christ's death had not accomplished the full justice that God's holiness required of sin, than Jesus would still be dead.
10. Salvation is a free gift to anyone who will believe in Jesus. "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" (John 3:16). You must acknowledge to God that you are a sinner and cannot save yourself. You must repent of your sins. "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent" (Acts 17:30). To repent means that you turn away from sin as you turn to Christ in faith. You cannot hold on to your sin and trust in Jesus at the same time. To believe in Jesus means more than just knowing the facts about Him. To believe in Him means you no longer trust in anything else. You can no longer rely on who you are or what you are able to do, but you must place your complete trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).
11. You have two choices. You can either pay for your own sins or you can accept the payment that Jesus made by His death on the cross. If you wish to place your faith in Christ, you can express that by praying to God. Ultimately the words of a prayer cannot save you because God looks at your heart, but if in your heart you want to turn from your sins and turn to Christ for salvation, you can express that in a prayer like this one:
God, I know I am a sinner and deserve eternal punishment. I repent of my sins and beg you to forgive me. I thank you that Jesus died on the cross in my place, to pay the penalty for my sins. I give my life to you. Help me to renounce my sins. Please enter my life and help me to love and obey you. Amen.
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