Consider these 7 Truths found in the Bible...
Truth #1: God loves us unconditionally.
This sounds like such a simple statement, yet many people have trouble understanding what it means. Many people see God as an angry judge, not a loving, sacrificing Lord. Unconditional love is a foreign concept in a conditional world. Many would say, "There's got to be a catch!"
Others are confident that God loves everyone, and therefore, everyone will go to heaven. The unfortunate truth is that not everyone believes in Jesus, even though God truly loves them all.
"God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16
"But God demonstrated his own love for us in this: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
Truth #2: We rebel against God's love.
The Bible points out that that it is our sin, rebellion, and rejection of God that keeps us from receiving His love. In our state of rebellion, sin has such a strong grip on us that there is nothing we can do to improve the situation on our own. We can't solve the problem ourselves because we are the problem.
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23
"Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins." James 4:17
Truth #3: We cannot overcome our rebellion.
The sad reality is that many people think they can be good enough to overcome sin and earn God's favor and entrance to eternity. If it were left up to us to solve our own sin problem, none of us would stand a chance. No attempts of our own will do it. God has to do it for us.
"At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another." Titus 3:3
"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." Romans 5:6
Truth #4: Jesus is God's solution to our rebellion.
There is only one solution to our problem of sin: Jesus Christ. As the perfect God/Man who never rebelled, He comes as our go-between to stand between us and a perfect God who demands perfection from His creation.
We are held hostage by our sin. Jesus is the ransom that frees us. Jesus died for all people who have ever lived or ever will. He paid the death penalty that we deserve, so that we can have eternal life with God in heaven.
"For God did not sent his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:17
"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures..." 1 Corinthians 15:3
Truth #5: God's unconditional love brings us forgiveness and peace through Jesus.
Then Jesus pays the penalty, we are offered freedom and restored to life. God gives us the promise of forgiveness for past failures and for the ones we have yet to commit. Real freedom is found in Jesus. Anything else falls short.
"By grace you have been saved through faith; and this not your own doing, it is the gift of God -- not because of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:7-8
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace." Ephesians 1:7
Truth #6: Trust alone in Jesus as our personal Savior.
There is a difference between believing and trusting. Many people "believe" with an intellectual knowledge of God but they want to keep control of their lives, and therefore, do not trust. As long as we try to keep control of our lives, we will remain apart from God. Our trust must be directed to Jesus' work on the cross; it will happen no other way.
..."Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved -- you and your household." Acts 16:30-31
"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. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Romans 10:9-10
Truth #7: God enables us to live as obedient children who can say "No!" to sin.
By God's grace we put our faith in Jesus. We have a new life, a new identity (Christian), a new elder brother (Jesus), and a new way of life -- all of this because of God's unconditional love for us. God gives us His Holy Spirit to enable us to leave behind our former ways of life and to embrace the new life that we have in Christ. With Jesus, our lives will never be the same.
"Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." Romans 8:5
"Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the Gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and everyone else." 2 Corinthians 9:13
The gift of eternal life is something that God offers freely to everyone. His Holy Spirit works hard to put faith in our hearts that believes in Christ, His dying and rising for us, and our future in heaven.
The verses above come from the Bible, which points us to Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Hope.
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