Good News – God Loves You
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
God loves you. God loves me. This is one of the hardest concepts for me to wrap my brain around. The God who created this vast universe – loves me. When you look at all the wonders of nature and life, it’s hard to understand that the One Who brought all of this about loves us. How do I know? The Bible tells me so.
The first step to true change must start with a change of heart. It actually starts with a change of family. John 3:7 says, “Ye must be born again.” Must is a pretty strong word – it means you “have to,” it’s “absolutely necessary,” “no exceptions,” “it’s not an option.” We were all born into our worldly family, but Jesus says this is not enough – you must be “born” into God’s family. This is what this lesson is all about. It is the beginning that you cannot skip if you are to become the person you desire to become. It is the beginning you cannot skip if you want to spend eternity with God in Heaven.
The Scriptures show us the whole picture of God’s love and plan for mankind. God’s Word is powerful – it changes lives, so I am going to present what His Word says about how we are to be born into God’s family. These verses explain God’s simple but beautiful plan of salvation. (You may never have heard this before or you may have heard it all your life – no matter – read it anyway! This truly is the old, old story that never grows old. As you read, thank God that He has revealed these truths to you.)
The first fact that we need to realize is that we are all sinners. Sin separates us from God and will keep us out of Heaven. Remember this is God speaking.
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
Romans 3:10 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”
The Bible tells us that because we have sinned, we are condemned to death. (This is not only physical death but also spiritual death – separation from God for all eternity in hell.)
Romans 6:23a “For the wages of sin is death.”
Hebrews 9:27 “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”
John 3:18 “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus was willing to bear our sin and die in our place.
Romans 5:8 ” But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
II Corinthians 5:21 “For He hath made Him [Jesus] to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”
So, what must I do to be saved? The answer is found in the following verses:
Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Acts 16:31 “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”
Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
God’s Word is very clear concerning the requirements for salvation. We must recognize that we are sinners before a Holy God and that this will prevent us from entering into Heaven. God is not asking us to clean up our life and then come to Him. He is saying that we must acknowledge that He has a right to rule our lives and then come to Him in an attitude of surrender. You must realize that you can do nothing to save yourself. You cannot get to Heaven by doing good works!
Fortunately, God has made a way for us. Jesus, who is the Holy Son of God, came into this world and went to the cross to die in our place. He took our sins upon Himself and paid the price for us. By believing this truth and asking Him to come into our life as Saviour, we are born into God’s family. Salvation comes when there is a surrendering of heart and mind to God.
Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, but not everyone in the world will be saved.
Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” God is putting this information in plain, simple language that everyone can understand. If I were to bring a gift to you, but you never reached out and took it, that gift would never become yours. It’s the action of accepting and taking that gift that makes it yours. It is the same with salvation. God is offering this wonderful gift to you, but you must reach out and take it.
John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.”
If you have never acknowledged that you are a sinner; if you have never reached out and asked Jesus to be your Saviour, you can do it right now. Talk to God. Come to Him in a attitude of surrender. Tell Him that you’re sorry for your sins, and that you believe when Jesus died on the cross, He paid the penalty for those sins. Ask Him to come into your life and save you. This needs to be a heartfelt desire on your part to follow God and accept Him into your life.
The Bible tells us that when we accept Jesus as our Saviour, we are born into God’s family, and that will never change. You are now a child of God. You are now headed for eternity with God in Heaven. Thank Him for forgiving you and becoming your Saviour.
(Chapter taken from book, “I Want to Be a Better Me for God”, Week 1)