Tabernacle Baptist Church

In the confusion of this world, it is often hard to know true life. Jesus Christ came to help us understand the meaning of true life, a life that will last from this side of death to the other side. This is an eternal life that begins when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and a life that will continue forever.    

Jesus said in John 10:10, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." The thief refers to Satan and his desire to lead us in the way of destruction. Jesus says I have come to show you how to have life and how to make it a life filled with purpose and worth. If this is Jesus' desire for us, how do we experience this true life?    

The first thing to realize is that the Word of God supplies us with a way to know this life. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." Through the Gospel of Jesus Christ we can come to know the power of salvation and eternal life. Your social standing, race, or gender does not matter when it comes to the gift of salvation. God's Gospel, or Good News, can have a powerful effect in the life of anyone.    

There is one thing, which keeps us from experiencing salvation and separates us from the love of God. Our sin has placed a separation between God and us. Romans 3:23 says, "Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Imagine shooting arrows at a target and never hitting that target or even aiming away from the target. This is no different than sin. Simply put, sin is the missing of a target. God has a target or a path that God would like for us to walk. Many of us choose to walk a different way because we want to be independent. However, God's path is the path of living life to the fullest. When we do not choose God's way for us then we are sinning and fall far short of the glory God intends for us. God's desire is not to kill our joy in life but to help us walk a path of grace.     Since we are sinners, God will require a payment for our sins. When we have wronged someone else we must correct it and God expects the same. "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). When we work a job we expect wages or payment for our work. Sin also has a wage connected with it and that wage is death. If we continue to live walking our own path and not the path of God, then we will pay with the cost of our life.    

If we are separated from God because of our sin, how will we ever correct our way? How can we make the payment for our sins and still live? One of the most amazing facts about God is the great love God has for us. As God's creation, God expressed love for us by sending Jesus Christ. Romans 5:8 says, "But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us." God was the one who took the first step to set the relationship right. God expressed love for us by sending Christ to make the payment for our sins, thus in one life and death bringing to us a route to correct our way.    

How do we accept this free gift of God? The first thing we must do is make a decision to change our ways. Romans 2:4 the second sentence says, "Do you not realize that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?" God expresses kindness to us by offering the free gift of salvation and our part is to repent. Repent means to change your mind about your lifestyle of sin and to commit to walk in the opposite direction from it. Repent means to feel sorry for your past actions and to seek to walk on the path of God, the path that leads toward a deeper relationship with God.    

The next step is to confess that you believe in what Jesus has done for you. "Because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved .... For, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord'" (Romans 10:9,10,13). Repentance leads us to confession and commitment to God's ways.     To accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and to accept the free gift of eternal life is as simple as praying the following prayer and believing it with all your heart and mind.    

Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and because of that I am separated from you, my Creator. I know you sent Jesus your Son to die on the cross for the payment of my sins and that you raised him from the grave in victory over death. Please forgive me for walking away from you in sin. I am willing to repent from my sins and receive Jesus as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for providing a way for me to have eternal life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.    

If you prayed this prayer right now, you have done the best thing you could do in your life. Welcome to the family of God. Now is a time for you to let others know about what you have done. Speak with a pastor in your area. I will be glad to help you as you start your walk with God or if you have any questions about what you have read here.

(The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible (NRSV), copyright, 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.)