Plan of Salvation

By choosing this link I am going to assume that you are desiring to know how a person can be sure they are on their way to heaven. I would like to walk you through a few verses from God's Word, the Bible, which will show you what God says about getting into heaven.

I need to begin by letting you know some bad news. The bad news is that we are all born into this world sinners. In fact, the Bible says "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23. Each and every one of us have sinned. What is sin? The word sin in Romans 3:23 literally means, "to miss the mark." The mark that was set for a person to enter heaven is sinless perfection and none of us meet this standard. Romans 3:20 says, "by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight,..." Every single one of us has sinned and therefore we are unable to be justified in his sight. In a nutshell, the bad news is that we are all sinners by nature and by action!

I need to continue by informing you of the really bad news. The Bible says that their is a penalty for sin, "For the wages of sin is death,..." Romans 6:23. The Bible is very clear that the penalty or wage for sin is death. This word for death is not physical death, but rather, it is spiritual death. This spiritual death is referred to as the "second death" in Revelation 20:14 & 21:8. This second death is permanent separation from our Creator in a real place called the Lake of Fire. This place according to Revelation 21:8 "burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." God is holy, simply put, he is perfect and 100% without sin. Because of His holiness He cannot let us into heaven with our sin. In summary, the really bad news is we are 100% unable to get into heaven in our current state, we all deserve an eternity in hell because of our sin.

I'm glad you have stayed with me up to this point because I have some good news! The Bible says that "God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have eternal life," John 3:16. God loved us so much that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to earth to die in our place for our sins. You may have a couple questions at this point.

One question might be, "Who is Jesus Christ?" Jesus Christ is God and He willingly became man in order to live a perfect life and die for our sins. He is 100% God and 100% man.

You might also ask, "So why exactly did Jesus have to come and die?" Remember the Bible says, "the wages of sin is death..." Our sin must be paid for with death! Romans 5:8, 9 says, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." Jesus did something amazing for you and for me. He showed His love by dying in our place and removing God's wrath upon our sins. The Bible also says that Jesus rose from the dead three days later and is even now seated at God the Father's right hand (Hebrews 10:12). You have a choice, Either you can die for your sins and spend eternity in hell, OR you can accept Jesus' death as payment for your sins!

The really good news is that accepting Jesus as payment for your sins is as simple as talking to God in prayer and accepting Him as your Savior. Romans 10:9, 10 puts it this way, "That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation." You can know that you are on your way to heaven according to this verse. If you will admit that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Jesus from the dead you will be saved. No games, no tricks, no complicated hoops to jump through. Simply believe Jesus is God who died as payment for your sins and rose from the grave and put your trust in Him.

It gets even better than this, According to Ephesians 2:8, 9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." You can do absolutely nothing to earn your salvation, you simply receive His free gift by faith. You cannot earn your way into heaven, you can't pay your way into heaven and you can't work your way into heaven. You BELIEVE your way into heaven.

You may ask now, "How can I receive this free gift of salvation and know I am on my way to heaven?" All you need to do according to the Bible is believe Jesus died in your place and pray to accept His free gift. If you would like to know you are on your way to heaven you can pray right where you are at and accept Him as your personal Savior. If you would like to receive God's free gift of salvation simply pray in faith the following prayer:

God, I come to you right now and admit that I have sinned against You. I know that I deserve to spend an eternity in hell because of my sin. I am sorry for all of the sins that I have committed and I am asking you right now for your forgiveness and salvation. I believe that Jesus is God and that He died for my sins and rose from the dead. Please come into my life and save me from my sins. Thank you for saving me and forgiving me. In Jesus' name, Amen.

If you just prayed that prayer and meant it then the Bible says that you are now saved from your sins (Romans 10:9, 10) and on your way to heaven! If you made that decision there are some steps that you need to take in order to grow in your new relationship with God. For a free booklet and more information on growing in your new relationship please e-mail me at dking@fellowshipjasper.com.