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God’s Simple Plan of Salvation
My Friend: I am asking
you the most important question of life. Your joy or your sorrow for
all eternity depends upon your answer. The question is: Are you
saved? It is not a question of how good you are, nor if you are a
church member, but are you saved? Are you sure you will go to Heaven
when you die?
God says in order to go to Heaven, you must be born again. In John
3:7, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born
again.”
In the Bible God gives us the plan of how to
be born again which means to be saved.
His plan is simple! You can be saved today. How?
First, my friend, you must realize you are a sinner.
“For all have sinned, and come short
of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Because you are a sinner, you are condemned to death.
“For the wages [payment]
of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This
includes eternal separation from God in Hell.
“ . . . it is appointed unto
men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
But God loved you so much He gave His only begotten
Son, Jesus, to bear your sin and die in your place. “
. . . He hath made Him [Jesus, Who knew no
sin] to be sin for us . . . that we
might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians
5:21).
Jesus had to shed His blood and die. “For
the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev.
17:11). “ . . . without shedding of blood is
no remission [pardon]”
(Hebrews 9:22).
“ . . . God commendeth His
love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for
us” (Romans 5:8).
Although we cannot understand how, God said my sins
and your sins were laid upon Jesus and He died in our place.
He became our substitute. It is true. God cannot lie.
My friend, “God . . . commandeth
all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). This
repentance is a change of mind that agrees with God that one is a
sinner, and also agrees with what Jesus did for us on the Cross.
In Acts 16:30-31, the Philippian jailer asked Paul and
Silas: “ . . . ‘Sirs, what must I
do to be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved . . . .’ ”
Simply believe on Him as the one who bore your sin,
died in your place, was buried, and whom God resurrected. His resurrection
powerfully assures that the believer can claim everlasting life when
Jesus is received as Savior.
“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” (John 1:12).
“For whosoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans
10:13).
Whosoever includes you. Shall be
saved means not maybe, nor can, but shall be saved.
Surely, you realize you are a sinner. Right now, wherever you are, repenting,
lift your heart to God in prayer.
In Luke 18:13, the sinner prayed:
“God be merciful to me a sinner.” Just pray: “Oh
God, I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus was my substitute when He died
on the Cross. I believe His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection
were for me. I now receive Him as my Savior. I thank You for the forgiveness
of my sins, the gift of salvation and everlasting life, because of Your
merciful grace. Amen.”
Just take God at His word and claim His salvation
by faith. Believe, and you will be saved. No church, no lodge,
no good works can save you. Remember, God does the saving. All of it!
God’s simple plan of salvation is: You are a
sinner. Therefore, unless you believe on Jesus Who died in your place,
you will spend eternity in Hell. If you believe on Him as your crucified,
buried, and risen Savior, you receive forgiveness for all of your sins
and His gift of eternal salvation by faith.
You say, “Surely, it cannot be that simple.”
Yes, that simple! It is scriptural. It is God’s plan. My friend,
believe on Jesus and receive Him as Savior today.
If His plan is not perfectly clear, read this tract
over and over, without laying it down, until you understand it. Your
soul is worth more than all the world.
“For what shall it profit
a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”
(Mark 8:36).
Be sure you are saved. If you lose your soul, you miss
Heaven and lose all. Please! Let God save you this very moment.
God’s power will save you, keep you saved, and
enable you to live a victorious Christian life. “There
hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is
faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able;
but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be
able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Do not trust your feelings. They change. Stand on
God’s promises. They never change. After you are saved, there
are three things to practice daily for spiritual growth:
Pray -- you talk to God.
Read your Bible -- God talks to you.
Witness -- you talk for God.
You should be baptized in obedience to the Lord
Jesus Christ as a public testimony of your salvation, and then
unite with a Bible-believing church without delay. “Be
not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord . . . .”
(2 Timothy 1:8)
“Whosoever therefore shall
confess [testify of] Me
before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven”
(Matthew 10:32).
Copyright:
Robert Ford Porter, 1991
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