Salvation - Amana Area Fellowship
Often times, people associate salvation with a place called heaven. Heaven is the perfect place where God is and there is no sin.
Think of sin as an uncrossable canyon that separates you from God and an eternity with Him. The truth is we are all sinners and there is a penalty for sin. The Bible says, “For the wages of sin is death (hell),” (Romans 6:23a). That’s bad news!
Another reality is that everyone is going to die and everyone is going to spend eternity somewhere, either heaven or hell. The situation is bleak, but there’s good news—the gospel of Jesus Christ.
You see, even though we are sin stained, “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8
Even though the Bible says that the “wages of sin is death,” it also says,“ but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23b
So how does anyone get this gift of eternal salvation? Like any gift, you need to receive it. You can’t inherit it. You can’t earn it (that would be a wage not a gift). You just need to receive it. So what does that look like?
You must believe in your heart that Jesus is God and that He paid for your sins by dying on the cross and was raised from the dead. Turn from your sin and come to Him in total trust and He will forgive all your sins and give you eternal life.1 The Bible promises,
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,”
John 1:12
If you recognize your sin and your need of a savior, would you like to be forgiven and live with God forever? If so, turn from your sin and pray a personal and sincere prayer like this in your own words:
Dear heavenly Father, I am a sinner and cannot save myself. I believe that Your Son Jesus Christ died on the cross in my place for my sins and rose from the dead to give me salvation. I now accept Him as my personal Savior, trusting Him alone to give me eternal life and a personal relationship with You. Amen1
If you sincerely prayed to have Jesus come into your life, this begins your journey of eternal life with God. Would you please reach out to us here at Amana Area Fellowship and let us know. We would like to hear from you so we can pray for you as you begin your journey.
Jesus died for you, now live for Him. So what does living for Jesus look like?
1 Adapted by permission from Our God Is Awesome by Tony Evans, published by Moody Press, ©1994