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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 substitu te.
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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