Pray For The Harvest Of Souls
ABOUT ETERNAL LIFE People depend on many things to guarantee that they are right in God's eyes and will someday go to heaven. Some trust in their church, their baptism or in a communion. Others trust their flawless church attendance, their good life or their daily prayers. You may be trusting in one of these or in something like them right now. While these are good things, they are not able to provide eternal life. Eternal life is not earned by good things we do for God; it is given to those who depend on God's good work for us |
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| "..he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:5-7) | ||
Since God is perfect, He requires perfection in us too: |
"But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.'" (1 Peter 1:15-16) |
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Yet everyone fails to meet His standard of complete perfection: |
"..for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:23,24) |
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Failure to meet God's perfect standard separates us from Him. This separation which we have earned by falling short of God's standard means death: |
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) |
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We are separated from God, which is spiritual death, and our bodies will also eventually die. But even when we were separated from God, He showed His love for us in the Lord Jesus Christ: |
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) |
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When Christ died on the cross He took the penalty for our sin, which separates us from God, upon Himself so that we can be reconciled to God: |
"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21). |
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This is God's good work for us and it is given to us as a gift: |
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9) |
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But how do we receive this gift? A gift is not a gift unless it is freely given. A gift is also of no benefit to its recipient unless it is accepted; God's gift of eternal life cannot be earned by doing good things. Eternal life is given to any person who depends on what Christ accomplished by His death and resurrection: |
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16,17) |
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God's method of providing eternal life is not by our doing, but by our believing. If you are trusting in something else right now, we invite you to transfer your dependence from what you can do for God to what God has done for you. Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and God will give you the gift of eternal life. |
"That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." (Romans 10:9,10) |
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Have you met the Master or our mission? Jesus Christ offers more than purpose for your life. He offers forgiveness of all your sins and eternal life! All you do is to give him your heart, to believe and trust in Him.
If you'd like to explore this further, click on the cross at left for a site description or follow this link to learn more: http://www.thegoodnews.org/ |
