By Ada Brownell
(Excerpt from Ada Brownell's book Imagine the Future You)
Salvation from sin and for eternity is not something that can be earned.
It is a gift from the Lord Jesus Christ we receive when we accept Him as Savior. We can't earn it.
Good works have a part in the Christian life, but after we
become a Christian.[1] If
works had been sufficient, a new covenant would not have replaced the Old
Testament law and Christ would not have had to come and, shed his blood, and die for our sins.
One time a fellow was talking to me about a false religion and said, "What difference does it make? We're all going to the same place, aren't we?"
"If that's true, God sure did a number on His Son when He sent Him to the cross to die for our sins!"
Immediately after Adam sinned, God the Father promised a
Redeemer who would forgive sins and give back the immortality they lost.[2]
You know what happened: “For God so loved the world that he gave His only
begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.”[3]
Salvation as we experience it today took many generations to
become reality. But the moment Christ died after shedding his precious blood,
the veil in the temple was ripped from top to bottom. The veil separated
ordinary men from the Holy of Holies, where the priests entered the presence of
God and sprinkled the blood of bulls and goats to absolve the people of their
sins for a year.
The torn veil signifies we can go directly to God for
forgiveness, because Jesus is our high priest. “Seeing then that we have a
great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us
therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and
find grace to help in time of need.”[4]
All the necessary arrangements for our salvation already
have been made, and that gives us the opportunity to build our lives on the
proper foundation.
We can go directly to our high priest.
Talk to Jesus. He’s listening. Even though he already knows
about them, tell him about your sins. Ask for forgiveness. Believe His Word and
know your sins are forgiven and wiped from the record.
Then tell someone you have accepted Christ as your Savior.
If you’ll do those
things, something will happen. You’ll be clean,
born again, and will experience salvation. A new redeemed person.
But God doesn’t want us to remain spiritual babies. Get
involved in a good church that preaches the Gospel. Build your life on the Rock
Christ Jesus. Study the Bible. Pray. Share your testimony and take your friends
and family to heaven with you.
If you do these things, you’ll be prepared for storms of
life that may come because Jesus will be with you. God
has said, “Never will
I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
You can be your best.
[1] See
Ephesians 2:8,9KJ
[2] See
Genesis 3:15
[3] John
3:16KJ
[4] Hebrews
4:14,16KJ
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NEXT: A quiz to see what you've learned from this study.
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