Men and women are all sinners. Since the fall of Adam and
Eve in the Garden of Eden men and women have been born in
sin. The Bible says in Psalm 51:5: “Behold, I was shapen in
iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me”. The Bible
also says in Psalm 58:3: “The wicked are estranged from the
womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking
lies”. Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden when they
disobeyed the commandment of God not to partake of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil. The Bible says in Genesis
2:16-17:
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16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of
every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou
eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Genesis
2:16-17
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The Bible also says in Genesis 3:6:
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6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for
food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a
tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the
fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her
husband with her; and he did eat. Genesis 3:6
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Thus, we see that sin of man originated in the Garden of
Eden. Sin is a transgression against God or disobedience to
the commandments of God as written in the Bible. The sin in
the garden led to the immediate spiritual death of all of
mankind. Because of sin, we all eventually suffer physical
death also. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”. The Bible also
says in Romans 5:12: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered
into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon
all men, for that all have sinned:”. Because of our sin, we
are under the condemnation of God and the wrath of God
abides upon us. According to Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:10-12,and
Jeremiah 17:9-10, God sees our sin, our hearts, and our good
works from an entirely different point of view than we do.
Those passages read as follows:
6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our
righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do
fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind,
have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no,
not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there
is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone
out of the way, they are together become
unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not
one. Romans 3:10-12
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the LORD
search the heart, I try the reins, even to give
every man according to his ways, and according to
the fruit of his doings. Jeremiah 17:9-10 |
So, we see that the best of our good works that we have to
offer God is as filthy rags. God says that no one is right
before God. God says that our hearts are dark and deceitful
and that we cannot know it without the intervention of God.
Because of our sin, we are separated from God, we are
enemies with God, and we are alienated from God. According
to Romans 5:10: “For if, when we were enemies, we were
reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being
reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. We see in Isaiah
59:1-2:
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1Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it
cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot
hear: 2 But your iniquities have separated between
you and your God, and your sins have hid his face
from you, that he will not hear. Isaiah 59:1-2 |
Colossians 1:20-21 says:
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20 And, having made peace through the blood of his
cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself;
by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or
things in heaven. 21 And you, that were sometime
alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works,
yet now hath he reconciled. Colossians 1:20-21 |
We know from Romans 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death”.
What this means is that we must pay for our sin with the
death of our body, soul, and spirit. In other words, the
wages that we are paid for our sin is death. Many folks have
the wrong idea about death. They consider death to be the
end, but it is not. Death is nothing more than a change of
state. When we die, we change from a temporary state to an
eternal state. The question is: “Where will you spend that
eternity?”. Will you suffer for an eternity in the lake of
fire? Or, will you rejoice in eternal bliss in honoring and
glorifying the God of heaven? The Bible meaning of death is
“separation”. To die means to be separated. In death, our
soul and spirit are separated from our bodies. The Bible
also uses the term “the second death”. The second death is
eternal separation from God in the lake of fire. The Bible
says in Revelation 20:14: “And death and hell were cast into
the lake of fire. This is the second death”. The Bible also
says in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving,
and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and
sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their
part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone:
which is the second death”.
The Bible declares in Hebrews 12:29 that “our God is a
consuming fire”. Psalm 9:17 warns us: “The wicked shall be
turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God”. The
Bible ominously states in Hebrews 9:27: “And as it is
appointed unto men once to die, but after this the
judgment:” The judgement referred to here is the “Great
White Throne Judgement”. This judgement is described in
Revelation 20:11-15:
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11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat
on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled
away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And
I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God;
and the books were opened: and another book was
opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were
judged out of those things which were written in the
books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave
up the dead which were in it; and death and hell
delivered up the dead which were in them: and they
were judged every man according to their works. 14
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not
found written in the book of life was cast into the
lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-15
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No one has to go to hell. It is an individual choice. The
question is: “Will you choose eternal life in heaven or will
you choose eternal death in hell?”. If you choose to make no
choice at all then you choose hell because the Bible says in
John 3:16-18, 36:
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16 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. 17 For God
sent not his Son into the world to condemn the
world; but that the world through him might be
saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned:
but he that believeth not is condemned already,
because he hath not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God. 36 He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth
on him. John 3:16-18,36 |
The Bible says that God takes no pleasure in the death of
the wicked in Ezekiel 33:11:
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Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have
no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the
wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye
from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of
Israel? Ezekiel 33:11 |
That phrase “turn ye, turn ye” means to repent. Repentance
is a turning from a life of sin and a turning to God. The
Bible says in 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise, as some men count slackness; but is
longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance”. There is NO
salvation without repentance. Christ said in Luke 13:3-5:
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3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall
all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen, upon whom
the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye
that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in
Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent,
ye shall all likewise perish. Luke 13:3-5 |
The Bible says in Acts 17:30: “And the times of this
ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every
where to repent:”. Repentance is not worldly sorrow.
Repentance is Godly sorrow. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians
7:9-10:
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9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but
that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made
sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive
damage by us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow worketh
repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but
the sorrow of the world worketh death. 2 Corinthians
7:9-10 |
Men and women cannot repent of their sin without the power
of the Holy Ghost living in them. God gives men and women
the power of repentance through faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Let’s be clear, you will never repent unto the
saving of your soul until you put your faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ. When men and women exercise faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost comes to live in them.
Repentance cannot be worked up in the power of the flesh.
Repentance is a work of the indwelling Spirit of God.
Repentance is the evidence of salvation. Through repentance,
the lost sinner becomes a new creature. The Bible says in 2
Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is
a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all
things are become new”.
Now, we have talked a lot about sin, but what is God’s
remedy for sin. Man has no remedy for , or escape from, the
death and condemnation brought about by their sin. The good
news is that God has provided a means of deliverance from
the penalty of sin. That deliverance, or salvation, can only
come through the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says in John
14:6 and Acts 4:10-12:
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and
the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 14:6
10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people
of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from
the dead, even by him doth this man stand here
before you whole. 11 This is the stone which was set
at nought of you builders, which is become the head
of the corner. 12 Neither is there salvation in any
other: for there is none other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved. Acts
4:10-12 |
This means that the only remedy for your sin that God will
accept is the Lord Jesus Christ. Without the Lord Jesus
Christ, we are lost and dying on our way to hell. It is
through God’s mercies that He reveals to us that we are lost
and without hope outside the Lord Jesus Christ. “It is of
the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed because His
compassions fail not (Lamentations 3:22)”. “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 (John 3:16).” God commended his love to us
through the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says in Romans 5:8:
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. The wages of our sin
have been paid by the shedding of the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Salvation is not of man. There is nothing you can do to earn
salvation. Salvation is not by works. Salvation is by grace
through faith alone. Ephesians 2:8-9 says: “8 For by grace
are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it
is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should
boast”. Titus 3:5 says: “Not by works of righteousness which
we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the
washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”.
Salvation is not in the church. That means that you can join
every church in the world and still die in your sin and go
to hell. Salvation is not in the baptismal pool. You can
walk through every baptismal pool in the world and still die
in your sin and go to hell. Salvation is not in some
teacher, preacher, or evangelist. Salvation is in the Lord
Jesus Christ. According to Psalm 37:39-40 and Jonah 2:9,
salvation is of the Lord:
39 But the salvation of the righteous is of the
LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.
40 And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them:
he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save
them, because they trust in him. Psalm 37:39-40
9 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of
thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed.
Salvation is of the LORD. Jonah 2:9 |
Now, the question arises: “What is salvation?”.
Salvation is the deliverance of your soul and spirit from
the penalty for sin, which is eternal death (also called the
second death). For the Christian, the resurrection is the
redemption of our dead physical bodies at the time of the
rapture. Salvation comes through faith in the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ. According to 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 the
gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord
Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 says:
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Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel
which I preached unto you, which also ye have
received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye
are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto
you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I
delivered unto you first of all that which I also
received, how that Christ died for our sins
according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was
buried, and that he rose again the third day
according to the scriptures: 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 |
In order to be saved, you must personally believe that the
Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins; that your
sins were buried with Him; and that through His resurrection
you have the power to go forth in the newness of life. This
personal belief in the Lord Jesus Christ is also referred to
as faith. From Hebrews 11:1 we see: “Now faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen”. From Romans 6:1-4, we know that baptism symbolizes
the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus
Christ. For the believer, baptism symbolizes the death of
the old nature, the burial of that old nature, and the
resurrection unto a newness of life. Romans 6:1-4 says:
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What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin,
that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we,
that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 3
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized
into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into
death: that like as Christ was raised up from the
dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:1-4 |
Now that we know what salvation is, how is it that we come
to salvation. According to the Bible, we must be drawn by
God, we must come under conviction of the Holy Ghost, we
must exercise faith, we must be brought to repentance by the
Holy Ghost, we must be regenerated (born again) by the Holy
Ghost, and we must publicly confess our sin of unbelief
before men. The Bible says in John 6:44: “No man can come to
me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I
will raise him up at the last day”. According to John
16:7-11 and Romans 10:17, God uses the convicting power of
the Holy Ghost and the word of God from the Bible to draw
the lost sinner unto the Lord Jesus Christ. John 16:7-11
says:
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7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient
for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the
Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I
will send him unto you. 8 And when he is come, he
will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness,
and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not
on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my
Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment,
because the prince of this world is judged. John
16:7-11 |
Verses 8 and 9 in John 16 tells us that God reproves, or
convicts, the lost sinner because they believe not on the
Lord Jesus Christ. To say that one believes not on the Lord
Jesus Christ is the same as saying they lack faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Faith comes through the teaching and
preaching of the word of God. Romans 10:17 says: “So then
faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”.
That is why we have prepared this information from the Bible
on sin and salvation. We want you to hear from the word of
God what God has to say about your sin and its penalty and
your need for repentance and salvation. We sincerely hope
that having received this information from the word of God
that by faith you will ask God to save you in the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ. If you will exercise faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ, God will grant you repentance unto
salvation. Gods says in John 3:3-8 that you cannot enter the
kingdom of God (heaven) except ye be born again. John 3:3-8
says:
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3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily,
I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith
unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can
he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and
be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say
unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the
Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that
which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not
that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The
wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the
sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh,
and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born
of the Spirit. John 3:3-8 |
To be born again means to be spiritually reborn from above
by God the Holy Ghost. It means to be regenerated by God the
Holy Ghost. It is life from death. The Lord Jesus Christ was
resurrected from death by the power of the Holy Ghost that
ye might have life. That same Holy Ghost resurrects you from
spiritual death through the washing of regeneration and
renewing by the Holy Ghost. Titus 3:5 says: “Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy
he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of
the Holy Ghost;”. If you are a Christian, the rapture will
be the time for the resurrection or changing of your body.
The rapture is the redemption of your body (Romans 8:23) at
the return of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians
4:13-18).If you die before the return of the Lord Jesus
Christ, your vile body will be resurrected and changed. If
you are alive when the Lord Jesus Christ returns, your vile
body will be changed so that it can enter the Kingdom of
Heaven. Ye must be born again!
The final event that must take place in your salvation is
public confession. The Bible says in Romans 10:8-11:
8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in
thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of
faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in
thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the
scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall
not be ashamed. Romans 10:8-11
If you will be honest with God, confess the Lord
Jesus with your mouth, and believe in your heart
that God raised the Lord Jesus from the dead you
will be saved. The Bible also says in Matthew
10:32-33:
32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men,
him will I confess also before my Father which is in
heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men,
him will I also deny before my Father which is in
heaven. Matthew 10:32-33 |
If you will by faith confess the Lord Jesus Christ, you will
find that Bible believing Christianity is not some dead,
ritualistic religion. Religion is man’s attempts to get to
God. Christianity is not a religion, but is instead an
eternally living reality. Christianity is the reality of the
Lord Jesus Christ dwelling in you through the ministry of
God the Holy Ghost who indwells every born again believer.
The apostle Peter said in 1 Peter 1:3-5:
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3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath
begotten us again unto a lively hope by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an
inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that
fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who
are kept by the power of God through faith unto
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1
Peter 1:3-5 |
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:2: “behold, now is the
accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation”. Today
can be your day of salvation. It is most important and most
urgent that you not play games with God. If you do not put
your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repent of your sin, and
turn to God, there will come a day when God will stop
dealing with you about your sin and you will die in your sin
and suffer eternally in hell. If you were to die in a car
accident today, or die of a heart attack today, would you
find yourself in hell after having forfeited one last
opportunity to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your
Saviour. How about it friend, James 4:14 says: “Whereas ye
know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life?
It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and
then vanisheth away”. In the next split second, you could be
breathing the flames of hell.
Isaiah 33:14 makes a statement and then asks a question:
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14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath
surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell
with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell
with everlasting burnings”?
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The answer is that all those who do not receive the Lord
Jesus Christ as their Saviour will dwell in the everlasting
burnings of the devouring fire. And the smoke of their
torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no
rest day nor night.....Revelation 14:11. Will you be the one
that dwells in the everlasting burnings of the devouring
fire?!? |
