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Imagine you plan a vacation. But this
isn't just any vacation. You've been saving and dreaming for
years, and finally you're going to take that once-in-a-lifetime,
ultimate, dream vacation. You won't cut corners —this will
be the perfect getaway. For weeks you sift through reams of
travel magazines and surf the net for hours, in search of your
dream.
You pick the location, set the date, make reservations, purchase
your airline tickets.
Everything fell in to place. In fact, you were able to save
hundreds of dollars, purchasing your air tickets from a friend.
What a deal! You don't normally go that route, but this was
too good to pass up. You count the days, envisioning laying
on that luscious beach. You imagine the warm sand and ocean
breeze. As the months go by, the excitement is almost unbearable!
Finally, the day arrives. You're packed, passport and tickets
in-hand. You approach the airline counter and hand your ticket
to the attendant. There's a problem.
You are told your ticket is invalid. It turns out your friend's
ticket had certain restrictions. There is no negotiation. No
exceptions. You are holding a bogus ticket. The vacation is
off. You can't board the plane.
Sadly, some people, hoping to enter heaven someday, are holding
bogus tickets. Many of us go through our lives thinking, or
at least hoping, our eternity is wrapped up. Imagine the shock
when we turn-in an invalid ticket at heaven's gates!
How could this happen? The truth is many people don't
know what a Christian really is. Some people think they are
Christians, but they are not.
It is critical you know if you are really a
Christian — a biblically-defined Christian.
So, what is a Christian? First, let's define what is not
a Christian. Growing up in a Christian home does not make you
a Christian. Belonging to a church or a religion doesn't mean
you're a Christian. And if you are a good person, even a relatively
good person who tries to lead a moral life — That doesn't
make you a Christian either.
The most popular misconception is thinking we can earn heaven
by doing good things. The bible says no matter how hard we try,
no matter how good we are, we all miss the mark. That's because
we are measured against God's standard of perfection. We can't
be good enough
Imagine a moral continuum, a line from the ceiling to
the floor. At the top is God. About a third down, is Mother
Theresa and Billy Graham. You and I are about two-thirds down.
Near the bottom are the seedy, underbelly of the world: ax murders,
Charles Manson, people like that.
Now, look at that continuum. Notice how none of us measure up
to God? We're all in the same boat! That's a problem. The bible
says because we fall short of God's standard, we deserve to
be physically and spiritually separated from Him for eternity.
That means we all deserve to spend eternity in a place
called hell. That's a problem.
Romans 3:23 and Romans
6:23
Fortunately, God loves us and has a plan for our life John
3:16 and John
10:10. We were created to live in relationship with God,
here on earth, and with Him through eternity.
Because God loved you so much, so much He couldn't stand the
thought of not seeing you in heaven, He sent His son Jesus to
earth to die in your place. Essentially, when Jesus died on
the cross, He died as your substitute. Jesus took your
sins, your imperfection, upon Himself. Jesus' death was God's
plan for you to get to heaven.
Romans
5:8
1Corinthians 15:3
John 14:6
When Jesus died for you, he did that as a free
gift to you. In other words, you cannot earn what Jesus
did. You cannot earn heaven. Think of it this way: You didn't
earn, didn't pay for, the Christmas presents you received last
year. Those gifts were free. This is an important concept.
Some people think they must somehow supplement or add-to what
Jesus did for us. It's easy to believe that we still need to
earn moral merit badges. Remember: you can't be good enough.
Trying to earn heaven through continual good deeds is like running
on a religious treadmill all your life. It's futile.
And if you think a spiritual scorekeeper is tracking the good
things you do, ask yourself, How many good things do you
need to do? How much is enough?
It's worth mentioning that good deeds are important in a Christian's
life. But not in the context of admission to heaven.
The bible talks about a three part moral equation — Believe,
Receive, Become.
The first step in the process is believing
the things we've talked about. Believing that you are a sinner
in need of a savior [Jesus] and that Jesus died for your sins.
The next step is Receive. So far, you might
be thinking, "Great! We're all going to heaven!" That's
not true. The bible says we must receive Jesus in to
our lives. Receiving means personally appropriating what Jesus
did for you. It is a personal transaction where you talk to
God through prayer, admit your need for Jesus, admit and ask
forgiveness for your sin and ask Jesus to come in to your life
as your leader and friend.
John 1:12
Ephesians 2:8
John
3:1-8
That prayer might sound
like this: "Father, I know now that Jesus died
for my sins. I have sinned and I ask your forgiveness. I'm sorry.
Please forgive me. Help me to turn my back on that sin and begin
a new life. Right now, I want you to come in to my life to be
my leader and friend. Help me to be the person you want you
to be. I pray this in Jesus' name, amen."
The third part of that equation is Become.
After a person does business with God, talking to God as in
the words above, the bible says you will become a new
person. Not only will your sins be forgiven — past, present
and future — you can claim an eternity in heaven! Many
aspects of your life will begin to change: worship,
relationships, work, prayer, church, friends... You will begin
to see God working in your life.
1John 5:11
Hebrews
13:5
Some people who think they are Christians skip the second
step, Receiving Jesus in their life... Believing is the
easy part. You need to take the next step. There needs to be
a defining moment in your life when you took that step.
Can you identify a time when you made that
decision to receive Jesus? If not, you may not be a true
Christian. You might be holding a bogus ticket.
If you now realize your eternity is insecure, I encourage you
to take time now to talk to God — Ask Jesus in to your
life right now. If you took that step long ago, but have since
strayed from God, take time right now to rededicate your life
to Jesus.
The bible says Jesus knocks at the door of our lives. He patiently
knocks and waits for us to respond. Will you open the door?
Revelation
3:20
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Agree you are a sinner, in need of a savior. Believe
who Jesus is —
That He is God-made-man. And that He came to earth
and lived the perfect life you couldn't live.
He died for you, taking your sins upon His shoulders.
He died as your substitute. This was a free
gift to you — No matter how hard you
try, you cannot earn heaven. Our good deeds can't
get us in to heaven. The bible says because of
our sin, we deserve death— an eternity in
hell. But, by receiving God's free gift of Jesus'
death on the cross, we can enter in to a life-changing
relationship with Him and have a secure eternity
in heaven.
We don't deserve this. We can't earn it. This
was a personal, free gift to you. You have a choice
of ignoring it or receiving it.
Believing is the first step. Most people stop
there. It's not enough to have the head knowledge,
that's a good start, but the bible says you now
need to receive that free gift.
When you are given a gift, what is your reaction?
Usually we extend our hands, receive the gift
and say "thank you". That is how you
need to respond to God.
Once you have the intellectual part down, you
need to go the next step: you need to personalize
Jesus' death. You need to appropriate that free
gift. You do that by acknowledging the gift Jesus
is handing you.
Think of it this way: In the bible Revelation
3:20 Jesus
is standing at the door of your life patiently
knocking. He's not going to enter forcibly. You
have a free will to either open the door, or ignore
Him. Many people spend their lives hiding behind
that door, peeking through the curtains, pretending
they're not home. Receiving Jesus' gift, is opening
the door of your life to Him.
How do you do this receive step? You do
it by talking to Him, through prayer. You need
to:
Ask forgiveness for and acknowledge your sins.
- Be sorry for your sins.
- Have a willingness to turn away from your
sin.
- Turn toward faith — make a choice.
- Commit yourself to Jesus — surrender
to Him.
Praying to God, you might say something like this:
"Father, I realize now I am a sinner in need
of a savior. I have sinned and I have ignored
you — please forgive me. Right now I receive
what Jesus did for me and open the door of my
life to Him. Help me to be the person you want
me to be. Thank you Father. I pray this in Jesus'
name, amen."
If you took the receive step, above, congratulations!
You are now a Christian.
Tell someone about your decision!
The bible says your life will now begin to change.
Some people see dramatic overnight changes,some
people experience gradual changes. Either way,
you will begin to sense God's presence— you
will feel closer to Him. Worship and prayer will
take on new meaning. New friends may enter your
life. If you watch closely, you'll see God orchestrating
spiritual appointments in your life.
It's important that you take some next
steps — get in to a small group,
start reading the bible, and find
a church. Be selective. Look for a
bible-teaching church and start attending regularly.
Don't mix up these steps. Remember, it's Believe,
Receive, then Become.
Some people think they need to become a
better person before receiving Jesus in to their
life.This is a common hangup.
People mistakenly believe God won't accept them
until they clean up their life first.
Become is the final step. Leave that to
God. Remember, after you make the decision to
receive Jesus, He will begin to change you. You
could spend a lifetime waiting for just the right
circumstances. Don't wait. God will accept you
now, just the way you are. Do it now.
Remember, your past is forgiven. The debt is paid
entirely by Jesus. |
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