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3 things we all naturally know:

1. God made the world and all of us. (Some say this was all random chance, but can you think of anything as complex as the human body that ever built itself?)

2. We all have God’s law written in our hearts. Jesus summarized this as “Love God and love your neighbor as yourselves” and “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Romans 2:15, Matthew 7:12, Mark 12:30-31).

3. People who do evil deserve to be punished. This is our sense of justice, and it comes from God who is our judge. This may sound harsh, but think about what someone like Hitler did. If God is good, than their must be justice for the evil in the world. Romans 1:32 says, “Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”

Do you think you are a good person?

If you have done anything to break God’s law (lied, stolen, cheated, gossiped, etc.) then you are like everyone else, for the Bible says that all have sinned. This truth offends many, and Jesus says that the world “Hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil” (John 7:7). This may not seem like a problem right now, but when we die, we will all be judged by God.

“For the wages [payment] of sin [evil deeds] is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

“But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” (Matthew 15:18-19).

God’s response.

But, because of God’s great love for us, He came into the world as Jesus Christ to pay the punishment of our sins by dying on a cross. All we have to do now is receive this gift by putting our faith in Jesus. This gift is also known as grace, and grace by definition means getting something we don’t deserve. 

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast”
(Ephesians 2:8-9).

“Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due (what is deserved). And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies (forgives) the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness” (Romans 4:4-5).

How will you respond?

To trust in Jesus means to be sorry for your sins and to be willing to live for Him (repent). You must believe that He took the punishment from God that you deserve, by dying on the cross, and that He rose from the dead three days later. 

If you have decided to trust Jesus, you can know that God promises you mercy on the day of judgement as well as entrance into heaven to live with Him forever! This promise of salvation you cannot lose, for God is faithful and holds you in his hand, and He will not lose you. Even if you struggle and give in to temptations, you can know that you have been forgiven once and for all, and that God always desires you to come to Him to receive His peace, joy, hope and love. Now, to help you grow in your faith, read the Bible and join a church!

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”
(Romans 5:1). 

“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”
(Matthew 16:24-26).

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28). 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16-17). 

“Now we know that whatever [God’s] law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight [saved/forgiven], for by the law is the knowledge of sin [our evil deeds]” (Romans 3:19-20, NKJV). 

“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law” (Romans 3:28, NKJV). 

Make sure your faith is in Jesus, not your own “good” works. Notice, in this story Jesus tells, many come to the gates of heaven trusting in their own good works to get them in. But Jesus says, “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

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