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Have you ever looked up at the stars scattered across the nighttime sky and asked yourself,

•  “Why does anything exist?”

•  “How was this world formed?”

•  “Why am I here?”

•  “What is my purpose?”

•  “How long will I live?”

•  “What will happen to me when I die?”

All of us ask questions like these, but the answers can be hard to come by. Yet there is one book that tackles such deep questions like these, and that is the Bible.

The Bible says that everything starts with God.

The Bible says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” ¹ The Bible also says, “So God created human beings in His own image. In the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.” ²

God created us so that we might have a relationship with Him. Therefore, He gave us the capacity to communicate with Him and love Him. God also gave us the responsibility of caring for the earth. And then God gave us freedom. Sadly, we used that freedom to rebel against God. We sinned. We broke His laws. No wonder this world is such a hard place to live.

Many people claim to be “good,” but compared with God we are all miserable failures. The fact is, all of us are sinful, self-centered rebels. We want everything our way. We want to do whatever pleases us. Even when we attempt to do “good” things, we often do them with the wrong motives. As a result, we have broken God’s laws and His heart.

The Bible says, “... everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” ³ “As the Scriptures say, ‘No one is righteous—not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.’” ⁴

That’s who we are: we are sinners. And the penalty for rejecting God and living a life of sin is death. The Bible clearly says, “... the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” ⁵

Our lifestyle of sin tells God that we don’t want Him involved in our lives.

Do you understand that you are a sinner? Do you understand that you have broken God’s laws and sinned against Him?

God is holy, righteous, and just. He cannot tolerate sin. The Bible says that God will judge those who sin and cast them into Hell away from His comforting presence. The Bible says, “... you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God.” ⁶

Yes, God will punish sin because He is just and uncompromising. But the good news is that He is also merciful and gracious. God came to this earth in the person of Jesus Christ to deal with our sin problem. God literally put on human flesh and all its weaknesses and lived in our midst. He lived a perfect life and suffered and died on the cross as our substitute. Jesus endured the punishment for sin that we deserved. He died in our place. He paid our penalty for sin so that we would not have to face God’s wrath. And because Jesus Himself never sinned, three days later He rose from the dead—winning a great victory over sin, death, Hell, and the grave.

The Bible says, “God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.” ⁷

As our substitute, Jesus died for our sins.

He not only paid our sin penalty, but He also offered His perfect righteousness to us in exchange for our imperfect lives.

Imagine filling out an application for entrance into Heaven. On the application we are asked to provide our qualifications. But we really have no qualifications. Our resume is unacceptable. Even on the occasions we have tried to do the right thing, our attempts have been stained by our own pride and self-interest.

But what if Jesus offered His credentials to us? What if He not only paid the penalty for our sins, but also allowed His perfect righteousness to be credited to our record? What if He substituted His perfect resume in place of our inadequate one? The good news is that Jesus is willing to do that very thing.

Jesus is ready to offer His righteousness in the place of our sin and failure.

The Bible says, “God will also count us as righteous if we believe in Him, the One who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.” ⁸

The Apostle Paul wrote, “... I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with Himself depends on faith.” ⁹ He said, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” ¹⁰

Salvation is a wonderful gift. Salvation means we do not have to face God’s wrath. Salvation means Jesus assigns His perfect righteousness to our record. Salvation means we do not have to spend eternity in Hell, separated from God. Salvation means forgiveness, a new beginning, personal fulfillment, eternal life, and a home in Heaven with God, hope, peace, and love for us.

Jesus said, “‘Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me. There is more than enough room in My Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am.’ One of Jesus’ disciples asked, ‘How can we know the way [to this place]?’ Jesus replied, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.’” ¹¹

Jesus freely offers us salvation.

It is a gift. It is a gift we receive by faith. We cannot earn it. Jesus did all the work. We cannot do enough good deeds to deserve it. Salvation comes to us only through God’s grace, NOT by way of religious rituals. Do you understand you cannot earn your salvation? Do you understand salvation is God’s gift to you?

The Bible says, “God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” ¹²

So how do we receive this free gift of salvation?

Jesus said, “The time promised by God has come at last! The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” ¹³

We receive God’s gift of salvation by repenting of our sin. That means we turn away from that which is evil and turn toward Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. To repent is to tell the Lord that we are sorry for our sins and that we know we have done wrong. To repent is to stop running away from the Lord and to turn around and run into His arms. To repent is to tell God that we want to live differently.

We now want to live holy lives, obey Him, and follow Him forever. God wants us to repent of our sins and trust Jesus Christ for our salvation. The Bible says, “... If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” ¹⁴

The Bible says, “... Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” ¹⁵

How are we to call upon Jesus?

We call upon Jesus through prayer. Prayer is how we talk to God.

• Do you believe the Lord is speaking into your heart about your need for salvation?

• Do you believe Jesus died for you and rose from the dead?

• Are you ready to repent of your sin and ask Jesus to save your soul?

If you mean business ... if you are through playing games ... if you are truly ready for God to save your soul and transform your life ... then make the prayer like the one below YOUR PRAYER.

Dear Lord, I know I’m a sinner. I’m so sorry for what I’ve done. I was wrong ... so very wrong and I am ashamed. Please ... please forgive me.

Jesus, I know You love me. I know You died for me ...
I know You died to pay the penalty for my sin, and You offered me Your perfect righteousness in place of my sin and failures.

You took the punishment I deserved, so I could receive Your perfect life. Thank You for dying for me and rising from the dead.

Please save my soul. Please be my Lord and Savior. Take control of my life and help me to follow You and obey You from this day forward. In Your Name I pray, AMEN.

If you sincerely prayed that prayer and want to have a real relationship with God:

1. Get involved in a Bible-believing church.

2. Be baptized.

3. Read the Bible and pray daily.

4. Ask God to help you grow in the Christian faith.

Endnotes:

1. Genesis 1:1

2. Genesis 1:27

3. Romans 3:23

4. Romans 3:10-12

5. Romans 6:23

6. Luke 13:3

7. Romans 5:8-9

8. Romans 4:24

9. Philippians 3:8-9

10. 2 Corinthians 5:21

11. John 14:1-6

12. Ephesians 2:8-9

13. Mark 1:15

14. Romans 10:9-10

15. Romans 10:13

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