I want to talk about salvation today.

If you are saved, it is good that you understand

what Jesus has done on the cross for you, and if you are not saved, it is good that you
understand how to be saved.
First, I will talk about the need to be saved. All people need to be saved, because the
Bible says that all have sinned. (Romans 3:23) "For all have sinned, and come short of
the glory of God"
Sin separates a person from God and brings death upon the sinner. (Romans 6:23)
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord."
God told Adam that the day he disobeyed and sinned, he would die. Adam received a
death sentence.
Does this mean that God is bad? No! God is loving and merciful. (John 3:16) "For God
so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him should not
perish but have eternal life." He wants everyone to go to Heaven. (2 Peter 3:09) God is
loving, but He is absolutely holy and absolutely just. God is the opposite of sin -
"absolutely" means holy; He can not do the wrong thing, he has to keep his word.
Therefore, He can not ignore sin. When a sin is committed, someone must die. If I sin, I
or someone has to die, because death is the only price for sin.
This is a big problem because we can not die for our sins. I can not die for you, and you
can not die for me. And yet, we all have a death sentence, because all have sinned.
No amount of good can be used to pay for our sins. Only death can pay for sin, and we
can not die for our own sins.
In the Old Testament, when a person had sinned, that person had to bring a sacrice of
a perfect lamb for their sins. God would accept the death of the lamb "instead of" the
death of the sinner. The perfect, innocent, sinless lamb died "instead of" that person.
This example from the Old Testament helps us understand that we can not do anything
to pay for our sins, because the sacrice must be perfect, innocent and sinless.
We are not perfect, innocent and sinless. Jeremiah 17:09 says that the heart of man is
deceitful and desperately wicked. Isaiah says that our righteousness is as lthy rags.
This is because God, in His great love, came to earth and took a body like ours (John
1:14).
He alone can be our substitute, because only He is perfect, innocent and sinless.
Isaiah wrote about God coming to earth, and said. "His name will be called Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Matthew 1:21 -25)
Jesus is God in a body. Salvation is about Jesus dying in our place, to give His life
"instead of" us.
Romans 10:10 says, with the heart man believeth unto righteousness. What does this
mean? This means that when you confess your sins and believe that Jesus died in your
place, God gives us the righteousness of Jesus.
Spiritually speaking, we come to the Cross and give our sins to Jesus and God accepts
Jesus' life as a substitute, (his life "instead of" ours) and He gives us the righteousness
of Jesus.
After being saved, when God looks at us, He does not see our sin. He only sees the
righteousness of Jesus. Therefore, we should not feel guilty.
All you must do to be saved is to rst admit that we are sinners, and are not able to pay
for our own sins.
Then accept God's gift of salvation by faith. How? Believe that Jesus died in your place
and returned from death. (Romans 10:09) Confess your sins to God, repent of them.
(1 John 1:9)
When God forgives, He casts our sins as far as the east is from the west, and does not
remember them.
1 Corinthians 5:17 says that we become a new creation in Christ. All the old things are
passed away and all things have become new. We are born again.
Accepting, confessing, and believing is all it takes.
It's that simple! A good God left heaven, came to earth and lived in a human body for 33
years. He paid a debt we could not pay, and bore the sins we should have died for.
Simple? Yes, a God of love became a substitute for us so we can live forever with Him
in Heaven.
Praise His name forever.