Salvation – Are You Sure?  A five minute presentation  Auto advance  Manual advance or go back with PgUp and PgDn keys  Hit PGDN to begin

Are You Sure?

The Bible tells us that God is love….

But the Bible also tells us that “God is light” —that he is absolutely good and holy.

“The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8). “God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).

We, on the other hand, are far from reflecting God’s light and love.

We’ve all done things we know we shouldn’t have done.

According to the Bible, the problem ultimately is within each of us…

“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Then how can we reach God?

Religious activities, like going to church, are not necessarily bad, but being religious is not the answer.

This is one of the main points Jesus made in his confrontations with the Pharisees.

Religious rituals, no matter how humbly and sincerely practiced, do not negate the fact that we are sinners.

Participating in the rituals of special religious sites, such as temples, are also not the answer.

Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that a day was coming when worship at special places, even the Jerusalem temple, would be ended.

God has just one way for us to come into this relationship of worshiping him in spirit and truth.

Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins—to take away our sins, so that we would be free of all guilt and could come to the Father.

Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

But how do we get to the Father through Jesus?

It’s not complicated…

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31).

Of course, “believing” in Jesus doesn’t mean merely agreeing that he existed.

Believing in Christ can be thought of as having two aspects, like two sides of a coin.

It means believing that— accepting the truth about who Jesus is and what he has done for us.

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Romans 10:9).

It also means believing in—putting faith, trust or reliance in Jesus to save us.

To believe in Jesus means to turn away from the wrong path and to put our trust in him, not in our good works or our religion, to save us.

What makes a gift, a gift?

A gift is freely given and freely received.

You cannot even help to pay for it….

…and you cannot work hard enough to deserve it.

That’s what “grace” means—God giving us what we don’t deserve.

“But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace” (Romans 11:6).

Accepting such an incredible gift— forgiveness and eternal life when we deserve neither—is a truly humbling experience.

The proper response to this gift, as to any gift, is thankfulness.

Whatever good works we do as Christians are the fruit of thankfulness to God for his gift.

Believing in Christ means enjoying a life of following Jesus based on grace.

In a living relationship with Jesus Christ, you can be sure of God’s love and acceptance.

“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).

If you would like to know more about the gift of salvation in Christ, please contact us Monroe Avenue NW Grand Rapids, MI United States of America Website: