The Gospel of God

The black dots you see don’t really exist. Whenever you look at one directly, it disappears.
We live in a visual age. Seeing is believing! We only believe in what we can see and touch. To believe in anything else is thought to be misguided faith and fantasy — those who are weak-minded have to depend on “God” as a crutch. However, it’s interesting that as soon as life throws its worst at us, we blame and curse the God that we don’t believe in and become bitter towards Him.
Deep within all of us there is an innate awareness of the God who made us. Some people suppress this inbuilt consciousness. We question, Why should God hide Himself from humanity? Although this might seem a reasonable way of thinking, we have presumed that God should think and act the way we want Him to.
God speaking through a man called David in 1000 B.C. said, “Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself” (Psalm 50:21).We try to bring the God of the cosmos down to our level, thus minimizing His awesome splendor and greatness. The Bible says that God dwells “in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see” (1 Timothy 6:16). Let me introduce you to the Man who has changed my life. He lived 2000 years ago. He is the historical figure who split history in two, the Man whose name is either praised or cursed all over the world.
His name is Jesus, which means Savior. He performed many spectacular miracles in His day, healing the sick and even raising the dead! Many people saw these miracles and yet still refused to believe. One close follower of Jesus wanted to put all doubts to rest and asked him, “Show us the Father” (John 14:8). Jesus replied, “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). Now that’s a big claim worth looking into!
Many people saw and believed that this man was the promised Messiah who was to come and save them from their Roman oppressors, but it’s clear upon reading the eyewitness accounts that He was on a very specific rescue mission: He came to save you and me. Jesus Himself said these words: “If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). We don’t like to think of ourselves as sinners. It makes us feel uncomfortable, but Jesus here gives us a warning. The Bible says that “all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13). Whether we agree with God or not, we stand guilty before Him, for it is when we appreciate the ultimate goodness of God and the offensive nature of our sins that we acknowledge our dilemma. The good news is that we don’t need to fear hell because Jesus didn’t come to condemn us, but to save us.
Jesus was eventually crucified because He said that He was God and the Jews believed this to be blasphemy. At least, this is the human perspective of the historical events. Here’s God’s perspective in a nutshell:
“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).
God has given you a gift — His perfect Son, Jesus. He died in your place so that you might be forgiven of all your wrong and receive life forever.

The incredible news is that the tomb of Jesus was found empty three days later. Jesus conquered death and offers us the free gift of eternal life.
Will you agree with God about your sins and put your faith in the God-Man Jesus, who died in your place, taking the punishment that those sins deserved?
“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).
Some would call my Jesus a crutch, and yet we all choose to lean on something. The question is this: Is your crutch strong enough to hold you when your time is up?
Jesus said Himself, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29). SEEING IS NOT BELIEVING; rather, BELIEVING IS SEEING. We are faced with a choice, to believe or not. Eternity is too long to be wrong about Jesus.

“I just couldn’t help myself; that bud smelled sooooo good,” said David Allen Thompson as he was booked in the small Pennsylvania town of Charleroi. The list of charges looks pretty nasty …
– theft by unlawful taking,
– receiving stolen property,
– tampering with/fabricating physical evidence,
– possession of a small amount of marijuana.
So where did 27-year-old David get his marijuana stash? From the desk of Officer David Kimball at the Charleroi Regional Police station. David Thompson had dropped by of his own free will to do the good deed of telling the police where they could find some real criminals. In the process, he noticed an evidence bag of “weed” sitting on the officer’s desk for a case that he was writing up. While the officer was distracted, he slipped it into his pocket.
When Officer Kimball couldn’t find the bag, he headed outside the police station hunting for David. Within five minutes, Kimball spotted him walking by. Upon being asked, “What did you do with the weed?” David dropped the baggie back into Officer Kimball’s hands.
Inside the station while he was being booked, David said, “Man, I’m guilty. Can’t you just give me a fine or something?”

Before you stop shaking your head and wondering about David’s IQ, answer this little questionnaire for yourself:
– Are there any big criminals out there that you’d be happy for God to take care of?
– Do some sins sound soooo good that a little bit once in a while is irresistible for a mere human?
– Do you tell God the size His “fine” should be?
Remember, “a just weight and balance are the Lord’s” (Proverbs 16:11). He’ll do a perfect job of examining our “rap sheets.” Will it be wiped clean by the blood of Christ, or will it require you to answer for yourself for what you yourself have to say “Man, I’m guilty” about?
Did You Know About These “Crimes”?
– “The thought of foolishness is sin” (Proverbs 24:9).
– “Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:28).
– “Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment” (Matthew 5:22).
While God takes sin very seriously, He’s also made a perfect provision for any who wish to have their “sin charges” cleared from His official record. Here’s one way that He expresses it: “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Societies adjust the penalties for crimes with plea bargains, reduced sentences, adjusting the legal penalties, and clemency programs. All of this helps deal with overburdened criminal justice systems that can’t handle court backlogs and prison costs. Certain actions, such as some marijuana sales, are even decriminalized. God never needs to adjust His standard to accommodate unforeseen problems or because He isn’t able to deal with the flood of sin. Instead, He carried out the maximum penalty against sin on the cross of Calvary when Jesus Christ suffered to put away sin. Now God offers free pardon — and so much more — to any who receive His free gift. But the offer is only on His terms. It is never a negotiated settlement. He says, “Repent … and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15), not “do your best and I’ll let you off the hook.” Will you say, “I’m guilty as charged and I just can’t help myself. Thank You for your free gift of undeserved eternal life”? Or, “I just couldn’t help myself last time, but now I want to try and be better next time”? Only one of those two is acceptable to God.

“What can I do?” is the immediate thought of most people when the question of going to heaven is raised.
If someone asked you about salvation and the way to heaven, would your answer be, “We each have to do our very best”? Then, if you were asked for something specific, would your list include being a good parent, attending church regularly, being honest, helping others, and any number of other requirements most people assume are on God’s checklist?
Now, if I tell you that you’re wrong, will you become angry and throw this tract away? There is a right answer to the question, “How can I get to heaven?” No doubt good works are a necessary part of the Christian life, but according to what God tells us, good works don’t come first.
When you were taught the alphabet, you learned the letters in their correct order. The letter D is in the alphabet, but its place is fourth, not first. In Matthew 18:3, Jesus says, “Except ye … become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Following His instruction to learn as a little child, you must begin with God’s A, B and C and not put D at the beginning.

“All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Read no further until you accept the fact that what God says is true and that each of us is a sinner in His eyes. But He doesn’t just give up on us because we are sinners; He loves us too much for that. He has a remedy for sinners, and it is explained under the letter B.
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).
No one can claim they have salvation until they truly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. If you will trust Christ for salvation and Him only, that is all that is necessary — salvation is yours! The letter C explains the wonderful work He did to provide salvation for you.
“Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).
If you acknowledge that you are a sinner according to A and if you believe on Christ according to B, C tells you that Christ has already suffered for your sins. You committed the sins; Christ bore the punishment in your place. Now God can give you — not the punishment, which Christ has already completely exhausted — but His gift of salvation, which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
That’s how you can be sure you will spend eternity in heaven. Now, are you going to just forget about what you’ve read here and go on as before — without God and without heaven for your future? Or will you give this matter serious consideration and believe God’s A‑B‑C? It is God’s way of salvation and the only way to have a guaranteed future in heaven.
The matter of doing good works has not come up so far, because Christ has done it all. All that is necessary for your salvation has been completed, and you may simply rest on what He has already done. The moment you trust in Him for salvation, you are saved from your sins and assured of spending eternity in heaven.
Up to this point, there has been no mention of the fourth-place letter — D. This comes after you have understood and obeyed the first three letters.
The following verse applies to those who, by faith, have received God’s salvation: “We are … created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
The doing part comes last, as the result of your having received eternal life. You can never receive eternal life by earning it; the good works now prove that you really possess it.
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

“I’ve done all I can; now it is up to you” (Dwight D. Eisenhower to Capt. Johnson of the 101st Airborne, June 5, 1944, 7 p.m., England).

In late May 1944, the naval vessels were being loaded for the vast invasion of the Normandy coast. Winston Churchill, prime minister of England, wanted to go but King George VI forced him to sit home. Eisenhower and all the other top staff had to stay home with him.
But 101st Airborne Lt. Richard Winters took off in his C-47 transport. Ten seconds later another C-47 lifted off, ten seconds later another and another until the air was black with them. When the last one lifted off, Eisenhower’s eyes were glistening with tears. “Well, it’s on,” he said softly as he turned away and headed for his cottage.
In a manger outside of Bethlehem, the Creator of the universe reached the front line of the combat with sin. He wasn’t too valuable to risk losing, too old to go, too afraid to die. He had full authority to stay home, but love led Him to become a man and enter His creation. “Thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
At 12:01 a.m. on June 6, D-Day, Lt. Richard Winters of the 101st Airborne was winging through the darkness toward Normandy. The whole flight over he prayed he’d live and wouldn’t fail. Before his boots hit French soil, he’d be more than 5 miles from his objective and his commanding officer would be dead. Outnumbered almost 5 to 1, Winters, with only one light mortar, two light machine guns, two submachine guns and five rifles, found his objective and attacked immediately. Some of the courage came from the fact they had no idea what they were heading into. This was their first combat experience. As one man said, “I was sure I would not be killed. I felt that if a bullet was headed for me, it would be deflected.” He would never take those chances again.

But Jesus Christ knew exactly what He was headed into when He became a Man on the front line. Facing the Roman commander Pilate, who was about to unjustly condemn Him to death, Jesus said, “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth” (John 18:37). His wasn’t the courage of a mere man fighting for a great cause. Jesus Christ was about to carry out the unmatched masterstroke of love and sacrifice to honor God and put away sin.
At 8:30 a.m. Lt. Winters personally led a quick flanking attack, while some of his men provided suppression fire with the machine guns and mortars. In the heavy fighting, Winters’ men suffered severe casualties, including 4 men killed. By the end, the four huge 105 mm artillery pieces aimed at the American landing force lay in ruins and the surviving paratroopers withdrew. Hours later two Sherman tanks would finish the job of clearing out the position.
Just outside Jerusalem after darkness had covered the hill of Golgotha for three hours in the middle of the day, Jesus cried out from the cross, “It is finished: and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost” (John 19:30). The full job of suffering the penalty for sin from a holy God had been completed. No one was required to come and finish the job for Him. Instead He holds out an invitation to all who will believe on Him and His work. Now He offers a just forgiveness for sin to all who will believe on Him as their only escape from the horrible penalty for rebellion against God. “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).
At midnight on D-Day, Lt. Winters wrote in his diary that he “did not forget to get on my knees and thank God for helping me to live through this day.” Will you bow your heart in submission to God? “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9). You can simply thank the Lord Jesus for what He’s done for you. Or, like too many on D-Day, you can assume there’s no great personal danger and let your conscience go back to sleep. Are you perfectly prepared with God’s salvation through faith in Christ Jesus or neglecting it and heading into the blackness of eternity trusting in your own good effort?

Sit Thou at My right hand until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool” (Psalm 110:1). God the Father spoke these words to His beloved Son as He entered heaven with the marks of the world’s hatred on His blessed person.
Nearly 2,000 years have come and gone since then, and time, with lightning speed, rushes us toward that awful moment when the Son will rise up in unopposed power to fulfill the Father’s decree. Christ will come and will make His enemies His footstool! Are your sins washed away in His blood? If so, you are His friend. If not, you are His enemy. When He comes in power and great glory, it will be to send His enemies into everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:31-46; Revelation 19:11-21). Oh, the panic and terror of those still in their sins at that coming!
The coming of the Man whom the world once crucified, whose love is still treated with disdain and disrespect and whose blood is even treated with self-righteous indifference, will bring all men to their knees. Men who never prayed before will then, in their soul’s deep terror, cry to the rocks and to the mountains, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that [sits] on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” (Revelation 6:16-17). Hopeless, useless prayer! The Lamb’s arm of judgment then will reach all who would not take salvation from His hand of love. Self-gratification, extravagance and the thoughtless pursuits of wealth and entertainment will end forever. An eternity of hopelessness, remorse, weeping and wailing will be the replacement for these poor victims of the devil.
Then the world’s pleasures and business, which all too often shut out God and leave men no time to think of their soul’s deep need, will be suspended forever. The world’s boasted progress will be halted forever, and man in his foolish occupation of proud indifference to the claims of God will be brought face to face with Him whom God has established as Judge of all.
Christ is coming, and one of two things will happen to you when He comes: You will be either caught up to be forever with Him or left behind for judgment. As you are reading this, right now before this terrible day of judgment, if Christ were to come this moment, would you rise to meet Him (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17)? Are you ready? Have your sins been washed away?

Jesus said, “As it was in the days of [Noah], so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man.” How was it in the days of Noah? A world of sinners, ignoring God’s warnings and unprepared for His judgment, was in a moment swept away to eternal destruction by the terrible waters of God’s wrath. It will be comparable when Christ comes. Multitudes still in their sins will be unprepared and will be damned for all eternity. Will you be one of them?
The Bible warns us that men and women will be crying out for mercy, but no mercy will be found. Will you be one of them?
The masses who have heard the gospel of God’s love and grace and turned carelessly away will realize then that the day of grace is over, and their lost eternity is set forever. Will you be one of them?
Why are you waiting to make the decision to accept Christ’s love and mercy that He offers to you right now? He refuses no one who comes to Him, admitting the need to be cleansed from his sins. “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” If you will believe that Christ bore the punishment and died on the cross for your sins, He promises an eternity in heaven with Himself. “He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47).
Christ’s offer of salvation is available today; it may not be available tomorrow. Today He lovingly pleads with you to “come unto Me … and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). If you will accept His offer right now, when He comes you will be ready!
“The blood of Jesus Christ His Son [cleanses] us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
“It is the blood that [makes]
an atonement for the soul”
(Leviticus 17:11).

There is a big difference between your religion and mine,” a Christian lady said to a friend in their discussion of religious beliefs.“In what way?” he asked.
“Your religion has only two letters in it, and mine has four,” she replied.
It seems that this lady’s friend was someone who felt it was necessary to work his way into heaven. He faithfully followed the ordinances and ceremonies that his religion required in his attempt to be accepted by God into heaven at the end of his life. He was basing his acceptance on what the Bible calls “dead works.”
He did not understand the Christian lady’s reference to the two letters and the four letters, and so he asked, “What do you mean by two letters and four letters?”
“Let me explain,” said the lady. “Your religion is d‑o, two letters, a DO religion, whereas mine is d‑o‑n‑e, four letters, DONE!”
The discussion ended with that comment, and the lady went on her way. Her simple explanation remained in his thoughts, however, causing the man to do some serious soul-searching. As he considered the comparison of the two words, the difference became evident. He had been trying to follow rules and regulations devised and acceptable by man’s standards, but God offered forgiveness of sins through the work that Christ finished on the cross — Christianity.
The two letters and four letters was an unusual and original way of explaining the gospel, and it was very appropriate for this man who had been taught that he must follow strict religious laws in order to acquire the reward of heaven. He realized that he had been a legalist, hoping that keeping these laws would cancel his sin, whereas the Bible teaches that any works we do cannot cancel even one sin. “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He [saves] us” (Titus 3:5).
The next time he saw his friend, he told her, “Now I can also say that my religion is d‑o‑n‑e, DONE.”
The Spirit of God had shown him that his religious deeds were worthless in removing his sins, but that all God required to settle the sin question was to accept the finished work of Christ. He understood that it was no longer a question of what he could do for God, but of what God’s Son had done for him.
The matter of his sins was settled. What a joy and relief it was for this man to know that what he had been striving and hoping for was already completely finished — DONE — almost 2000 years ago on the cross! Now he could look forward with certainty to an eternity in heaven.
Christ has finished all that God required. He has put away sin and satisfied the claims of divine justice. He has conquered Satan, taking the sting out of death. He has glorified God here on earth where He has been dishonored. He has brought in everlasting righteousness. All of this is included in these four letters: d‑o‑n‑e.
Will you exchange the deceptive belief and system of “doing” for the joy and Bible truth of Christ’s having already “done” what God requires?
Question: “What must I do to be saved?”
Answer: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 16:30‑31).
“By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8‑9).
Nothing either great or small,
Nothing, sinner, no;
Jesus did it, did it all,
Long, long ago.

Cast your deadly doings down,
Down at Jesus’ feet;
Stand in Him — in Him alone —
Gloriously complete.

Brownlow North lived for many years as an irresponsible and thoughtless aristocrat. Later in life he and a friend were staying at a hunting lodge in Scotland. Their day’s sport was usually followed by an evening of drinking, and on one of these binges his friend dropped dead.
This tragedy was God’s message to Brownlow North. The awful thought gripped him: If it had been me instead of my friend, I should have been damned.
He began to think seriously about his soul. An earnest Christian lady led him to Christ and into the full light of the gospel. No sooner did he feel himself to be a changed man than he began trying to bring others to Christ.

One day, as he entered the building where he was to preach, he was handed a note that carried this warning: “Brownlow North, you miserable hypocrite! Do you remember what took place at … on such a date, and your part in it; also at … on such a date, and again at … on such a date, and your part on each of these occasions?”
Complete details of what did happen were given, and then the letter concluded: “Now, you wretched hypocrite! You know that every word of this letter is true. Will you, after reading it, dare to go into that pulpit and rant and rave and preach what you call the gospel?”
Mr. North felt the force of the letter deeply, but he put it into his pocket, and when the time came for him to speak, he read the Bible verse: “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” He paused, and then, with deep feeling, he finished reading the verse: “Of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15).
“My friends,” he said, “when I entered this building tonight, a letter was put into my hands. I do not know who the writer may be, but he is evidently one who knows a great deal about my past. This letter refers to three distinct occasions in which it charges me with participating in depraved behavior. I won’t pollute your ears by quoting the details of this letter. The writer concludes by saying, ‘Now, you wretched hypocrite! You know that every word of this letter is true. Will you, after reading it, dare to go into that pulpit and rant and rave and preach what you call the gospel?’ ”
“There are three things that I have to say about this letter. First, it is all true. Would to God that I could undo the past, but that’s not possible for even God Himself. God knows it’s true, and I confess with sorrow and shame that it’s true.
“The second thing I have to say is that it’s all forgiven! God knows it’s forgiven, and I know that it’s forgiven.”
“The third thing I have to say is that if God, for Jesus Christ’s sake, can forgive the sins of a sinner like Brownlow North, there is not a sinner in this world too great for God to forgive him all his sins.”
Your sins may or may not be as glaring as North’s, but they can be forgiven freely by the same pardoning God, if you come to Him in true repentance. If you die unforgiven, you will experience the blackness of darkness forever. God in mercy wants you for Himself.
“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation [atoning sacrifice] through faith in His blood, to declare … His righteousness: that He might be just, and the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus”
(Romans 3:24-26).
“The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin”
(1 John 1:7).

In one of the villages in northern India a Christian preacher was speaking in a market. There is naturally a good deal of discussion after such meetings, for India is a land of culture. A Muslim came up and said, “You must admit that we Muslims have one thing that you Christians have not. We at least can take our people to Medina where they can see the tomb of Mohammed, but when you Christians go to Jerusalem, you have no coffin. You have an empty tomb.”
To this the preacher replied, “Praise God, you’re right! That’s the difference between our faith and yours. Your leader is in his grave, but Jesus Christ, whose kingdom is to include all nations and kindreds and tribes, is not in any grave. He is risen! And He says from the resurrection side of an empty tomb, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18).
Our risen Lord is our ever-living Saviour. And His promise is, “Because I live, ye shall live also” (John 14:19).

You ask, “Did Christ really live?” That is one thing that all agree upon — that this Person who claimed to be the Son of God really lived here on earth among men.
We know when He lived — from about 5 B.C. until about 31 A.D.
We know where He was born — in Bethlehem, of Judea, a real town, not a mythological one. We know where He lived for most of the years of His life — in Nazareth, in northern Galilee. There He worked as a carpenter.
We know many of the characters of His day — their names appear in other historical writings outside of the Bible: Herod the Great, his son Herod, Agrippa, Salome, Pontius Pilate, Tiberius Caesar, Gamaliel, Felix and Festus.
Every history of the ancient world and every encyclopedia records the fact that Jesus lived during the first century of our era. H. G. Wells, the historian, had a contempt, indeed a hatred, for almost every article of the Christian faith, but he was compelled to give pages to Jesus of Nazareth in his Outline of History.
Millions in each generation have had their lives gripped and changed by the firm belief that Christ has given the world the perfect revelation of God, the only gospel that delivers men from the power of sin, the only assurance of forgiveness of sins and the only certain hope of life to come.
Christ has done more to lift and empower the ethical standards of men than all the philosophers of Greece combined. Among all the great men of history, He “is above all.” “That in all things He might have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18).
Jesus Christ lived! And now “He ever liveth to make intercession for them” who believe on Him (Hebrews 7:25).
A lady once wrote to a servant of Christ, “Will you put it down in black and white what I am to believe? I have been told of many different texts, and there are so many that I am bewildered. Please tell me one text, and I will try to believe it.”
The answer came: “It is not any one text, nor any number of texts that saves the soul. It is by trusting the Person and the work of the Lord Jesus that we are saved.” “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).

“All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

“There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Ecclesiastes 7:20).

“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5).

“By the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Galatians 2:16).

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6).

“Christ . . . hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

“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).

“Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6).

“Behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

“What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).

Repent (accept God’s view of your need):

“Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3).

Believe:

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31).

Confess Jesus as Your Lord:

“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9).

Remember:

“Every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).

“It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

“Choose you this day whom ye will serve” (Joshua 24:15).

I don’t expect to die soon. Why do I need to think now about what’s after death?

God says, “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1).

If I do die, isn’t that it?

“The rich man died, and was buried; and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments” (Luke 16:22-23).

I have lived a comparatively good life. Why should I be condemned?

God says, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). “Except a man be BORN AGAIN, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

God is merciful, so I trust that He will pass over my sins.

He “will by no means clear the guilty” (Exodus 34:7). “Because I have called, and ye refused … I also will laugh … when your fear cometh” (Proverbs 1:24,26).

I say my prayers and have given to God’s work. Won’t that count in my favor?

“Many will say to Me in that day … Have we not done many wonderful works? … I never knew you: depart from Me” (Matthew 7:22‑23).

Why put me on the same level as a drunkard or a criminal?

God says, “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin. … All have sinned” (Romans 5:12). “All we like sheep have gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6).

If that’s the case, I must plead guilty. I have sinned. What must I do to be saved?

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

What exactly am I to believe?

“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).

But must I do something?

“A man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ”(Galatians 2:16).

To be saved just by believing seems too simple.

“If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when He saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?” (2 Kings 5:13). “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou SHALT be saved” (Acts 16:31).

Does God really love me?

“God commendeth His love toward us, in that, WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us” (1 John 3:16).

I often think I am too great a sinner to be saved.

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).