Do you KNOW you have Eternal Life?
Do you KNOW you have Eternal Life?
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1 John 5:13 -"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."
Do you KNOW you have Eternal Life?
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1 John 5:13 -"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."
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Life is a precious thing. It's more precious than silver or gold, or than riches untold! Jesus Christ came to give His people life, and life more abundantly. Despite what many false teachers claim, this doesn't mean that He makes us rich with material goods, or that we're always going to be super happy and walk around with a smile on our face all the time. Though many teach these erroneous things, the Bible teaches no such thing. Life is much more than material things, fake smiles, and having it easy all the time. Life is what God breathed into you when He created you, and is much greater than anything this world has to offer. As Jesus said, "What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his soul?" The life that Jesus gives is not of this world, it is heavenly and divine. It is Eternal Life! Have you ever experienced the power of it working in your heart?
The power of this Life we're talking about is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ. Though He offers it freely to all who will come, many still refuse to come because they are blinded by sin, materialism, lustful pleasures, or the cares of this world. The Bible says, "The god of this world (that's Satan, the Devil) has blinded their minds." Being blinded through demonic bondage and love for sin, multitudes are under the shadow of death, totally unaware that the path they are currently travelling on leads to Hell. How about you? Where do you stand?
Most people will say that they're good people, and think that because they're good, they'll go to Heaven when they die. But that's not what the Bible says. It says, "There is none that doeth good, no, not one" (Rom. 3:12), and "There is not a just man on the earth that doeth good and sinneth not (Ecc. 7:20). This means that you are NOT a good person. In fact, you are just the opposite. You are a sinner, both by choice and by nature, and you are born with a depraved heart that loves sin and is at enmity against God. This is proved by the countless times you have broken His Law. Have you ever told a lie? If so, that makes you a liar, and Revelation 21:8 makes it clear that "all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone". Have you ever stolen anything? If so, that makes you a theif! Have you ever used God's name in vain? If so, you are considered a blasphemer by a holy God who promises to punish all sin. Have you ever looked at a member of the opposite sex with lust (sexual desire) in your mind or heart? If so, then Jesus said that's the same as adultery (Mat. 5:27). The Bible makes it clear that those who have done these things will not go to heaven: "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." (1Corinthians 6:9-10). Furthermore, God not only judges the actions, but He judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart, and He has seen every single evil thought you've ever conceived in your heart, He has seen every proud imagination, every word you've spoken, and all the things done in secret, and will judge you for them. NOTHING escapes His eyes!
The Bible says, "The wages of sin is death", and "The soul that sins, it shall die". This leaves ALL by nature under the just sentence of death by the decree of a most holy God, who is a righteous Judge. Psalm 7:11 says, "God is a just judge, and He is angry with the wicked every day". Despite the fact that most preachers attempt to paint God in prettier colors that are more acceptable to the minds of their largely unregenerate congregations, the God of the Bible and the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ must punish sin. And He will punish not only sin, but all those who have committed sin. As the Bible says, "It is appointed once for man to die, and after this the judgment". It also says, "Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil" (Ecc 12:13-14). The just punishment that you will receive for your sin is DEATH and HELL under the Almighty wrath of God for all of eternity!
The fact is, dear soul, you've sinned against God. And there's nothing you can do to change that. If you are hoping that God will just overlook your sin on the Day of Judgment, you are hoping in a vain thing. You've broken His Law. You've sinned against the light He has given you. You've despised His holiness. With your actions, you have slandered His glory. BUT... He is merciful! He is ever so gracious! When you were guilty, when you deserved death and Hell, rather than punishing you, He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus was God in the flesh, and He never sinned. But He died on the Cross out of love for you, to take the death penalty that you deserve upon Himself. He was innocent, but took your guilt upon Himself, and suffered the wrath of God in your place. Your sin was reckoned to Him, and He was crushed by God the Father because of it, and because He took the just punishment that you deserve upon Himself, your debt is paid in full, and now His righteousness can be freely reckoned to you. Jesus died on the Cross not because He was forced, but willingly out of love to save us: "No greater love has a man than this than that He should lay down His life for His friends", He said. After dying to purchase the forgiveness of sins by His shed blood, He rose from the grave three days later. He's alive! And He is able to save you now because of it!
However, it's not enough just to say you believe in Jesus. It's not enought to do good works (you've already sinned, so if God were to judge you based on your works you would perish!). It's not enough to go to church. It's not enough to be baptised, or to say the Lord's Prayer every time you eat. It's not enough to ask for forgiveness every night before you go to bed. It's not enough to give your money to charity or to the church. Though these things may be good, they are not the way to be saved. Jesus said, "Ye must be born again". Being born again means that you die to self, you die to your own will, you die to sin and you die to the world and its evil system, through repentance (turning away from sin), and that you are born again to live a new life for God by putting your faith and trust in Christ, to follow Him, to walk in righteousness and love, and to have a personal relationship with God. You can only be born again through the power of the Holy Spirit. A man is born again when he believes in the real Jesus Christ with true faith, with all his heart. Intellectual assent in Jesus never saved anybody, only true and living faith of the heart and consequent trust in Him with utter commital to Him as Lord is what saves. Jesus is the One who saves, and He saves solely by GRACE ALONE. When you believe in Him with all your heart, surrendering your life to Him by faith, willing to turn from all sin and unrighteousness, then He sheds forth abundant grace upon your heart by the power of the Holy Spirit and gives you eternal life. Why does He do this? Because He loves you and doesn't want you to perish! The Bible says, "Therefore, being justified (declared righteous) by faith, we have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 5:1). When you receive the power of the Holy Spirit through being born again, you will find that you suddenly have power and victory over the sins that you've never been able to stop doing. There is power, freedom, deliverance, and VICTORY in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Bible commands every one to repent, and to believe in Jesus. When you do this, you will receive the Holy Spirit, who will enable you to live a life that is pleasing to God. You can't please God without the power that God provides. The Bible says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God" (Heb 11:6). Have YOU been born again? Have YOU obtained peace with God? Do YOU have a living relationship with the risen Christ? If not, then know that unless you repent, you will perish! No matter how much sin you've committed, how many times you've rejected God's mercy, how long you've been living in rebellion against God, He is still willing and able to save you right now! Call upon His name by faith! "For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Rom 10).
Just read!!
Life is a precious thing. It's more precious than silver or gold, or than riches untold! Jesus Christ came to give His people life, and life more abundantly. Despite what many false teachers claim, this doesn't mean that He makes us rich with material goods, or that we're always going to be super happy and walk around with a smile on our face all the time. Though many teach these erroneous things, the Bible teaches no such thing. Life is much more than material things, fake smiles, and having it easy all the time. Life is what God breathed into you when He created you, and is much greater than anything this world has to offer. As Jesus said, "What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his soul?" The life that Jesus gives is not of this world, it is heavenly and divine. It is Eternal Life! Have you ever experienced the power of it working in your heart?
The power of this Life we're talking about is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ. Though He offers it freely to all who will come, many still refuse to come because they are blinded by sin, materialism, lustful pleasures, or the cares of this world. The Bible says, "The god of this world (that's Satan, the Devil) has blinded their minds." Being blinded through demonic bondage and love for sin, multitudes are under the shadow of death, totally unaware that the path they are currently travelling on leads to Hell. How about you? Where do you stand?
Most people will say that they're good people, and think that because they're good, they'll go to Heaven when they die. But that's not what the Bible says. It says, "There is none that doeth good, no, not one" (Rom. 3:12), and "There is not a just man on the earth that doeth good and sinneth not (Ecc. 7:20). This means that you are NOT a good person. In fact, you are just the opposite. You are a sinner, both by choice and by nature, and you are born with a depraved heart that loves sin and is at enmity against God. This is proved by the countless times you have broken His Law. Have you ever told a lie? If so, that makes you a liar, and Revelation 21:8 makes it clear that "all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone". Have you ever stolen anything? If so, that makes you a theif! Have you ever used God's name in vain? If so, you are considered a blasphemer by a holy God who promises to punish all sin. Have you ever looked at a member of the opposite sex with lust (sexual desire) in your mind or heart? If so, then Jesus said that's the same as adultery (Mat. 5:27). The Bible makes it clear that those who have done these things will not go to heaven: "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." (1Corinthians 6:9-10). Furthermore, God not only judges the actions, but He judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart, and He has seen every single evil thought you've ever conceived in your heart, He has seen every proud imagination, every word you've spoken, and all the things done in secret, and will judge you for them. NOTHING escapes His eyes!
The Bible says, "The wages of sin is death", and "The soul that sins, it shall die". This leaves ALL by nature under the just sentence of death by the decree of a most holy God, who is a righteous Judge. Psalm 7:11 says, "God is a just judge, and He is angry with the wicked every day". Despite the fact that most preachers attempt to paint God in prettier colors that are more acceptable to the minds of their largely unregenerate congregations, the God of the Bible and the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ must punish sin. And He will punish not only sin, but all those who have committed sin. As the Bible says, "It is appointed once for man to die, and after this the judgment". It also says, "Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil" (Ecc 12:13-14). The just punishment that you will receive for your sin is DEATH and HELL under the Almighty wrath of God for all of eternity!
The fact is, dear soul, you've sinned against God. And there's nothing you can do to change that. If you are hoping that God will just overlook your sin on the Day of Judgment, you are hoping in a vain thing. You've broken His Law. You've sinned against the light He has given you. You've despised His holiness. With your actions, you have slandered His glory. BUT... He is merciful! He is ever so gracious! When you were guilty, when you deserved death and Hell, rather than punishing you, He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus was God in the flesh, and He never sinned. But He died on the Cross out of love for you, to take the death penalty that you deserve upon Himself. He was innocent, but took your guilt upon Himself, and suffered the wrath of God in your place. Your sin was reckoned to Him, and He was crushed by God the Father because of it, and because He took the just punishment that you deserve upon Himself, your debt is paid in full, and now His righteousness can be freely reckoned to you. Jesus died on the Cross not because He was forced, but willingly out of love to save us: "No greater love has a man than this than that He should lay down His life for His friends", He said. After dying to purchase the forgiveness of sins by His shed blood, He rose from the grave three days later. He's alive! And He is able to save you now because of it!
However, it's not enough just to say you believe in Jesus. It's not enought to do good works (you've already sinned, so if God were to judge you based on your works you would perish!). It's not enough to go to church. It's not enough to be baptised, or to say the Lord's Prayer every time you eat. It's not enough to ask for forgiveness every night before you go to bed. It's not enough to give your money to charity or to the church. Though these things may be good, they are not the way to be saved. Jesus said, "Ye must be born again". Being born again means that you die to self, you die to your own will, you die to sin and you die to the world and its evil system, through repentance (turning away from sin), and that you are born again to live a new life for God by putting your faith and trust in Christ, to follow Him, to walk in righteousness and love, and to have a personal relationship with God. You can only be born again through the power of the Holy Spirit. A man is born again when he believes in the real Jesus Christ with true faith, with all his heart. Intellectual assent in Jesus never saved anybody, only true and living faith of the heart and consequent trust in Him with utter commital to Him as Lord is what saves. Jesus is the One who saves, and He saves solely by GRACE ALONE. When you believe in Him with all your heart, surrendering your life to Him by faith, willing to turn from all sin and unrighteousness, then He sheds forth abundant grace upon your heart by the power of the Holy Spirit and gives you eternal life. Why does He do this? Because He loves you and doesn't want you to perish! The Bible says, "Therefore, being justified (declared righteous) by faith, we have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 5:1). When you receive the power of the Holy Spirit through being born again, you will find that you suddenly have power and victory over the sins that you've never been able to stop doing. There is power, freedom, deliverance, and VICTORY in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Bible commands every one to repent, and to believe in Jesus. When you do this, you will receive the Holy Spirit, who will enable you to live a life that is pleasing to God. You can't please God without the power that God provides. The Bible says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God" (Heb 11:6). Have YOU been born again? Have YOU obtained peace with God? Do YOU have a living relationship with the risen Christ? If not, then know that unless you repent, you will perish! No matter how much sin you've committed, how many times you've rejected God's mercy, how long you've been living in rebellion against God, He is still willing and able to save you right now! Call upon His name by faith! "For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Rom 10).
Just read!!