For many, salvation by grace through faith in Jesus seems too good to be true. Many people struggle with the thought that God must require more from us in order to be accepted as His sons and daughters, and to have a place in Heaven.

JESUS PAID IT ALL.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2: 8-9

We could never do anything that would merit God’s gracious gift of forgiveness. He chose to forgive us based on His abundant mercy. All He requires is that we accept His gift of life by personally inviting Jesus into our lives as our Lord and Savior.

Because we have all experienced disappointments in life, we might at some point wonder if God will abandon us because we fall in sin, or let him down by making bad decisions.

“I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU.” HEBREWS 13:5

Jesus also says: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” John 10:27-30 That scripture passage assures us that Jesus will never allow us to slip through His fingers. We never did anything to earn salvation, so it makes sense that we can never do anything to lose it. It’s always been an unmerited gift. The blood of Jesus covers all of our sins, even the ones still to come in our lives. When we receive Jesus Christ into our hearts, we become a permanent part of the family of God.

Take a moment to answer these questions:

Do I know that God loves me?
Do I understand that I’ve sinned and my sin is a barrier to my relationship with God?
Do I realize that Jesus is the only way to find forgiveness for my sins?
Have I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior by believing in Him-by saying, “Yes” to Him?

BELIEVE & RECEIVE

“But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” John 1: 12 If you answered Yes to these questions, you can be assured that you have been given eternal life and belong to the family of God.

Look at what the Bible says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son (Jesus), so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Out of love and obedience to His Heavenly Father, Jesus willingly came to earth to bridge the divide between God and all humanity. There is no way for us to get to God other than through Jesus.

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

Jesus became the bridge when He was sent by God the Father to live on earth. He was fully God and fully human, yet had no sin. Jesus willingly laid down His life, and after three days, rose from the grave. In doing this, He paid the penalty for our debt of sin.

Romans 5:8 says: “God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” This act of love required Jesus to lay down His life, to suffer death on our behalf, so that we can freely enter in to a personal relationship with God.

Forgiveness cannot be earned. It is a gift.

Look at what the Bible Says about this: “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior; so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:5-7