may I ask you a question?
At one of the smaller villages that we travelled to in Sells, AZ, I got to talking to a sullen teenager with a handkerchief dangling in his left pocket. (if you get my drift). He was polite and nodded as much as necessary to seem minimally engaged, but I could tell he really wasn't listening. Jenn and I shared the Gospel message with him and we read through some Bible verses together, and he kind of nodded and politely took our materials and the Bible. Just as he left, we told him:
"Hey, please read this stuff. We're really not trying to push anything on you, but we really want you to consider what we've just said. And don't take our word for it - go straight to the source, go to the Bible, you'll find everything there. We've come all the way from California to tell this message to you because we think it's an important one for everyone to know."
I'd really like to now share what we shared with David in Sells. Just to reiterate, I'm not trying to push this on anyone. Whatever you decide to do with the Gospel is just between you and God; though I would very much love it if you decide to accept Jesus into your life, my goal is not simply to "win" you over. I believe deeply in the following message, and I hope and pray that you would sincerely consider it. Please contact me if you ever want to talk about it - I would love to hear from you.
Gospel Message - how you can know for sure that you are going to heaven!
Bad News #1: We are all sinners. Romans 3:23 says that "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." "Sinned" means that we have missed the mark. When we lie, hate, cheat, or steal, we have missed the standard God has set, as He is perfect. Suppose you and I were both to try and throw a rock from here to the North Pole. Though you might be able to throw the rock farther than I, ultimately still neither of us would be able to hit the mark. That's what sin's like. Though you might be a better person than I am (cheat less, lie less, be nicer), ultimately we are still both sinners because we have all missed God's perfect standard. In thoughts, words, and deeds, we have not been perfect.
Bad News #2: The penalty for sin is death. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death." Let's say that you hired me for the day and from that work, you would pay me fifty dollars. I earned that fifty dollars. In the same way, the Bible says that by sinning we have earned death. That means we deserve to die and be separated from God forever. Since there was no way we could come to God, the Bible says that God came to us!
Good News #1: Christ died for you. Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Let's say that you and I were playing on the same team in a basketball gme. You broke the rules and the referee ejected you from the game. I then volunteered to take the penalty for you. If that were possible, I would be ejected from the game instead of you. I took the penalty in your place. I was your substitute. The Bible says Christ took the penalty that we deserved for sin, placed it upon Himself, and died in our place. He was our substitute. Three days later Christ came back to life to prove that sin and death had been conquered and that His claims to be God were true - this shows that God accepted this sacrifice and substitution.
Good News #2: You can be saved through faith in Christ. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace [undeserved favor] you have been saved [delivered from sin's penalty] through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."
Faith means trust. You must depend on and trust in Christ alone to forgive you and to give you eternal life. It's as if my friend threw a dinner party. He might say, "hey it's okay; i took care of everything. You don't need to bring anything." I might still bring a 2-liter soda because I feel obliged to, or a bag of chips. But in the case of salvation, Christ brought everything to the table already. It's not a potluck. You don't have to bring anything of yourself, or do anything. You might say that you are religious and go to church and are a nice person who doesn't kill others, but all that doesn't matter. Christ has done everything and that's enough. Though all these qualities are good, they are not enough to get you into heaven. You must trust in Jesus Christ alone, and God will give you eternal life as a gift.
If you would like to tell God you are trusting Jesus Christ as your Savior, then here's a simple prayer that you can pray to God right now and tell Him of your trust and faith. This prayer is not magical; simply saying the words doesn't do anything, it's what's on your heart that matters:
Dear God,
I know that I'm a sinner. I know my sin deserves to be punished. I believe Christ died for me and rose from the grave. I trust Jesus Christ alone as my Savior. Thank You for the forgiveness and everlasting life I now have. In Jesus' name, amen.
"Hey, please read this stuff. We're really not trying to push anything on you, but we really want you to consider what we've just said. And don't take our word for it - go straight to the source, go to the Bible, you'll find everything there. We've come all the way from California to tell this message to you because we think it's an important one for everyone to know."
I'd really like to now share what we shared with David in Sells. Just to reiterate, I'm not trying to push this on anyone. Whatever you decide to do with the Gospel is just between you and God; though I would very much love it if you decide to accept Jesus into your life, my goal is not simply to "win" you over. I believe deeply in the following message, and I hope and pray that you would sincerely consider it. Please contact me if you ever want to talk about it - I would love to hear from you.
Gospel Message - how you can know for sure that you are going to heaven!
Bad News #1: We are all sinners. Romans 3:23 says that "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." "Sinned" means that we have missed the mark. When we lie, hate, cheat, or steal, we have missed the standard God has set, as He is perfect. Suppose you and I were both to try and throw a rock from here to the North Pole. Though you might be able to throw the rock farther than I, ultimately still neither of us would be able to hit the mark. That's what sin's like. Though you might be a better person than I am (cheat less, lie less, be nicer), ultimately we are still both sinners because we have all missed God's perfect standard. In thoughts, words, and deeds, we have not been perfect.
Bad News #2: The penalty for sin is death. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death." Let's say that you hired me for the day and from that work, you would pay me fifty dollars. I earned that fifty dollars. In the same way, the Bible says that by sinning we have earned death. That means we deserve to die and be separated from God forever. Since there was no way we could come to God, the Bible says that God came to us!
Good News #1: Christ died for you. Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Let's say that you and I were playing on the same team in a basketball gme. You broke the rules and the referee ejected you from the game. I then volunteered to take the penalty for you. If that were possible, I would be ejected from the game instead of you. I took the penalty in your place. I was your substitute. The Bible says Christ took the penalty that we deserved for sin, placed it upon Himself, and died in our place. He was our substitute. Three days later Christ came back to life to prove that sin and death had been conquered and that His claims to be God were true - this shows that God accepted this sacrifice and substitution.
Good News #2: You can be saved through faith in Christ. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace [undeserved favor] you have been saved [delivered from sin's penalty] through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."
Faith means trust. You must depend on and trust in Christ alone to forgive you and to give you eternal life. It's as if my friend threw a dinner party. He might say, "hey it's okay; i took care of everything. You don't need to bring anything." I might still bring a 2-liter soda because I feel obliged to, or a bag of chips. But in the case of salvation, Christ brought everything to the table already. It's not a potluck. You don't have to bring anything of yourself, or do anything. You might say that you are religious and go to church and are a nice person who doesn't kill others, but all that doesn't matter. Christ has done everything and that's enough. Though all these qualities are good, they are not enough to get you into heaven. You must trust in Jesus Christ alone, and God will give you eternal life as a gift.
If you would like to tell God you are trusting Jesus Christ as your Savior, then here's a simple prayer that you can pray to God right now and tell Him of your trust and faith. This prayer is not magical; simply saying the words doesn't do anything, it's what's on your heart that matters:
Dear God,
I know that I'm a sinner. I know my sin deserves to be punished. I believe Christ died for me and rose from the grave. I trust Jesus Christ alone as my Savior. Thank You for the forgiveness and everlasting life I now have. In Jesus' name, amen.
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