This world will pass away. And when its does only one thing will matter.
Where will I spend eternity? Heaven or Hell?
The Bible says all of have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) Unholy people cannot be in the presence of a Holy God. The Bible also says without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. (Hebrews 9:22)
So God made a way. He sent his one and only begotten son Jesus who was without sin to die on the cross. Jesus became the sacrifice for our sin. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) Three days later he arose from the grave and shortly after returned to Heaven to go to prepare a place for those who believe on him. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. (John 14:2)
We can't earn our way to heaven by being good people because being good doesn't correct the sin problem. The only way to heaven is through Jesus. It's about having a relationship with him. Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6) Only through the holiness of Jesus (one who never sinned) can we enter Heaven. By believing on him we receive the gift of being with him for eternity.
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)
This is often referred to as Giving your life to Christ or becoming Born Again. It is done through a heart felt prayer.
Dear Jesus,
I believe you are the one and only begotten Son of God.
You came in the flesh, died on the cross for my sins and three days later arose from the grave.
I admit I am a sinner. I ask you to forgive me of my sins. From this day forward I turn away from sinful living.
Also, from this day forward I vow to make you the Lord of my life.
The prayer above is a guideline, you do not have to word it exactly like that, but that is the basics of what you should include, just does not have to be word for word. Praying to God is like talking, you can pray out loud or you can pray in your mind, whatever you feel most comfortable doing. Talk to Him with respect as you would your Father, because after all, He is your Father, your Heavenly Father.
After you have asked the Lord to forgive you and truly meant it, you must repent of your sins. What does it mean to repent? It simply means that you stop doing what you know is a sin. If you are cheating on your spouse, or you are a shoplifter, or you hang out in bars getting drunk and wasting money, or hurting people physically or emotionally it is now time to repent and do your very best to stop. We will never be perfect because of sin.
Jesus Christ came to this earth and suffered extreme torment by being beaten to a pulp and then crucified with the weight of all the sins and evil on his shoulders, He who was perfect and had not ever sinned, not once, but He loves us so much, He died for us. Has anyone else you know ever died for you? For most of us the answer is no.
Next step is to find a good church. I go to a Baptist church. You need to find a church that preaches what the Bible says, and ALL of what the Bible says.
If you do not already own a Bible, go buy one that has the New Testament AND the Old Testament. The Holy Bible is God's Word and his Love Letter to you and me, to all of us. Read it daily, perhaps a chapter or two per day, whatever you can do. It will bring you closer to God, this is the LIVING Word of God.
You will find that once you are saved, the things you used to want to do that were sinful, you won't want to do anymore.
Portions of the following text taken from "The Forgiveness Diaries"
official website
www.forgivenessdiaries.com
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