Thursday, March 20, 2008

The Easter Story


Knowing Christ
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.John 3:16

The ultimate message of the Bible is simple. If you want to know what God has to say to you personally, know that this one sentence says it all—God loves you.

God loves the whole world. He loves you, too. Anyone who tells you otherwise isn’t teaching the Bible.

He gave His only begotten Son. God loves you so much, He surrendered His one and only Son, Jesus, so that you could have everlasting life.
Whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. The Bible is clear: the penalty for sin is death. To perish means to die—complete spiritual separation from God. But whoever believes—simply believes—in Jesus will live forever with God.
That’s the basic message of how to be assured of a relationship with God and life after death.

Who is God?
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.Genesis 1:1
God. Who is He? The Bible identifies Him as the creator of all that exists. He made the world, which helps us understand our place in it. He made us—He made you. You have an undeniable connection with God whether you realize it or not.
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved usand sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.1 John 4:10

God loves us. God created us. He loves us—so much so that He sent His Son to restore our relationship with Him. Propitiation is a word that means “to restore into good favor.” Why does this need to happen? As the verse indicates, sin is the major reason. Sin destroys our relationship with God, but God in His love made a way for us to be restored.

Why we need God:
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.Romans 6:23

And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.1 Peter 2:24
He gave His only begotten Son. The first verse tells us about the penalty for sin. Every person is guilty of some sin, some violation of God’s standard for what is right and wrong. The penalty for sin is death. All people die, and sin is the reason for it.

But the second verse tells us what it means that God gave His Son: Jesus died on the cross, taking the penalty of our sin on Himself. Imagine sin as a crime. On the cross, Jesus was convicted of every crime ever committed, and through His suffering, He was carried out the death sentence for each conviction. We don’t have to pay the penalty for our sin—we can go free and enjoy the life God has for us!

The Perfect Gift:
If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heartthat God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.Romans 10:9

Whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. This can be the simplest part to follow but the hardest part to understand. All we have to do to be assured of life after death in a perfect relationship with God is to believe in Jesus. If you acknowledge that Jesus is Lord—that He is the Son of God that He claimed to be who died to pay the debt of our sin—and truly believe that He was raised from the dead . . . you are saved from the penalty of death! Jesus proved that the power of death could not hold Him. If we believe in Him, His power over death extends to us as well.
What's next?
Just tell God what you believe. If you want to accept the free gift of salvation, simply ask God. Follow this sample prayer if it helps verbalize your feelings:

God, I know that I have done things that are wrong. But I believe that Jesus died on the Cross to pay the punishment for what I’ve done. I believe that He is Your Son, the Word of God, and I want Him to be my Savior. I want Him to cleanse me of what I’ve done wrong and defeat sin for me. In His name I ask You to welcome me back to You. I know that I have followed my own rules and served my own desires. But God, I don’t want to serve myself anymore. I want to follow You. I want to spend eternity with You! Thank You for Your wonderful gift of Jesus.
Talk to Someone.
If you would like to talk to someone right now about your decision and how to begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please call toll-free 1-888-NEED HIM (1-888-633-3446).


On behalf of Moody Radio

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