God's good news in pdf

WHAT IS GOD'S GOOD NEWS?

...but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

(John20:31)

FOREWORD

This booklet is a modified Indian edition of Late Brother Alfred P. Gibbs’ work titled God's Good News, prepared especially for you, with the earnest hope and prayer that you will give it your undivided attention and serious consideration. In this pleasure-loving age, characterised by indifference, irresponsibility and shallow thinking, eternal realities are apt to be crowded into the background, or even deliberately rejected by the majority of the people. Many seem to imagine that this present life is of far more importance than the future, and thus the temporal has been allowed to obscure the eternal.

You ought to give serious thought to the fact of God and of your personal responsibility to Him as your Creator. You are a creature, not only of time, but of eternity; and there is within you a stirring desire to know this God with Whom you must one day have to do.

There are three chapters, so arranged as to present the good news in its logical sequence. It is urged that you read each chapter carefully. Scripture references are reproduced from the New King James Version. Don't rush through the booklet, for the subject is of tremendous and vital importance. Grasp thoroughly the subject of chapter one before proceeding to chapter two; and so on, right through to the end.

Should the reading of the booklet lead you to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal Saviour and the enjoyment of God's salvation, we shall be pleased to hear from you.

CHAPTERS 1. MY NEED – WHY DO I NEED TO BE SAVED? 2. DIVINE PROVISION – WHAT HAS GOD DONE? 3. MY SALVATION – HOW CAN I BE SAVED?

Chapter One MY NEED Why Do I Need To Be Saved?

A pointed question – “Are you saved”?

You do not know how to reply. You do not know what the questioner has in mind, or what is meant by the term “saved”. The terms “JESUS SAVES”, “SAVED”, “SALVATION” have puzzled you, because you have but a vague and misty idea about it all. The purpose of this booklet is to dispel this mist that obscures the vitally important subject of salvation of God, as revealed in the word of God, the Bible.

What do the words “saved” and “salvation” mean?

The word “salvation” means deliverance or rescue from danger, which threatens. The person who had been rescued would speak of it as being saved from danger and refer to the rescuer as his/ her “saviour”. Thus the word “salvation” suggests the thought of both danger, a deliverer and deliverance.

The words “Saviour”, “saved”, “salvation” occur very many times in the Bible, which is God's word to us. The “Saviour” of course, describes the one who saves. The “saved” are those who have been delivered from their danger; and “salvation” simply describes the whole process from its beginning to end. All humanity is in peril, and therefore needs to be delivered or saved from danger.

What is this danger and why do we need to be saved?

FIRST, we need to be saved because we are all sinners by nature. That is to say, we were all born into this world with

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a sinful nature within us. We inherited it from Adam and Eve, our first parents. By “nature� we mean what we really are in ourselves. We think what we think, say what we say and do what we do, because we are what we are. What is in a person's nature comes out in life.

A little Bengal tiger cub has the blood thirsty nature of a tiger within it. As it develops into full growth, this fierce nature is evidenced by its actions. It only required time to reveal its true nature or character.

All the crimes committed in this world were done by those who were once harmless and very attractive babies. What turned these harmless children into dangerous criminals?

The sinful nature within them was allowed to develop unhindered and soon showed itself by sinful thoughts which were entertained in the mind, sinful words that were allowed to escape the lips, sinful acts that were committed in the life, and a sinful attitude of rebellion adopted toward God Himself.

In the third chapter of Genesis we are told how we came to be possessed of this sinful nature by birth. When Adam sinned by deliberately disobeying God's command, he not only sinned for himself, but for the whole human race which was to descend from him. Thus Adam dragged all humanity down with him in his fall. Adam passed on to his children, at their birth, the sinful nature he received through his act of disobedience which continues until this present time.

Thus each of us came into the world possessed of a sinful nature which makes us sinners by birth. We do not have to sin to become sinners, but we sin because we are sinners.

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Romans 5:12- ‘Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.’

Your spiritual status, in the sight of God, was determined by the natural condition of your parents, who were sinners. A person does not have to sin in order to become a sinner, but because he is a sinner. A person sins because it is his nature to sin. Children do not have to be taught to tell lies, to be disobedient to their parents, to lose their tempers, to take things that do not belong to them, to allow wrong thoughts to enter their minds, and to say wrong and angry words. What is in the root of their nature will be seen later in the fruit of their doings. What is in the root of the tree is manifested by the fruit it bears. The scripture makes clear that all of us were born with the root of sin within us. It only requires time before the fruit of sins, such as sinful thoughts, words and deeds, is seen in our lives.

SECONDLY, we need to be saved because, while we are living under the control of this sinful nature, or “living in the flesh”, we cannot please God. This sinful nature (sometimes called, in the scriptures, “the flesh”) is described as being entirely opposed to God's word to us, His will for us, and His ways with us. By nature all are in a state of enmity to God or rebellion against God, loving what He hates and hating what He loves. Romans 8:7-8 – ‘Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.’ If you are not yet saved, it is a life lived under the control of this sinful nature, it is a wasted life, so far as God is concerned.

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Living in the “flesh” can be best understood as living a selfpleasing life. While one lives a “self pleasing” or the “flesh” life, one cannot please God. In John 3:3 – ‘Jesus answered and said to him (Nicodemus, one of the most moral and religious men of his day), “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”’ John 3:7 – “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘you must be born again.’” Nicodemus, though religious and moral, was still “in the flesh” or in his natural state. What he needed was to have another kind of life imparted to him, by means of which he could please God. At our first birth we received a physical life and a human nature, which fitted us only for an earthly sphere, in which we could not please God; but the moment a sinner receives Christ as one’s own personal Saviour, God imparts to such an one a new kind of life, a spiritual life by which one is made “a partaker of the Divine nature” which fits one for a spiritual sphere described as the “Kingdom of God”. With this new possession the believer is enabled to think, say and do things that are pleasing to God. The receiving of this spiritual life and divine nature, is called in the scripture, “being born again”. 1Peter 1:23 – ‘having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.’

This new birth is not the cultivating, or improving of the old corrupt nature called “the flesh”, for this cannot be improved or altered. Hence the Lord Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:6 – “that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” We cannot gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles.

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The new birth is the impartation, to the believer, of an entirely different nature, a divine nature. This nature causes the believer to love and study God's word, to desire to do God's will, and to walk in and be content with God's ways.

Thus the believer is to be no longer “in the flesh” as to the sphere of his life; but to be “in the Spirit”, for the believer is now indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:9 – ‘but you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.’ Ephesians 1:13 – ‘in Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.’ Ephesians 4:30 – ‘and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.’

Galatians 5:16, 17, 22-25 ‘I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.’

‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.’

Now ask yourself seriously: “Have I been truly born again, or am I trying, by my own efforts, my good resolves, my religious exercises, and my good works to please God and thus earn His salvation by my own merits?” Whoever you are, you must be born again for, apart from this new birth, you cannot please God.

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THIRDLY, we need to be saved because we are sinners by practice. We have deliberately and wilfully chosen to think, say and do wrong things very many times. As you recall the events of the last few days, weeks and months of your life, you have sinned in many ways and on many occasions.

Every sin is a sin against God. Shutting one's eyes to the truth is foolishness. It is a wise thing to face facts, even though those facts are unpleasant. The Lord Jesus Christ is the great Physician, and wise is that person who submits to His examination, acknowledges the correctness of His diagnosis, owns himself to be the guilty sinner Christ declares him to be, and then leaves himself in His hands for the cure, which He alone can give!

The Bible is like an X- ray which exposes what lies hidden beneath the surface. In its pages, we may see ourselves as God has described us. God knows us through and through, and we cannot hide anything from Him. He says of all humanity in general and of yourself in particular in Romans 3:10-18 and 23: ‘As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.

Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit; The poison of asps is under their lips; Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.

Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways;

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And the way of peace they have not known.

There is no fear of God before their eyes.’”

‘For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ This is God's portrait of all by nature. You are a sinner in the sight of a holy, sin-hating God. There is no difference, for all have sinned. Though all may not have sinned alike, or to the same degree, yet all alike have sinned in some degree.

If a square target with a bull’s eye could represent the standard of absolute perfection, which the holiness of God demands; none have succeeded in hitting the bull's eye. Not one, for all have come short of the mark. Listen to the demands as revealed in the law He gave. Luke 10:27- ‘so he answered and said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.”’ Can anyone truthfully say he has perfectly fulfilled all these requirements and thus scored a bull's eye? The more we examine ourselves in the light of the law, the more we shall discover how far short we have come of God's standard of perfection. Any person coming short of these requirements constitutes that person a sinner by practice; for sin is any thought, word, deed, or attitude of heart and mind that displeases God. Are you prepared to own yourself to be the guilty sinner that God says you are? It is a sign of true wisdom when a person honestly faces the question of one's sins and, like the prodigal son, confesses: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.” (Luke 15:21); or with the Publican, cries: “God be merciful to me a sinner!” (Luke 18:13). Let us not

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try to cover up our sins, or excuse them, or attempt to make light of them, or call them by fancy names, or blame others for them; but let us frankly and honestly face them and own them, remembering that Jesus said in Mathew 9:13 – “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Luke 19:10 – “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

FOURTHLY, we need to be saved because God must punish sin. God is a holy and righteous Being, and therefore hates sin in any form or shape and must punish it.

Jeremiah 44:4 – ‘However I have sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, “Oh, do not do this abominable thing that I hate!”’

Habakkuk 1:13(a) – ‘You (God) are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness.’

Romans 6:23 – ‘For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’

Ezekiel 18:20 – ‘The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.’

Just as the law of our land must righteously punish the lawbreaker, so God must visit His judgement upon sin and the sinner, if that sinner dies with sins unforgiven.

Heaven is the dwelling-place of God.

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John 8:21 and 24: ‘Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.”

“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

Revelation 21:27 – ‘But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.’

No stain of sin shall ever darken heaven. All who enter there must be cleansed from their sins. There is no hope of heaven for those who die in their sins; but instead, a dreadful place of outer darkness where there is eternal weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Mathew 25:30, 41 and 46: ‘And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness.

There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

‘Then He will also say to those on the left hand, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

‘And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’

Our loving Saviour Himself has warned His hearers of the dreadful fate that awaits those who neglect, reject, or despise Him and the salvation He has provided. 2 Peter 3:9 – ‘The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.’ Thus God has faithfully warned us of the awful

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danger of dying in our sinful condition and being separated from Him for all eternity.

What must I do to be saved from the consequences of dying in my sins?

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Chapter Two DIVINE PROVISION What has God Done?

God does not desire that any soul should be eternally lost.

Let us see what God has done to make this salvation from the consequences of our sins possible.

FIRST, God has revealed His love towards all. “God is light”, therefore He cannot be indifferent to sin.

1 John 1:5 – ‘This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.’

“God is love”, therefore He cannot be indifferent to the sinner.

1 John 4:8 – ‘He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.’ The unmistakeable language of the Lord Jesus in John 3:16 is ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.’

Though God hates sin and must punish it, He loves the sinner and yearns for his salvation. Let each reader be assured that God loves him or her. It is God's very nature to love. It is not possible for a person to die unloved, for God loves Him. He loves us in spite of what we are. Bible speaks of the “kindness and love of God our Saviour” in Titus 3:4 – ‘But when the kindness and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared.’ It reveals Him as being “God, who is

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rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us.” (Ephesians 2:4). God's great heart goes out to every poor, lost and guilty sinner as expressed in 1 Timothy 2:36: ‘For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.’

SECONDLY, God has proved His love by sending His Son into the world to be the Saviour of all. The measure of God's love for us is seen in the greatness of His gift to us. God's Son, equal and eternal with His Father, came into the world because God loved us. In His wonderful grace He clothed Himself with humanity and, conceived by the Holy Spirit, was born of a virgin in Bethlehem. He did not have a sinful nature such as we possess, for we are told He had no sin, knew no sin, and did no sin.

Hebrews 4:15 – ‘For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.’

2 Corinthians 5:21 – ‘For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.’ 1 Peter 2:22 – “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth”, His life was without any stain of sin, either in thought, word, or deed. He was holy, harmless and undefiled.

Hebrews 7:26 – ‘For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and

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has become higher than the heavens.’ Only a sinless Saviour could save a sinful humanity.

Think of the great miracle and mystery of His birth! He, Who was the Creator of all things, became the little babe of Bethlehem!

John 1:1-4 and 10 ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.’

‘He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.’ The eternal God became Man, in order that He might bear all our sins, suffer punishment due to us, and die in our stead.

Luke 19:10 – ‘for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.’

John 3:17 – ‘For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.’

THIRDLY, the Lord Jesus Christ, by His death and resurrection has made possible the salvation of all who will trust in Him as their Saviour. This truth is absolutely necessary for your salvation. This is the very heart of the gospel. Grasp it thoroughly. The Lord Jesus proved Himself to be the Son of God by the perfect life He lived on earth as Man, by the wonderful words He said, and by the mighty deeds He did. But He did not merely come to

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demonstrate His Deity, for this, of itself, could not save us.

He came to provide salvation for sinners, and this could only be done by the sacrifice of Himself on our behalf.

“The wages of sin is death” and “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” God is just and righteous, and therefore cannot ignore sin: it must be punished. How then can the sinner be delivered from the just and righteous judgement of God upon one's sins? Only in one way: by Christ's substitutionary sacrifice and victorious resurrection on one's behalf.

Upon the cross the sinless Son of God willingly offered Himself as a sacrifice and bore our sins in His Own body.

1 Peter 2:24 – ‘who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness – by whose stripes you were healed.’ God, Who knew all our sins, placed them upon Him. Isaiah 53:6 – ‘All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.’

Christ must suffer, to the fullest extent, all the punishment due to those sins. As He hung upon the cross, all the judgement of God fell upon Him. He endured every ounce of that awful sentence due to us and, by His death, satisfied all God's demands against sin and the sinner. On the third day He rose again, thus accomplishing the work that is necessary for the salvation of every sinner that will trust in Him. Have you grasped this tremendous fact? How good it is to be able to say with the poet:

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“All my sins were laid on Jesus, Jesus bore them on the tree; God, Who knew them, laid them on Him, And, believing, I am free!”

Before the Saviour died He cried triumphantly: “It is finished!” What was finished? All the work He came into this world to do; and that was to provide a full, free and eternal salvation for all who would rely, wholly and entirely, upon His finished work, and receive Him, by faith, to be their own personal Saviour. God signified His entire satisfaction in, and His full acceptance of this finished work of Christ by raising Him from the dead on the third day. Thus the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is God's acknowledgement or receipt, to the world, that all the work needed for our salvation has been done, once and forever.

Thus it is not our good works, our resolves, our prayers, or our sorrow for sins that merit God's favour and salvation; but Christ's finished work. It is this alone, which makes possible the salvation of all who trust in Him and own Him as Lord.

Lord Jesus knew and bore all our sins and met, by His death, all the law's demands against them. Because He suffered the full penalty of God's judgement in our place, we may now go free. Have you ever believed this good news and thanked the Saviour for what He did for you? If not, why not do it right now?

Luke 7:41-43: “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave

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them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.”’’

We should have died in our sins and been banished from God's presence forever; but Christ, the Lord of all creation and Judge of all the earth, became our Substitute, took all our sins, bore them in His own body and put them away by His death, and then rose triumphant. He was forsaken by God as He hung on that cross, that we might be welcomed and pardoned. He suffered all the punishment that should have been ours, that we might go free. Have you ever thanked the blessed Saviour for what He did for you? Hear what apostle Paul says: 2 Corinthians 9:15 – ‘Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!’

Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Thus in this chapter, we have tried to make clear what God has done to make this salvation possible to every lost and guilty sinner. He has revealed His love to all; He has sent His Son to be the Saviour of all; and Christ, by His death on the cross and triumphant resurrection, has made this salvation possible to all.

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Chapter Three MY SALVATION – HOW? How can I be saved?

What must I do to be saved?

In Acts 16:30 and 31, the repentant Jailor asked this very same question – ‘And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

If you are really in deadly earnest as to this matter of your salvation from the consequences of your sins; then I am sure you will allow nothing to hinder you from finding out just how you may come into possession of this wonderful salvation that you need so badly, and which God has provided so bountifully. Depend on it, if you sincerely desire to be saved, God is far more desirous to save you! In fact it is God who has created this desire within you. The Holy Spirit was sent into the world for the express purpose of convicting the sinner of his deep need of the Saviour.

John 16:7-11, the Lord Jesus Christ told His disciples: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;

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of judgement, because the ruler of this world is judged.”

If you have been brought to realise that you are a lost, guilty, helpless and hell-deserving sinner; then you may be quite certain that the Holy Spirit has produced this conviction within you. In Mathew 9:13 Lord Jesus said, “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” It is only the guilty who realise their need of a pardon; the lost who see their need of a saviour, and the sick who want a doctor.

Are you saying: “I realize that I am a sinner, deserving only of God's eternal wrath; and that Christ, by His death and resurrection, has provided a salvation for me from this wrath; but I do not know how to make this Saviour my Saviour, and this salvation my salvation. O, what must I do to be saved?” Is this your problem? Read carefully what follows.

FIRST, own your need frankly to God. Tell God against whom you have sinned, just what you are. Own to Him that you are exactly what He says you are in His holy book.

(1) Tell Him you are a guilty sinner, and that you have sinned deliberately, again and again, against the voice of conscience and the word of God. Luke 15:18 – ‘I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.”’ Luke 18:13 – “And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God be merciful to me a sinner!’”

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(2) Tell Him you are a lost sinner. Own that you have gone astray into the bypaths of sin and that, unless He saves you, you will be lost forever. If you are not saved, you are lost. In 2 Corinthians 4:3 we read: ‘But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are lost.’ If the light of the gospel has not yet shone into your heart, then you are numbered amongst those whom God says “are perishing”.

(3) Tell Him you are a helpless sinner, unable to do one thing to merit His salvation. Own that all your attempts to gain God's favour by your good resolves, good works, prayers, religion and tears, have been utterly vain. With the hymn writer, say from the heart: “Not the labour of my hands, Can fulfill Thy law's demands; Could my zeal no respite know, Could my tears forever flow, All for sin cannot atone – Thou must save, and Thou alone!”

The Bible describes each sinner as being without strength, dead in trespasses and sins, without life, peace, hope, God or Christ.

Romans 5:6 – ‘For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.’

Ephesians 2:1 – ‘And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.’

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Ephesians 4:18 – ‘Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart.’

Ephesians 2:12 – ‘That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.’

(4) Tell Him that you are a hell-deserving sinner. Own that if you had your just deserts, He would be perfectly right and just in banishing you from His presence to hell, there to weep and wail and gnash your teeth forever.

Mark 16:16 – ‘He who believes and is baptised will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.’

Romans 1:18 – ‘For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.’

This may not sound very nice, but it is absolutely true. Do you believe it? Are you prepared to own it to God? Can you truthfully, honestly and sincerely say, from your heart, to God: “O God, I own myself to be a guilty, lost, helpless and hell-deserving sinner”?

SECONDLY, believe the gospel, or the good news concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and the work He accomplished by His death and resurrection. That is, accept, as true, what God's word says Christ did to secure your salvation.

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(1) Believe that the Lord Jesus knew all about your need as a sinner and loved you just the same. It is blessedly and gloriously true that the Son of God loved you.

Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

It was love that caused Him to leave heaven above and come into this world to seek and save the lost.

2 Corinthians 8:9 – ‘For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.’

John 15:9 – “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.”

1 John 4:16 – ‘And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

Do you know and believe that the Lord Jesus Christ loves you in spite of what you are?

(2) Believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, on the cross, bore (or carried) all your sins in His own body and died and rose to put them away. Forget about everyone else's sins for the moment, and just think of your own sins, as though you were the only sinner in the world. Now ask yourself the question: “Whose sins did Jesus bear on the cross?” The Bible tells us

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plainly: ‘who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness – by whose stripes you are healed.’

(1 Peter 2:24). John the Baptist said of Christ in John 1:29 – “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” In Isaiah 53:5 we read: ‘But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.’ Now change the word “our” for “my” in these Scriptures, and you know whose sin Jesus bore on the cross. You have a personal application of a wonderful truth!

The believer can say truthfully, with the word of God as his authority: “The Lord Jesus, on the cross of Calvary, knew all about my guilt and willingly allowed God to put all my sins on Him that He might bear them in His Own body and receive, at the hands of God, all the punishment that my sins deserved.

Because Christ died for my sins, and rose again for my justification, I may be saved from the consequences of my sins.” Romans 4:25 – ‘who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.’

If you can truthfully say this of the Lord Jesus, it means you believe the gospel. No one can believe this for you; you must believe it for yourself. Will you do so? If you believe that God put all your sins on Jesus, and that He has borne all the penalty due to your sins, then do you not see there is nothing more for you to do? If Christ has done it all, why not thank

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Him for it and rest in simple faith, upon His finished work and sing: “Christ the Lord is risen, victory is won!

All the work that saves the sinner has been done!

Now, through faith in Him, God offers, full and free: Pardon, peace and joy and glorious liberty!”

THIRDLY, accept the Lord Jesus Christ, by a definite act of faith, to be your Saviour and Lord, and that moment, you will be saved. This is what is meant by the words: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.” God uses many words to convey what it means to believe on Christ.

(1) It means coming to Him. Mathew 11:28 – “Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The Lord Jesus though unseen to your natural sight, is standing with open arms inviting you to come to Him, and promises to give you rest from the burden of sins. Believe His word and, in your heart, take the step of faith and come to Him, just as you are, and you will prove He is as good as His word, and sweet rest shall be your portion. He will give you rest from an accusing conscience, rest from the dread of a coming judgement, and rest from all your vain efforts to save yourself. Thus believing is coming to Him. (2) It means receiving Him. John 1:12 – ‘But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.’ God offers you His beloved Son to be your Saviour and says: “Though you have sinned against

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Me, and your sins deserve eternal death, yet My Son, on Calvary's cross, bore all your sins and died and rose again in order to save you. I now offer Him to you as your Saviour. Will you receive Him as your own personal Saviour, right here and now?” What will you say to this? Will you respond from the heart: “Lord Jesus, I now receive You, into my heart, to be my own personal Saviour.” Thus believing is receiving Christ.

(3) It means trusting Him. Ephesians 1:13 – ‘In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.’ You would prove your belief by your trust.

The Lord Jesus wants you to trust yourself to Him, to rely on the work He accomplished for you, and then commit yourself to Him for salvation of your soul. Will you do it now? Will you say, from your heart: “Just as I am, poor, sinful, lost; I come to Thee, Lord Jesus Christ; In simple faith, I trust in Thee, Who bore my sins and died for me.”

The moment you really come to Christ, receive Him as your personal Saviour and trust Him for salvation, you will be saved. How do we know this? Because God definitely says so: Acts 16:31 – ‘So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”’ Thus believing is trusting in Him.

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FOURTHLY, confess, or own Christ, as the Lord of your life before the world. This is where many fail, and consequently do not enter into the full enjoyment of God's salvation. In Romans 10:9-10 we read – ‘That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.’

Mark 5:18-19: ‘And when He got into the boat, he who had been demonpossessed begged Him that he might be with Him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.”’

To confess Christ as Lord of your life means that you acknowledge Him before others, as your Owner and Ruler, and that you are therefore no longer your own, but His; to do what He says, to go where He commands, and to be what He wants you to be. It means that you enthrone the Lord Jesus as supreme in your heart and allow Him to have his way in your life. It means that you realise and submit to the truth of God's word when it declares of the believer: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: ‘Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.’

This, of course, entails a complete break with the world and its sinful pleasures, and a bold witness to others of the fact that you have taken Christ as your Saviour and Lord, and henceforth desire to live for His glory.

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Are you prepared to take this bold stand for Christ, and own Him bravely as your Lord before the world, in spite of its ridicule, scorn, contempt and persecution? Remember, Christ was not ashamed of you. He suffered the rejection of men. They spat in His face and crucified Him. Hebrews 12: 2-3: ‘Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.’

The world may laugh at you because you own Christ as your Lord and live for Him; but you are thereby sharing His rejection. John 15:19 – “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

When you have received the Lord Jesus Christ to be your own Lord and Saviour, tell someone else about it. Inform your parents and your friends and seek to witness for Christ as you find opportunity. By this bold confession the joy of salvation will be brought to your soul. Not only so, but this will enable you to nail your colours to the mast and let everyone know “Whose you are, and Whom you serve.”

Acts 27:23 – “For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve.”

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Romans 1:16 – ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.’

What would you think of a soldier who was ashamed of his country, or a boy who was ashamed of his mother? How much worse is that person who is ashamed to own the Saviour Who loved him and gave Himself for him?

Here, then, is the way to be saved, as found in God's word.

Let us summarise. First, own yourself to be a guilty, lost, helpless and hell-deserving sinner. Second, believe that the Lord Jesus Christ loved you, bore your sins, died and rose again for you. Third, receive Christ, by a definite act of faith, as your own personal Saviour. Then, fourth, confess Him as the Lord of your life to others. Are you prepared to do this, solemnly and sincerely, right now? If so, lift up your heart to the Lord Jesus and tell Him so, in your own words. Thank Him for dying for your sins and rising again for your justification; tell Him you now accept Him as your own Saviour and that you will henceforth own Him as your Lord.

Perhaps it might help to make it a more definite thing to you, if you wrote down, in your own words, this momentous decision to accept the Lord Jesus as your own Saviour. The following statement is merely a suggestive one, and contains the essential elements necessary to an intelligent decision for Christ:

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MY DECISION “Owning myself to be a guilty, lost, helpless and helldeserving sinner; but believing that the Lord Jesus Christ bore my sins, took my place and died and rose again for me; I now, in simple faith, definitely receive Him to be my own personal Saviour, henceforth to own Him as the Lord of my life, and shall seek to confess Him as my Lord to others.”

Signed _____________________________________

Date_______________________

It is the receiving of the Person, the blessed Son of God, as the living, loving Saviour into your heart, that will result in your salvation. 1 John 5:12 – ‘He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.’

May God grant that, right here and now, you may solemnly and sincerely make this great choice of Christ as your Saviour and the Lord of your life!

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