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We all fall short of the perfection God requires (Romans 3:23). No matter how good you are, no one is perfect when compared to God! The word which describes our falling short of God’s perfection is the word “sin.” This word, “sin,” means to “miss the mark” and we have missed the mark when it comes to God’s standards.
To sin is to rebel against God. Unfortunately, all of us have chosen to rebel against God’s standard. We are all guilty on some level of lying, stealing, gossiping, immorality and more. We also know that when we sin we not only miss God’s standard, we end up harming ourselves and others.
Because God is holy and just, He cannot allow sin to go unpunished. The punishment for sin is separation from God’s love, mercy, and grace (Revelation 20:11-15). This separation is spiritual death (Romans 6:23). Without God’s plan of salvation, eternal death is the destiny of every human being.
Because our sin (rebellion) is against God, God Himself is the only one who can provide for our salvation. The debt we owe God due to our rebellion against Him is infinite and we cannot pay it back. God loves us and He does not want His creation to be eternally separated from His Love.
Therefore, God became a human being in the Person of Jesus Christ (John 1:1,14). Jesus lived a sinless life (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 3:5) and offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice in our place (1 Corinthians 15:3; Colossians 1:22; Hebrews 10:10). In other words, Jesus paid the debt we owe to God! The death of Jesus Christ on the cross fully paid for the sins of the entire world (1 John 2:2). The proof of Jesus’ claim to be God and that He indeed had paid our sin debt was His resurrection from the dead. Jesus’ physical, bodily resurrection demonstrated that His sacrifice was indeed sufficient and that salvation is now available.
Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins is God’s gift to the whole world. However, you have to personally take God’s gift to experience it. For example, you may have a Christmas gift under the tree with your name on it, but if you never take it for yourself and open it, you will never experience what is in the box! The same is true for salvation. You have to make a personal response to God.
In Acts 16:31, a man asked the apostle Paul how to be saved. Paul’s response was, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” The way to follow God’s plan of salvation is to put your complete faith and trust in Jesus as your only Savior. Stop trusting in yourself, good works, or anything else. Personal belief in Jesus requires that you humbly ask Him to be your Deliverer from your sins. Personal belief in Jesus is the only requirement (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9). God has provided for our salvation through Jesus Christ. All we must do is receive it, by faith, fully trusting in Jesus alone as Savior (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). That is God’s plan of salvation.
If you are not sure if you are going to heaven, what is keeping you from humbling yourself before God and asking Jesus to save you? If you are ready to accept God’s gift of salvation:
