Have you thought about what happens when you die? Do you know that you have a soul? If you were to die right now, where do you think your soul would go? Think about that and how comfortable do you feel? What do you know about heaven and hell? 

Romans 3: 23 tells us “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 6:23 says “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus of Lord.” This means that everyone of us has sinned and a life of sin leads to death. A life of sin means a life of bondage, and eternal damnation in hell. It is almost impossible to truly be happy and content without true fellowship with Christ. This is because God created each of us to desire fellowship with Him by placing a God sized hole in our heart. When we are living a life of sin, we are trying to fill this God sized hole with whatever we think will make us happy. A God sized hole in our heart can only be filled with God. God does not want us to live in bondage, and God does not want anyone to perish in Hell with Satan. God has given us free will though to choose who we will serve, God or Satan. In John 10:10, Jesus says “The thief [Satan] does not come except to steal, and to kill and to destroy. I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Satan wants to us to live miserable, unhappy lives, and burn forever in the Hell. Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth to give peace, joy, love, hope, healing and salvation to all that will believe in Him. John 3:16 tells us “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.” This means that if we accept Jesus in our hearts that we will live eternally in Heaven with God, this is the gift of salvation. In Heaven, “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelations 21:4). Heaven will be an eternal paradise with God. There will be no more sickness, addictions, mental illnesses, death, or any unhappiness in Heaven. Heaven is a pure place free of sin and evil. The alternative to Heaven, is an eternity in Hell. It says in the book of Matthew “But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12). Hell is a place of continual pain, torture and torment.

You have a choice to make. You can decide to believe in God and live for Him. This choice leads to eternal life in Heaven. The second option is you can believe that there is no God, and you can continue to live your current life without God. By choosing not to believe in God, your eternal destination will be Hell. God is a way-maker. God can do the impossible. God can bring peace, joy and happiness to your life. The joy of the Lord is present no matter what situation you may go through. God can restore broken relationships, bring healing, and supply your needs. We pray you say yes to God. It is an easy as saying the ABC to accept Jesus as your Savior and God as your Heavenly Father.

The ABC’s of Salvation

Admit

First, you must admit that you are a sinner, and you need salvation that only comes through Jesus. (Romans 3:23).

Believe

Second, you must believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and Jesus was born of a virgin birth (Matthew 1:18-25). You must believe that Jesus died on the cross, and that He rose again on the third day (Matthew 27:32-61, Matthew 28). After Jesus’s resurrection, He was seen by the disciplines, Jesus promised the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, and Jesus ascended back to Heaven (Acts 1). In Acts 2, the disciplines and believers of Jesus were filled with the Holy Spirit. When you accept Jesus into your heart, God sends the Holy Spirit to dwell within you.  The Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity: God the father, Jesus the son, and the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit leads us, guides us, and convicts of any wrong doings. You must also believe that Jesus will return to earth to gather all those that believe in Him to take them to Heaven for eternity (Matthew 24).

Confess

Third, you must confess your sins to God, and ask God to forgive you (1 John 1:9). Your sins are covered by the blood of Jesus, and God has forgiven you. Jesus is our propitiation for sins. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” When you accept Jesus into your heart, your mind, heart and soul are forever changed. You become a new person, and your past is covered by the blood of Jesus. This is part of the work of the Holy Spirit to transform us! If there are still areas of your life that you struggle with prior to becoming a Christian, God can transform you. Through the work of the Holy Spirit and the power of God, you can be delivered from addictions, and sins that you struggle with. If you have any diseases, or mental illnesses, God can give you healing from these as well if you ask and believe God can do this. Isiah 53: 5 says “But He [Jesus] was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” This means that Jesus not only died on the cross for our sins, but also to heal us of diseases. 

Faith is described as “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). What this means is that when we pray, we have confidence in what we are asking for even though we cannot physically see that answered prayer right away. Faith is about having trust in God and believing that He can do the impossible and perform miracles. Even though you cannot directly see God, you still believe that God is there. When you ask God to forgive you of your sins, and be your Lord and Savior, you must believe that Gods has forgiven you of your sins and saved you. When you pray for healing, you must trust that God is going to heal. You must put your confidence and trust in God, no matter what. As you draw closer to God, you will start to feel God’s presence, and God will start to speak to you in different ways. God speaks to use in all kind of different ways, we have to just be ready to hear what God is trying to tell us. The more time you spend with God the more real to you God will be.

If you believe the ABC’s of salvation, then you need to pray and ask God to forgive you of your sins and be the Lord of your life. This prayer of salvation is referred to as the Sinner’s Prayer. Here is an example of the Sinner’s Prayer you can pray to God. 

“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey you, and to do your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”