1. The only true meaningful life is the one God offers!
Jesus said, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life”. (John 3:16)
Jesus also said, “I have come that they might have life, and might have it abundantly”. (John 10:10)
According to the Bible, look what God offers us:
• Love – Someone who cares about you.
• Security – Someone who cares about what happens to you.
• Peace – God cares about your problems.
• Purpose – Someone who cares about whether your life counts.
• Eternal Life – Someone who cares about your future.
Unfortunately…
2. Our sin separates us from God.
The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. (Romans 3:23)
and, “There is none righteous, not even one”. (Romans 3:10)
No one’s perfect, right?
According to the Bible’s teaching sin is:
• Failure to be what God wants us to be.
• Failure to do what God wants us to do.
• Most often, it is simply shutting God out.
“All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way”. (Isaiah 53:6)
And that’s not all…God is righteous, so He must punish sin.
• “Thou art not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; no evil dwells with Thee”. (Psalm 5:4)
• “For the wages of sin is death”. (Romans 6:23)
• “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God”. (Isaiah 59:2)
Since sin separates us from God, we cannot enjoy a meaningful life here or with Him in heaven.
Fortunately…3. God loves us so much He gave Jesus Christ, His Son, to take away our sin!
The Bible says:
“God demonstrates His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”. (Romans 5:8)
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures”. (1 Corinthians 15:3,4)
Because God is satisfied with what Jesus Christ has done, He offers us forgiveness of our sins, and eternal life with Him!
Jesus Christ tore down the barrier of sin between us and God, when He died for our sins.
But we must respond to His offer…4. To begin a meaningful life now and eternal life with God, we must trust Jesus Christ to forgive our sins.
“Jesus said, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father, but by Me”. (John 14:6)
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31)
“Being justified [set right with God] by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”. (Romans 5:1)
But what is faith?
We exercise faith when we:
• Depend on a doctor
• Trust in a lawyer
• Rely on a friend
Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, therefore, is trusting Him to forgive your sins and bring you into a right relationship with God.
A prayer to express this decision to God might be like this:
Dear Father, I admit that I am a sinner. I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for me. I trust Jesus Christ to forgive my sins right now. Thank you for the gift of eternal life with You. Amen.
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