Today, we join the Apostle Paul in earnestly beseeching you
to come to salvation. Paul said this in 2 Corinthians 6:1-2:
|
1 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you
also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. 2
(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted,
and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee:
behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the
day of salvation.) 2 Corinthians 6:1–2 |
Today you are being given a message sent to you by someone
who loves you more than anyone else in the world loves
you.The sender is God. God loves you so much that he sent
his Son to the cross of Calvary to die for your sin. John
3:16 says: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life. The fact is, somebody
died for you. Romans 5:8 says: “But God commendeth his love
toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us”. Inasmuch as God is love because he sacrificed his
only begotten Son for you, he is also a God of judgment and
justice. If you reject God’s Son as payment for your sins,
then you will be subject to God’s judgment, justice, and
wrath. The end of God’s wrath for lost sinners who have
rejected the Lord Jesus Christ is hell and the lake of fire.
All men and women are sinners. Man likes to justify himself
by comparing his sin against the sin of another. He thinks
he is relatively better than the next sinner. God does not
judge men and women according to that standard. God says
that even if you offend in what men and women consider to be
the most minor point of the God’s law, then you are guilty
of offending in the whole law because God’s standard is the
perfection of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. You CANNOT
live up to that standard. That is why you need a perfect,
sinless Saviour to save you from your sin. Receiving the
Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour is the only way you can
avoid the eternal fires of hell and the lake of fire. The
most important question you will ever ask or answer for
yourself is: “If I were to die in the next few minutes, do I
know for sure that I will not go to hell. The truth of the
matter is, if you are not saved and you do not get saved,
you will burn for eternity in hell. Hell is a place of
eternally burning fire at the end of a Christ rejecting
life. The fact of the matter is that any sin not covered by
the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ will send you to hell.
The sin of sins is not believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as
the only source for your salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ is
the perfect, sinless Lamb of God whose blood taketh away the
sin of the world. That includes your sin. We beg of you to
read this entire pamphlet. It may be that God will reveal to
you that you are still bound in your sin and on the way to
the Devil’s hell. That is neither my desire or God’s desire
for you. Somebody loved you enough to die for you. That
somebody was the Lord Jesus Christ. Bless the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ!
Sin is a transgression of God’s law. Though the “Ten
Commandments” form a major portion of God’s law, they do not
make up the entire law. In brief, from Exodus 20:1-17, God’s
ten commandments are:
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God
in vain
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honour thy father and thy mother:
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness.
10. Thou shalt not covet. |
Most every human being is guilty of violating at least five
of these commandments. Have you violated any of these
commandments? Of course, you have. Since you have, then you
are guilty of violating the whole law and are subject to the
fires of hell if you do not repent and turn to the Lord
Jesus Christ. We can add to these ten many more specific
sins that are identified in the first five books of the
Bible called “The Law” and in the New Testament. We can add
to these ten the sin of rebellion against established
authority; prostitution; rape; child abuse; divorce;
fornication and other sexual sins (fornication is any sex
outside the Biblical bounds of marriage); refusal to pay
lawful debts; abusing your spouse; abusing your animals;
violating local, state, and national laws that do not
violate God’s laws; witchcraft; sorcery; assaulting someone;
cheating on your taxes; drug and alcohol use; envying;
hating; creating strife; mocking God; evil speaking of
others; cursing; and such like and so forth. The apostle
Paul also said in the New Testament that “whatsoever is not
of faith is sin” and also “he that knoweth to do good and
doeth it not to him it is sin. Have you violated any of
these laws? If so, then you are guilty of violating the
whole law and are subject to the fires of hell if you do not
repent and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. The whole point is
that we are all sinners under the wrath and condemnation of
God as long as we are outside the saving arms of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We have all violated the law of God.
We also want you to know that God will not save an
individual and leave them in their sin. If you will not give
up your sin, then you have not been saved. There will be a
noticeable, eternal change in the individual who receives
Christ as their Saviour. Their destiny and their lifestyle
will change. They will forsake the sin they were involved in
before they were saved. That is not to say that they will be
perfect. However they will have a different attitude toward
their sin. They will get on God’s side against their sin and
their sin nature. The drunk will give up their alcohol; the
prostitute will quit selling their bodies; the harlot will
quit sex outside established Biblical grounds; the thief
will quit stealing; the sluggard will start working; and so
forth.
Men and women are all sinners. Since the fall of Adam and
Eve in the Garden of Eden men and women have been born in
sin. The Bible says in Psalm 51:5: “Behold, I was shapen in
iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me”. The Bible
also says in Psalm 58:3: “The wicked are estranged from the
womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking
lies”. Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden when they
disobeyed the commandment of God not to partake of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil. The Bible says in Genesis
2:16-17:
|
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of
every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou
eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Genesis
2:16-17 |
The Bible also says in Genesis 3:6:
|
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for
food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a
tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the
fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her
husband with her; and he did eat. Genesis 3:6 |
Thus, we see that sin of man originated in the Garden of
Eden. Sin is a transgression against God or disobedience to
the commandments of God. The sin in the garden led to the
immediate spiritual death of all of mankind. Because of sin,
we all eventually suffer physical death also. The Bible says
in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God;”. The Bible also says in Romans 5:12:
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and
death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all
have sinned:”. The Bible says in Isaiah 64:6,
Romans 3:10-12, AND Jeremiah 17:9-10:
6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our
righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do
fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind,
have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no,
not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there
is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone
out of the way, they are together become
unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not
one. Romans 3:10-12
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the LORD
search the heart, I try the reins, even to give
every man according to his ways, and according to
the fruit of his doings. Jeremiah 17:9-10 |
So, we see that the best of our good works that we have to
offer God is as filthy rags. God says that no one is right
before God. God says that our hearts are dark and deceitful
and that we cannot know it without the intervention of God.
Because of our sin, we are separated from God, we are
enemies with God, and we are alienated from God. According
to Romans 5:10: “For if, when we were enemies, we were
reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being
reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Isaiah 59:1-2
says:
|
1Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it
cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot
hear: 2 But your iniquities have separated between
you and your God, and your sins have hid his face
from you, that he will not hear. Isaiah 59:1-2 |
Colossians 1:20-21 says:
|
20 And, having made peace through the blood of his
cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself;
by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or
things in heaven. 21 And you, that were sometime
alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works,
yet now hath he reconciled Colossians 1:20-21 |
We know from Romans 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death”.
What this means is that we must pay for our sin with the
death of our body, soul, and spirit. In other words, the
wages that we are paid for our sin is death. Many folks have
the wrong idea about death. They consider death to be the
end, but it is not. Death is nothing more than a change of
state. When we die, we change from a temporary state to an
eternal state. The question is: “Where will you spend that
eternity?”. Will you suffer for an eternity in the lake of
fire? Or, will you rejoice in eternal bliss in honoring and
glorifying the God of heaven? The Bible meaning of death is
“separation”. To die means to be separated. In death, our
soul and spirit are separated from our bodies. The Bible
also uses the term “the second death”. The second death is
eternal separation from God in the lake of fire. The Bible
says in Revelation 20:14: “And death and hell were cast into
the lake of fire. This is the second death”. The Bible also
says in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving,
and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and
sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their
part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone:
which is the second death”.
The Bible says in Psalm 9:17: “The wicked shall be turned
into hell, and all the nations that forget God”. The Bible
also says in Hebrews 9:27: “And as it is appointed unto men
once to die, but after this the judgment:” The judgement
referred to here is the “Great White Throne Judgement”. This
judgement is described in Revelation 20:11-15:
|
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat
on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled
away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And
I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God;
and the books were opened: and another book was
opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were
judged out of those things which were written in the
books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave
up the dead which were in it; and death and hell
delivered up the dead which were in them: and they
were judged every man according to their works. 14
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not
found written in the book of life was cast into the
lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-15
|
No one has to go to hell. It is an individual choice. The
question is: “Will you choose eternal life in heaven or will
you choose eternal death in hell?”. If you choose to make no
choice at all, then you choose hell because the Bible says
in John 3:16-18,36:
|
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God
sent not his Son into the world to condemn the
world; but that the world through him might be
saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned:
but he that believeth not is condemned already,
because he hath not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God. 36 He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth
on him. John 3:16-18,36 |
Because of our sin, we are under the condemnation of God and
the wrath of God abides upon us. The Bible says that God
takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. God says in
Ezekiel 33:11:
|
Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have
no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the
wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye
from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of
Israel? Ezekiel 33:11 |
That phrase “turn ye, turn ye” means to repent. Repentance
is a turning from a life of sin and a turning to God. The
Bible says in 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise, as some men count slackness; but is
longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance”. There is NO
salvation without repentance. Christ said in Luke 13:3-5:
|
3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall
all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen, upon whom
the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye
that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in
Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent,
ye shall all likewise perish. Luke 13:3-5 |
The Bible says in Acts 17:30: “And the times of this
ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every
where to repent:”. Repentance is not worldly sorrow.
Repentance is Godly sorrow. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians
7:9-10:
|
9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but
that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made
sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive
damage by us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow worketh
repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but
the sorrow of the world worketh death. 2 Corinthians
7:9-10 |
Men and women cannot repent of their sin without the power
of the Holy Ghost living in them. God gives men and women
the power of repentance through faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ. When men and women exercise faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Holy Ghost comes to live in them. Repentance
cannot be worked up in the power of the flesh. Repentance is
a work of the indwelling Holy Ghost. Repentance is the
evidence of salvation. Through repentance, the lost sinner
becomes a new creature. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians
5:17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are
become new”.
The biggest problem I see and read about in churches of
today are men and women and boys and girls walking away from
professions of salvation and never showing forth any
evidence of salvation. There has been no change in their
attitude toward God and the things of God and therefore no
repentance and no salvation. All things remain the same and
nothing has become new. They are baptized church members on
their way to hell. They have prayed a “sinner’s prayer” and
been told that they are on their way to heaven. Salvation is
more than a sinner’s prayer. Let me say this, if the
sinner’s prayer is prayed from a repentant, believing heart,
then God hears that prayer and salvation becomes a reality.
But most people that pray the sinner’s prayer have been
manipulated into saying some words without having a saving
understanding of what salvation means and what God’s
requirements for salvation are. They have been inoculated to
the gospel because they have prayed the “sinner’s prayer”.
They will tell you that they have done that when you
question them about their lack of evidence of salvation.
They will tell you that they have said those words. That
they have prayed that prayer. If there has been no change in
your lifestyle after your profession faith, then you need to
do some serious soul searching into whether you are saved. I
realize that some Christians are not properly discipled
following salvation, but I believe that the majority of
professing Christians who show no evidence of salvation have
never come to a saving belief in the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. If you are a Christian that God gives the
opportunity to lead someone to the Lord Jesus Christ, then
you are responsible to disciple them. It is a part of the
great commission. Discipling involves not only instruction,
but also reproof and correction. God said in 2 Timothy 3:16:
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness.
I was once a member of what appeared to be a sound,
fundamental, independent Baptist church where doctrinally
sound expository preaching was taking place Sunday after
Sunday from the King James Bible, but there seemed to be
something missing. Salvation that required repentance was
not being preached. Sin was not being preached against and
Biblical requirements for separation and holiness were not
being emphasized. And, by the way, no worship was taking
place (no surprise there). There was no spontaneous
testimonies being given and no praise for God (just a cold,
dead orthodoxy). By that I mean they were doctrinally
straight, but spiritually dead.
Then, that pastor left to take another church and a new
pastor was called. The new pastor came in preaching very
strongly on the need for repentance in salvation and the
need for holiness and separation in the Christian life.
After several services of strong preaching, the God the Holy
Ghost started showing up around there and people started
getting saved who had been church members for many years and
some of them for most of their lives. After all was said and
done fully 85 % of those church members were lost by their
own testimonies. I know. I counted them. The sad thing is
that I completely believe that that is the case in even most
independent fundamental Baptist churches and much worse in
the denominational Baptist churches. That is why I so
strongly teach and preach the need for repentance.
Repentance establishes relationship with God and maintains
fellowship with God. In other words, repentance is necessary
for the saved and the unsaved.
A lack of saved church members is the reason that most
Baptist churches are being destroyed by worldliness,
psychology, outright false doctrine, apostasy, and heresy
including Satan’s bible perversions. The apostle Paul
described the apostate church of today perfectly in 2
Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:15-16:
1
This know also, that in the last days perilous times
shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own
selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3
Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false
accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those
that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers
of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a
form of godliness, but denying the power thereof:
from such turn away. 6 For of this sort are they
which creep into houses, and lead captive silly
women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7
Ever learning, and never able to come to the
knowledge of the truth. 2 Timothy 3:1-7
15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them
that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure;
but even their mind and conscience is defiled. 16
They profess that they know God; but in works they
deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and
unto every good work reprobate. Titus 1:15-16
|
Today’s church is more educated than it has ever been. It is
ever learning and never bearing the truth. It is ever
learning and never teaching and preaching the truth. It is
ever learning and disdaining the knowledge of the truth.
Today’s church has a form of godliness, but denies the power
thereof. “These be they that separate themselves, sensual,
having not the Spirit” (Jude 19). In other words, we have
churches full of members that are not saved. There is no
knowledge of God for there is no fear of God and His
holiness. There is no worship because there is no holiness.
The Bible says three different times that we are to worship
the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Our churches are full of
Bible correcting theologians and Bible scholars that are
camped out around the tree of knowledge. As one writer said,
the word of the living God is being crucified between two
thieves: the dollar and the scholar. The scholar’s big
problem is that their knowledge is not spiritually
enlightened. They would not know God the Holy Ghost if He
showed up. I wouldn’t give you a plug nickle for ninety-five
percent of the churches today. They have no right to call
themselves the church of the living GOD. They are a mixed
multitude of pagans and professing Christians who possess a
form of godliness but deny the power thereof. The word
Ichabod should be written above their doors. The reason the
church in America is in such a wicked fallen state is
because church rolls are full of unsaved, baptized
professing Christians.
Church member and lost sinner I would ask you: If you were
to die today, do you know for a fact that you would not go
to hell. Are you counting on your church membership, baptism
certificate, or good works to get you into heaven? Without a
personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ none of
these will do you any good. You will end up in hell and the
lake of fire. God said in 2 Corinthians 13:5: Examine
yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own
selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ
is in you, except ye be reprobates?
What is God’s remedy for sin. Man has no remedy for , or
escape from, the death and condemnation brought about by
their sin. The good news is that God has provided a means of
deliverance from the penalty of sin. That deliverance, or
salvation, can only come through the Lord Jesus Christ. The
Bible says in John 14:6 and Acts 4:10-12:
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and
the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 14:6
10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people
of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from
the dead, even by him doth this man stand here
before you whole. 11 This is the stone which was set
at nought of you builders, which is become the head
of the corner. 12 Neither is there salvation in any
other: for there is none other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved. Acts
4:10-12 |
This means that the only remedy for your sin that God will
accept is the Lord Jesus Christ. Without the Lord Jesus
Christ, we are lost and dying and on our way to hell. John
said: behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the
world.
It is through God’s mercies that He reveals to us that we
are lost and without hope outside the Lord Jesus Christ. “It
is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed because
His compassions fail not (Lamentations 3:22)”. “For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life (John 3:16).”“But God commendeth his love
toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us”(Romans 5:8). The wages of our sin have been paid by
the shedding of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Salvation is not of man. There is nothing you can do to earn
salvation. Salvation is not by works. Salvation is by grace
through faith alone. Ephesians 2:8-9 says: “8 For by grace
are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it
is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should
boast”. Titus 3:5 says: “Not by works of righteousness which
we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the
washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”.
Salvation is not in the church. That means that you can join
every church in the world and still die in your sin and go
to hell. Salvation is not in the baptismal pool. You can
walk through every baptismal pool in the world and still die
in your sin and go to hell. Christianity is not a religion,
but is instead a living reality: the reality of Christ in
you. Christianity is not hereditary. You are not a Christian
because your mother and father were Christians. Salvation is
not in some teacher, preacher, or evangelist. Salvation is
in the Lord Jesus Christ. According to Psalm 37:39-40 and
Jonah 2:9, salvation is of the Lord:
39 But the salvation of the righteous is of the
LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.
40 And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them:
he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save
them, because they trust in him. Psalm 37:39-40
9 But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of
thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed.
Salvation is of the LORD. Jonah 2:9 |
Now, the question arises: “What is salvation?”. Salvation is
the deliverance of your soul and spirit from the penalty for
sin, which is eternal death (also called the second death).
For the Christian, the resurrection is the redemption of our
dead physical bodies at the time of the rapture. Salvation
comes through faith in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
According to 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 the gospel is the death,
burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1
Corinthians 15:1-4 says:
|
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel
which I preached unto you, which also ye have
received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye
are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto
you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I
delivered unto you first of all that which I also
received, how that Christ died for our sins
according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was
buried, and that he rose again the third day
according to the scriptures: 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 |
In order to be saved, you must personally believe that the
Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins; that your
sins were buried with Him; and that through His resurrection
you have the power to go forth in the newness of life. This
personal belief in the Lord Jesus Christ is also referred to
as faith. From Hebrews 11:1 we see: “Now faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen”. Hebrews 11:6 says: But without faith it is impossible
to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that
he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently
seek him.
Salvation brings about a newness of life. From Romans 6:1-4,
we know that baptism symbolizes the death, burial, and
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. For the believer,
baptism symbolizes the death of the old nature, the burial
of that old nature, and the resurrection unto a newness of
life. Romans 6:1-4 says:
|
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin,
that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we,
that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 3
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized
into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into
death: that like as Christ was raised up from the
dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:1-4 |
How is it that we come to salvation? Salvation is not a
process. It takes place instantly. However there are certain
events that must take place for a lost sinner to come to
salvation. According to the Bible, we must be drawn by God,
we must come under conviction of the Holy Ghost, we must
exercise faith, we must be brought to repentance by the Holy
Ghost, we must be regenerated (born again) by the Holy
Ghost, and we must publicly confess our sin of unbelief
before men. The Bible says in John 6:44: “No man can come to
me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I
will raise him up at the last day”. According to John 16:7-9
and Romans 10:17, God uses the convicting power of the Holy
Ghost and the word of God from the Bible to draw the lost
sinner unto the Lord Jesus Christ. John 16:7-9 says:
|
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient
for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the
Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I
will send him unto you. 8 And when he is come, he
will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness,
and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not
on me; John 16:7-9 |
Verses 8 and 9 in John 16 tells us that God reproves, or
convicts, the lost sinner because they believe not on the
Lord Jesus Christ. To say that one believes not on the Lord
Jesus Christ is the same as saying they lack faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Faith comes through the teaching and
preaching of the word of God. Romans 10:17 says: “So then
faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”.
That is why we have prepared this information from the Bible
on sin and salvation. We want you to hear from the word of
God what God has to say about your sin and its penalty and
your need for repentance and salvation. We sincerely hope
that having received this information from the word of God
that by faith you will ask God to save you in the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ. If you will exercise faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ, God will grant you repentance unto
salvation. Gods says in John 3:3-8 that you cannot enter the
kingdom of God (heaven) except ye be born again. John 3:3-8
says:
|
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily,
I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith
unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can
he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and
be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say
unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the
Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that
which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not
that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The
wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the
sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh,
and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born
of the Spirit. John 3:3-8 |
To be born again means to be spiritually reborn from above
by God the Holy Ghost. It means to be regenerated by the
Holy Spirit of God. It is life from death. The Lord Jesus
Christ was resurrected from death by the power of the Holy
Spirit that ye might have life. That same Holy Spirit
resurrects you from spiritual death through the washing of
regeneration and renewing by the Holy Ghost. Titus 3:5 says:
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of
regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”. If you are a
Christian, the rapture will be the time for the resurrection
or changing of your body. The rapture is the redemption of
your body (Romans 8:23) at the return of the Lord Jesus
Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). If you die before the
return of the Lord Jesus Christ, your vile body will be
resurrected and changed because the Bible says that flesh
and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. If you are
alive when the Lord Jesus Christ returns, your vile body
will be changed so that it can enter the Kingdom of God. Ye
must be born again!
The final event that must take place in your salvation is
public confession. The Bible says in Romans 10:8-11:
|
8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in
thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of
faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in
thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the
scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall
not be ashamed. Romans 10:8-11 |
If you will be honest with God, confess the Lord Jesus with
your mouth, and believe in your heart that God raised the
Lord Jesus from the dead you will be saved. The Bible also
says in Matthew 10:32-33:
|
32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men,
him will I confess also before my Father which is in
heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men,
him will I also deny before my Father which is in
heaven. Matthew 10:32-33 |
It is most important that you not play games with God. If
you do not repent of your sin and turn to God, there will
come a day when God will stop dealing with you about your
sin and you will die in your sin and suffer eternally in
hell.
There was a secular song that was sung by a man that said he
knew there was no heaven and he prayed that there was no
hell. That man could not be more wrong. Every lost person on
the face of this earth is being manipulated by Satan like a
puppet on very thin frayed strings above the fires of hell.
Hell is a scriptural fact that cannot be explained away. The
Bible uses the word hell 54 different times. The Lord Jesus
Christ preached more on hell than he did on heaven. Christ
said in Luke 16:22-24:
|
22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and
was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the
rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell
he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth
Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And
he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me,
and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his
finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am
tormented in this flame. Luke 16:22-24 |
Three times in Mark 9:43-48 Christ described hell as a place
where the “fire is not quenched”. Proverbs 27:20 says: “Hell
and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never
satisfied”. Isaiah 5:14 says: “Therefore hell hath enlarged
herself, and opened her mouth without measure”. Now, I ask
you, will you enlarge the pits of hell? Hebrews 9:27 says:
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this
the judgment”. It is a judgment of eternal hell fire and
damnation in the lake of fire. Revelation 20:14-15 says: “14
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is
the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in
the book of life was cast into the lake of fire”. The
question I have for you this day is: “Will you perish in
your sin and spend an eternity in hell.
Having said all of that, I want to warn you again not to
trust in your own works for salvation. Proverbs 14:12 and
16:25 say: “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man,
but the end thereof are the ways of death”. If you trust in
your own works, you are going your own way which is the way
of death. The Lord Jesus Christ said in John 14:6: “I am the
way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father,
but by me”. The Lord Jesus Christ is the way to salvation.
That means that he is the only way to salvation and that
salvation is a one way street. If you are here lost today,
you are going 90 miles and hour down a dead end street and
you are going to crash and burn. I repeat. You will crash
and burn for an eternity in the lake of fire.
If you are sitting here lost, you have no guarantee of
another breath. Job 14:1 says: Man that is born of a woman
is of few days, and full of trouble. James 4:13-14 says: “13
Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into
such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell,
and get gain: 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the
morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that
appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away”.
Proverbs 27:1 says: “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for
thou knowest not what a day may bring forth”.
Now, I want you to consider what God said in Deuteronomy
30:15,19:
|
15 See, I have set before thee this day life and
good, and death and evil; 19 I call heaven and earth
to record this day against you, that I have set
before you life and death, blessing and cursing:
therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed
may live: Deuteronomy 30:15,19 |
If you are reading this today, you know whether or not you
are lost. I ask you: Why will you die in your sin and go to
hell when God has provided himself as the means for your
deliverance through the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says in
Isaiah 53:4-5:
|
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our
sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of
God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with
his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5
|
2 Corinthians 6:2 says that today can be your day of
salvation:
|
2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time
accepted, and in the day of salvation have I
succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.) 2 Corinthians
6:2 |
Listen to the warning of God from Proverbs 1:23-31:
|
23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out
my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto
you. 24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I
have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25
But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would
none of my reproof: 26 I also will laugh at your
calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27 When
your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction
cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish
cometh upon you. 28 Then shall they call upon me,
but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but
they shall not find me: 29 For that they hated
knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all
my reproof. 31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit
of their own way, and be filled with their own
devices. Proverbs 1:23-31 |
The fruit of your own way is the torments of hell and the
lake of fire. Remember, God is not willing that any should
perish, but that all would come to repentance. God said in
Ezekiel 33:11:
|
11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I
have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but
that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye,
turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O
house of Israel? Ezekiel 33:11 |
God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked because he
knows they will be cast into the lake of fire. The burning
question for you is, why will you choose an eternity in the
fiery pits of hell? Hell is not God’s choice for you. Hell
is what you choose for yourself if you reject the Lord Jesus
Christ. Hell is a place at the end of a Christ rejecting
life. Today can be your day of salvation. We humbly beg of
you to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour today.
There is an old hymn written by Elizabeth H. Reed called “O
Why Not Tonight” that is our closing appeal to you:
O do not let the Word depart,
And close thine eyes against the light;
Poor sinner, harden not your heart,
Be saved, O tonight.
Refrain:
O why not tonight?
O why not tonight?
Wilt thou be saved?
Then why not tonight?
Tomorrow’s sun may never rise
To bless thy long deluded sight;
This is the time, O then be wise,
Be saved, O tonight.
Refrain
Our Lord in pity lingers still,
And wilt thou thus His love requite?
Renounce at once thy stubborn will,
Be saved, O tonight.
Refrain
Our blessèd Lord refuses none
Who would to Him their souls unite;
Believe on Him, the work is done,
Be saved, O tonight.
Refrain |
The Bible says in Romans 10:13-14 that anyone who calls upun
the LORD in belief shall be saved:
|
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on
him in whom they have not believed? and how shall
they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and
how shall they hear without a preacher? Romans
10:13–14 |
So how about it friend? Why not call upon the LORD today?
Who among us shall end up in the lake of fire?
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; Fearfulness hath
surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the
devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting
burnings? Isaiah 33:14 |