Eternal Refuge
Thursday, October 14, 2010

God's offer of forgiveness and an eternal refuge in heaven.

I am a sinner.
Sin is anything contrary to the nature of God. Every person is born a sinner, and every person commits sin. God is holy and hates sin. Because He is just, He must punish sin. The punishment for sin is eternal separation from God.
God's Word says: ... all have sinned ... (Romans 3:23); For the wages of sin is death … (Romans 6:23a).

I am incapable of saving myself.
Because I am born in sin, no action of mine can accomplish anything toward my salvation. I cannot get to heaven by being good, attending church, praying or anything else. I am helpless and unable to make myself worthy of heaven.
God says: "Not because of [good works] we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us…" (Titus 3:5a).

Only God can save me because only God is sinless.
God gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to be my Savior by paying the penalty of death for my sin in my place.
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

My salvation was accomplished on the cross.
Jesus paid for all my sin by dying, shedding His blood and rising from the grave. His blood paid my penalty. His resurrection defeated death. He is now in heaven, interceding for me before God.
"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God…" (1 Peter 3:18a).

I can only be saved by trusting that what Jesus Christ did on the cross is sufficient to save me.
Believing is trusting what God did for me. I can add nothing to my salvation. When I believe that His death was a complete payment for me, He gives me eternal life.
"…Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…" (Acts 16:31)
"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."(John 3:36)

Once I am saved, I am saved for eternity.
Once saved, I cannot lose my salvation. No creature or thing can take it away from me. I cannot lose it by any action of my own.
God says: "…I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." (John 10:28)
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)