God is the eternal being who created the universe by His Word, forming what is visible from what is invisible (Hebrews 11:3 ESV). The one true and living God exists in three persons we call the Trinity—God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:13–17 ESV). God alone is all-powerful, all-knowing, and exists everywhere at once. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever and is the only person in the universe who was not created but simply existed before time. God has a mind, will, emotions, and is self-aware—in this regard mankind is created in His image.

God is good (Psalm 100:5 ESV). God is light (1 John 1:5 NIV). God is love (1 John 4:16 ESV). God is just (Deuteronomy 32:4 NIV). God is holy, holy, holy (Isaiah 6:3 NIV; Revelation 4:8b NIV). God is Sovereign, Supreme Ruler, and Judge over His creation—but He is also very near, intimate, and cares deeply for His own.

God testifies about Himself, “The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty…’” (Exodus 34:6–7a ESV).

Mankind was created to bring God praise and glory and honor as we live with Him and for Him, walking in righteousness, holiness, faith, hope, love, and the good works He prepared for us. We were created to know, love, trust, obey, serve, and enjoy God—to abide in His presence, walk humbly with Him, experience His wonderful fellowship, and live within His divine blessing. This is accomplished as we are equipped and empowered by the Holy Spirit to live in obedience to God’s written Word and revealed will.

We were created in such a way that our relationship and fellowship with God would be the number one priority that our lives revolve around and are built upon. We were created to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30 ESV).  Our bodies were created to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:13b ESV).

Sin is disobedience and rebellion against God’s loving rule and reign over mankind. Sin entered the world and mankind when Adam ate the fruit God had forbidden him to eat at the beginning of creation in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:6 NIV).

Ever since Adam sinned mankind has been born with a sin nature (Romans 5:12 NLT) that is hostile to God and His reign. God’s Word teaches “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 ESV). Because of their inherited sin nature, mankind is determined to go their own way (Isaiah 53:6a NIV) and be independent from God’s holy and loving rule. Thus, because of Adam’s sin mankind is unable, by itself, to fulfill the purpose for which we were created. We are no longer, by ourselves, able to know, love, trust, obey, serve, or enjoy God—no longer able to abide in His presence, walk humbly with Him, experience His wonderful fellowship, or live within His divine blessing. Our sin has separated us from a Holy God (Isaiah 59:2 NLT) and caused our spiritual death (Ephesians 2:1 NIV).

Yes! God’s Word was written to communicate to us God’s plan of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. The penalty for our sins against God is death (Romans 6:23a NIV). We deserve to die for our sins and be separated from God for eternity. Yet God has taught mankind from the beginning that He saves us from this penalty by substitution. By the shedding of (innocent) blood there is the forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22 ESV). Jesus Christ became the final substitute. “Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone” (Romans 5:18 NLT). Jesus’ one act of righteousness was being obedient to the Father and dying on the cross in our place, for our sins—so that we might be forgiven, reconciled to God, and given new life through (faith in) Him (Romans 5:8 NIV). Salvation is a gift we receive from God. “Salvation belongs to the Lord!” (Jonah 2:9b ESV).

Jesus Christ is the Son of God and second person of the Trinity—divine, eternal, and distinct in personality from the Father and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is the risen Son of the living God, fully God and fully man. Jesus the Son is obedient to the Father in all things including leaving the glory of heaven to come to earth and rescue mankind from sin (Philippians 2:5–8 ESV). “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:15–16 NIV).

Think of that—the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, all things have been created in Him, through Him and for Him. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1, 14 NIV).

Another Name for Jesus Christ is the “Word of God”—Jesus came from heaven to earth through the virgin birth to dwell among us according to the Scriptures. Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, raised in Nazareth, healed the blind, lame, leper, deaf, raised the dead, and preached the gospel to the poor. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. The third day He rose again from the dead and after forty days ascended into heaven where He sits at the right hand of God the Father and will judge the living and the dead. Jesus came from heaven to serve humanity, “and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28b ESV).

Jesus’ life, ministry, miracles, death, burial, and resurrection prove that He is the Christ, Messiah, and Savior of the world (John 3:16 KJV; Luke 2:11 NIV) promised in the Scriptures to come from the line of Abraham and the line of David.

“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved” (Romans 10:9–10 NIV). When we confess to God that we have sinned against Him and believe that His Son Jesus Christ died in our place, paid our sin debt to God in full, and was raised to life again, we are saved. God is well pleased with Jesus’ perfect life and death (sacrifice) for us. Believing that Jesus Christ died in our place and rose again, and trusting Him alone to save us from our sins causes our spiritual birth into the Kingdom of Heaven—Christ’s Kingdom where we are united with Him (in spirit) and come back under God’s loving rule, reign, and into fellowship with Him again as His adopted sons and daughters.

We are saved from the wrath and righteous judgement of God that will come upon all who have not taken refuge in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. God is angry with sin and plans to judge sin (see Q 90). If we do not separate ourselves from sin through faith in the gospel and by our partnership with God the Holy Spirit, we too will face God’s judgement (1 Corinthians 11:32 ESV). In Christ we are saved from the permanent penalty of sin, which is an eternal existence without God in darkness, fire, grief, torment, weeping, sorrow, pain, distress, anger, and grinding teeth (Matthew 25:30, 41 AMP). In Christ we are saved from being eternally lost as we “have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your [our] souls” (1 Peter 2:25 ESV).

We are saved to the (complete and permanent) forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7 NIV), right standing with God the Father (Romans 3:22 NLT), and made spiritually alive together with Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:5a ESV). We are saved to blessing in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). We are saved to an eternal existence with God in the new heavens and new earth as joint heirs with Jesus Christ (Romans 8:17 NKJV).

All of Jesus’ righteousness is credited to us and we are fully accepted by God the Father as if we (like Jesus) never sinned and we (like Jesus) lived a perfect life of obedience to the Father. Therefore, like Jesus, we are holy and righteous in God’s sight. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV). Through faith in Jesus Christ, we become the righteousness of God (instead of remaining a guilty sinner).

We become new creations in Christ as adopted children of God and He is deeply committed to our spiritual formation, growth, and success. We are saved to Jesus Christ living the Christian life in us and through us as we yield to Him and walk with Him. He becomes prominent in our thoughts, choices, and emotions because we sense His presence in our lives and love Him with our new heart and new spirit (Ezekiel 36:26 NIV). We will be welcomed into Christ’s Eternal Kingdom where there is no more death, sorrow, crying, pain, or sin (Revelation 21:4 KJV). Jesus taught “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 ESV).

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,

Nor have entered into the heart of man

      The things which God has prepared for those who love Him”

(1 Corinthians 2:9 NKJV).

Yes. Jesus Himself declared, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6b ESV). Faith in Jesus is the only way to come back into relationship and fellowship with God the Father. Jesus alone lived a perfect life that pleased God (Hebrews 10:7 NIV). Jesus is the spotless Passover Lamb of God (Exodus 12), slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8 KJV), Who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29 NIV). The substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus is the only payment God will accept for our sin debt. Our spiritual and eternal life is paid for only by Jesus Christ, Who is the only acceptable substitute according to God Himself (1 John 5:9–11 ESV).

“Surely he took our pain

and bore our suffering,

yet we considered him punished by God,

stricken by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

and by his wounds we are healed”

(Isaiah 53:4–5 NIV).

This was God’s plan from the beginning. All the animal sacrifices in the Old Testament of Scripture are a shadow or type of Jesus Christ’s (once and for all) substitutionary sacrifice as payment for the sins of mankind (Hebrews 10:1–18 ESV). While the animal sacrifices temporarily covered sin and did prevent God’s judgement, only Jesus’ one time sacrifice can cleanse and remove sin forever.

God saves by grace (His unmerited favor) alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, Salvation is a gift from God—a gift so expensive we could never earn it or pay for it. Jesus’ life, death, burial, resurrection, and salvation are the fulfillment of God’s promises: to bless all the nations of the earth through the “Seed” (singular) of Abraham (Genesis 22:18 NKJV; Galatians 3:16 NIV), to build an eternal Kingdom through King David’s “Son” (2 Samuel 7:8–16 NIV; Psalm 89:34–37 NKJV), and to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21 ESV) through the promised Messiah and Christ (Whom Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms foretold) Who will establish a New Covenant (contract/promise) (Jeremiah 31:31–34 NIV; Luke 22:19–20 ESV) between God and man.

Accepting, believing, and trusting upon Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior is the only way we will be able to know, love, trust, obey, serve, and enjoy God—to abide in His presence, walk humbly with Him, experience His wonderful fellowship, and live within His divine blessing. Jesus Christ alone can reconcile us to God the Father and save us from sin and death. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12 NIV).

PRAYER OF SALVATION

“Dear God, I admit that I am a sinner and have not put You first as You require. Also, I have broken your Moral Law, the Ten Commandments. Please forgive me for these sins. I believe that Jesus Christ is Your Holy Son and that He died on the cross in my place and for my sins. I accept Your Holy Son Jesus Christ as my substitute on the cross. I deserve the death he suffered. Thank You, Jesus, for dying in my place and for my sins. I believe the Scriptures that You rose from the dead bodily three days later to make me right with God the Father.

Dear Jesus, I put my faith and trust in You alone to save me from my sins and make me a new person. Dear Jesus, I desire to return to Your all-wise and all-loving rule over my life. Please help me to learn early in my Christian walk to turn to You for comfort in difficult times instead of the other gods, idols, or sins that have previously enslaved me.

Help me to know, love, trust, obey, serve, and enjoy You—to abide in Your presence, walk humbly with You, experience Your wonderful fellowship, and live within Your divine blessing. Please help me to make Your Name, Your Word, and Your Kingdom my priority in life.

I confess with my mouth that you are Lord and believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. I thank you Jesus for all that You have done for me. It is in Your Holy and Wonderful Name I pray and place my trust. Amen.”

A fruitful Christian ministry called The Gideons International is committed to placing Bibles in motels, hotels, jails, prisons, colleges, military bases, and hospitals. As of December 2022, they had distributed 2.5 billion Bibles in over 200 countries and territories. The following is part of an introductory quote printed in each of the KJV Bibles they distribute: “THE BIBLE contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is a traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s charter. Here Paradise is restored, Heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed.” The rest of this quote can be found online.

God often speaks to our individual hearts and minds through His written Word to correct us, encourage us, and direct our path. We are to not only study, know, and understand God’s Word we are to be doers of His Word and embrace It as our final Authority regarding faith and conduct. When we fall short (as we all do) we are to pray for forgiveness, and the strength and strategy to succeed.

New Christians and those seeking to explore the Christian faith should begin in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and then the book of Acts, and then the letters to the churches. This will reveal how God’s grace, mercy, love, and sacrifice changed the hearts, minds, and lives of the first believers in Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Learning of God’s dwelling on earth in the person of Jesus Christ—His life, ministry, death, and resurrection—is of the highest importance as is how Christians should live.

We read the Old Testament of Scripture to discover who God is and His plan of salvation. We have a great deal of recorded history of God’s dealings with individuals and nations. Since God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, we learn much about Him from His responses to various people and situations. The more we understand the character of God the more we will be able to live for Him. The Old Testament also shows how desperately Israel and mankind needed a Savior to be set free from sin.

We study God’s Word that we may do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with Him (Micah 6:8 NIV) as He requires. We read the Scriptures to learn of God’s love and faithfulness to Israel and the saints of old including His many mighty works. The Bible helps us to participate in God’s plans, purposes, and salvation with greater understanding, deeper commitment, and fewer surprises.