The Gift of Salvation

[Shane Gaydon]

The Gift of Salvation



God loves each and every one of us so much. He loves us beyond comprehension. He offers us the most beautiful gift. It is a free gift to all who will receive. It is the gift of salvation. He offers us the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, His Only Begotten Son. The gift of salvation is a gift with no strings attached. We only have to believe in Jesus and receive Him.

John 3:16-17 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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Why does man need Salvation??

Mankind is lost spiritually. Sin separates man from God. God is holy and cannot have sin in His presence. God is a loving God and He so wants to have a close relationship with us but sin separates us from God. The Bible tells us that ALL on this earth have sinned and have fallen short of God's glory. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they brought sin into the world and upon all mankind and the close fellowship that they had with God was no longer possible because of sin.

God instructed man to make unblemished animal sacrifices for their sin. The Bible tells us that "For without the shedding of blood, there is no remission for sin." The blood of these animals covered man's sins but the blood of animals could not actually take sins away. God had a wonderful plan to restore mankind unto Himself. This plan would take away the sins of the world. All one would have to do is accept God's free gift of salvation. Man has been granted a free will by God and because of this God will not force Himself on anyone. But He wants His creation to come to Him and be saved. God's plan of salvation is so wonderful.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
John 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.


The Word came down and became flesh-- born of a virgin, lived a sinless life and gave up His own life on the cross to pay the price for the sins of the world. The Word is Jesus Christ who shed His own blood for our sins upon the cross. Jesus rose again from the dead on the third day. It was prophesied in the Old Testament, in Isaiah 53, hundreds of years before Jesus came, that Messiah would die a terrible death and save His people from their sins and be raised from the dead.

The prophet, John the Baptist, called Jesus the Lamb of God.

John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Because Jesus never sinned, His sacrifice of His own life paid the price for our sins. That is why He is called the Lamb of God. He took upon Himself all the sins of the world and He shed His own blood that we might be saved. He offers eternal life to all who will receive Him as their Savior. Salvation is a wonderful free gift. Jesus rose from the dead three days after His crucifixion. By conquering death, all those who receive Him automatically will live forever with Him and death shall have no power over them. Because of His Resurrection, Christians can walk a victorious life through the power of the Holy Spirit. The true meaning of life begins upon this earth when one receives Christ. And when a Christian dies, they go to live with Jesus forever. God the Father sent His Only Begotten Son Jesus into the world to save the world because God loves us so much.

Jesus said:

John 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:16 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.
John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
John 3:18 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.

Salvation is a FREE gift. This means that you cannot earn your way into heaven. Your good works will not get you to heaven. Being a good person cannot get you into heaven. You can never be good enough to get into heaven because even one sin will keep you out of heaven. Jesus already paid the price for your sins. To say that you can save yourself is an insult to Him who gave His life for you. The Bible says that our righteousness is like filthy rags and there is no way that we can make it into heaven by our own works. The Bible says that we are saved by grace through faith and NOT of our own works. Salvation is a gift from God.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Ephesians 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

You can accept God's wonderful free gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ or you can reject His gift. God created you with a free will to choose. God will not force Himself on anyone. Those who receive Jesus receive the gift of eternal life and their sins are forgiven. Those who choose not to spend eternity with Him will spend eternity lost without Him.

1John 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son
of God hath not life.

1John 5:10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.

1John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

The Bible says that those who die in their sins, apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, will go to the Lake of Fire for all eternity:

Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

But one does not have to go there. Jesus said in John 3:36 "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."

Jesus loves you so much. He died so that you could be saved and share eternal life with Him. Just receive Jesus as your Savior today. Tell Him that you believe Him and ask Him to be your Savior and your Lord. Ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and tell Him from your heart that you want to be with Him forever. Jesus will forgive you and the price was already paid by Him 2000 years ago. Jesus, The Lamb, shed His precious blood for your sins. You just have to receive Him as your Savior-- trusting Him that He died for your sins and rose again. Believe what He promised.

God's perfect gift of Love is free-- so what are you waiting for?
Invite Jesus into your heart today.

You never know what tomorrow may bring. Tomorrow is promised to no man. Where will you spend eternity if you died tonight?

Jesus said:

John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

You have a free will. Receive Jesus as your Savior today. Going to church
is not enough. Sin separates man from God. Every person needs Jesus to save them from their sins. His blood can wash your sins away. All you have to do is BELIEVE that Jesus died for you and rose again and acknowledge that your own merits and good works CANNOT save you. Believe what the Scriptures say. Pray from your heart and ask Jesus to be your Savior. Ask the Lord to forgive you of your sins and put your trust in Jesus that He paid the price for your sins upon the Cross. If you pray to the Lord with all your heart, the Lord will come into your heart to stay and will save you.

John 14:5-6 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John11:25-26 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Romans 10:9 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.

Begin reading your Bible. Start with the Gospel of John and pray that God would reveal His truth to you. If you seek the truth, you will find it.

God says in Jeremiah 29:13: And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

[lovelace]

Excellent post Shane. I for many years believed you could just live a good life and try to do good. In return I would go to heaven. If you read the Bible, you can clearly see that is NOT true. I can guarantee this, there will be many a man/woman that will go to hell as well that was sitting in Church on Sundays. Everyone needs to wake up and smell the coffee!
God Bless, Mike

What is a Christian?

Question: "What is a Christian?"



Answer: Webster’s Dictionary defines a Christian as “a person professing belief in Jesus as the Christ or in the religion based on the teaching of Jesus.” While this is a good starting point in understanding what a Christian is, like many secular definitions, it falls somewhat short of really communicating the biblical truth of what it means to be a Christian.



The word Christian is used three times in New Testament (Acts 11:26; Acts 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16). Followers of Jesus Christ were first called “Christians” in Antioch (Acts 11:26) because their behavior, activity, and speech were like Christ. It was originally used by the unsaved people of Antioch as a kind of contemptuous nickname used to make fun of the Christians. It literally means, “belonging to the party of Christ” or an “adherent or follower of Christ,” which is very similar to the way Webster’s Dictionary defines it.



Unfortunately over time, the word "Christian" has lost a great deal of it significance and is often used of someone who is religious or has high moral values instead of a true born again follower of Jesus Christ. Many people who don’t believe and trust in Jesus Christ consider themselves Christians simply because they go to church or they live in a "Christian" nation. But going to church, serving those less fortunate than you, or being a good person does not make you a Christian. As one evangelist once said, “Going to church doesn’t make one a Christian anymore than going to a garage makes one an automobile.” Being a member of a church, attending services regularly, and giving to the work of the church cannot make you a Christian.



The Bible teaches us that the good works we do cannot make us acceptable to God. Titus 3:5 tells us that it is “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” So, a Christian is someone who has been born-again by God (John 3:3; John 3:7; 1 Peter 3:23) and has put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:8 tells us that it is “by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” A true Christian is someone who has repented of his or her sin and put faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone. Their trust is not in following a religion or a set of moral codes, or a list of do’s and don’ts.



A true Christian is a person who has put his or her faith and trust in the person of Jesus Christ and fact that He died on the cross as payment for sins and rose again on the third day to obtain victory over death and to give eternal life to all who believe in Him. John 1:12 tells us: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” A true Christian is indeed a child of God, a part of God’s true family, and one who has been given new life in Christ. The mark of a true Christian is love for others and obedience to God’s Word (1 John 2:4; 1 John 2:10).