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ForMinistry.com
Bethel
Baptist Church
132 Bethel Church Road
Townsend, TN. 37882
865 448-6972
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Here To Email Us. |
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How to KNOW
that Heaven is Yours! |
(1)
We all have a problem......
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(2)
God has provided a solution.. |
(3)
Impossible .....................
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(4)
How does it work?................ |
(5)
What to do......................
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(6)
Heaven forever...................... |
(7)
It's Your Decision.............
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(8)
What's Next?....................... |
We
all have a problem...
We cannot have
eternal life and heaven without God's forgiveness for sin. Because of sin,
we are separated from God. Separation from God is the problem. We are all
sinners. That means that we have disobeyed God.
Romans 3:23 says:
"all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Isaiah 59:2 says:
"your iniquities
have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from
you, so that He will not hear" |
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God
has provided a solution...
Fortunately God
has provided a solution. That solution is forgiveness for sin. It was because
of His love for us that God provided a way for all to have forgiveness
of sin. Forgiveness is available to everyone.
John 3:16 reminds
us:
"For God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes
in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." |
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Impossible....
Although forgiveness
is available to all, it is not automatic and not everyone accepts it. It
is impossible for you to earn your way into heaven. You can't be
good enough, do enough good deeds, be nice enough, or just do the 'right
thing' often enough to get into heaven. Forgiveness is a gift from God.
Ephesians 2:8-9
says:
"by grace
you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the
gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." |
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How
does it work?
So, how does
a sinner, separated from God, receive this free gift of forgiveness? There
are two decisions you need to make, both having to do with the word "turn".
The first decision is to turn away from sin, and the second decision is
to turn to Jesus Christ.
If we turn away
from sin, God blots it out - to God it is as if it never happened.
Acts 3:19 says:
"Repent therefore
and be converted, that your sins maby be blotted out, so that times of
refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord."
The Bible tells
us that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that
"Christ died
for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that
He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures."
1 Corinthians
15:3b |
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What
to do.....
Romans 10:9 tells
us:
"if you confess
with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised
Him from the dead, you will be saved."
So, what does
this all mean? It means that if you truly believe and can say that Jesus
is the Son of God, that He came to earth and paid the penalty for your
sin by dying on a cross, and that on the third day God raised Him from
the dead, then you will be saved. "Saved" means that you have forgivenss
for sin and the assurance that if you were to die today that you would
immediately be in heaven in the presence of God. |
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Heaven
forever....
Heaven is where
Jesus is. The Bible records Jesus' words after He was raised from the dead
and He left here to return to His Father.
John 14:2b-3:
"I go to prepare
a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again
and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."
The opposite of
being in heaven with Jesus forever is being separated from God forever,
which is what hell is. We do not have to choose "hell"; we can choose God's
free gift of eternal life.
Romans 6:23 tells
us:
"the wages
of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus
our Lord"
You can make this
decision to receive forgiveness for sin and accept Christ as Lord and Savior.
Understand it is a life-time commitment.
Luke 9::23 tells
us:
"If anyone
wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily,
and follow me" |
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Its
Your Decision...
Pray a simple
prayer, telling God that you know you are a sinner, in need of forgiveness.
You can use this example:
"Dear Jesus,
I believe that You died on the cross for my sins and that You arose from
the grave. I now ask You to forgive me of my sins and to save my soul.
Amen" |
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What's
Next?
God expects us
to let others know. Jesus said "whoever is ashamed of Me and My words
in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will
be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels"
(Mark 8:38).
If you have accepted
Jesus as Savior, baptism is your next step in following Him. Jesus set
this example for us and God is pleased when we obey Jesus' command and
follow His examples. (Baptism does not save a person, it is an act
of obedience.)
NOW, God's plan
and desire for your new life is that you grow. Ways to grow in your journey
of faith are to read the Bible, pray, and fellowship with other Christians. |
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