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I have some questions for you. Do you have assurance in your heart of salvation after death? If you were to die, are you certain that you would go to heaven? Do you know where you stand with God?


Unless you have received Jesus into your heart as the Lord of your life, then you are separated from God. It was never God's will or intention to be separated from the man He created, and it was not so in the beginning.

God's purpose for the creation of man was so that He could have fellowship with that man. The Bible tells us in Genesis 1:26 that God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." God longed for fellowship with someone who was like Himself.

Man, however, sinned in the Garden of Eden, and spiritual death entered into his heart. Adam and Eve disobeyed God even though God had told them in Genesis 2:17 that if they did, they would surely die. Sin separates man from God. First came spiritual death (separation from God), followed by the death of their bodies.

Spiritual death entered the hearts of Adam and Eve, and it became the nature of every man born into the world thereafter. The Bible tells us this in Galatians 3:22: "But the scripture hath concluded ALL under sin."

Man, lost in spiritual death and separated from God by sin (disobedience), could no longer fellowship with God.

But I have some "Good News" for you (that's what the word gospel means—"Good News"). God has not left man in this lost condition. He has made the way for mankind to come back into right standing and fellowship with Him; He has made a way to remove the sin and separation.

John 3:16 tells us what God has done: "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." That is "Good News," isn't it?

God loved mankind so much and so desired man's fellowship that He sent Jesus to the cross to die and pay the price for the sin that had separated God from His creation. God is love. Love was the reason that God sent Jesus to earth as a man. Love put Jesus on the cross to die for your sins.

But God is also a God of justice. Man had sinned and justice demanded punishment. Second Corinthians 5:21 reveals how the demands of justice were met: "For he made him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

On the cross, the sins of mankind were laid upon Jesus. Jesus suffered the consequences for every one of your sins personally. He bore the punishment for your sins in your place. He was your substitute. The "Good News" is that God is no longer holding your sins and trespasses against you. The demands of justice have been met. Jesus met those demands for every man.

Now what is left to be done? The work on the cross has to be received by man. Salvation is real and it is available; but in order for it to be effective in a man's life, it must be received. In John 14:6 Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

There is only one way to have salvation and eternal life with God in heaven. It comes through receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior. Acts 4:12 says, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

You cannot come to God or find salvation in any other name. Buddha can't save you. Mohammed can't save you. None of the doctrines or philosophies of man can give you eternal life. This comes only through receiving Jesus as your Lord.

Salvation, therefore, is available to every man, but it is not automatic. Second Peter 3:9 says that God is not willing that any should perish, but He will not violate a man's will. Man has the right of choice.

He can choose to make Jesus his Lord and receive eternal life, or he can choose to remain in darkness. Man's will—that is the freedom of choice to determine the course of his life—determines the final outcome.

What must be done to receive eternal life? How does one become a Christian? The Bible says in John 3:3, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Through Adam's sin, spiritual death entered into man's nature. Now in order for man to come back into fellowship with God, he must be "born again" from spiritual death unto life.

Nicodemus did not understand Jesus when He said that man had to be "born again" to see the kingdom of God. He asked, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?"

Jesus explained that He was not talking of a physical rebirth, but a rebirth of the spirit. In the "born again" experience, the spirit of the man receiving Jesus as his Lord is recreated in the very likeness and image of God. In his spirit, he becomes a new man.

You see, you are a three-part being. You are a spirit, you have a soul (the mind, will, intellect, and emotions), and you live in a body. It is the spirit of man that is recreated in the new birth.

Let's closely examine how this works. First Peter 1:23 tells us how the new birth occurs: "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever."

God's Word is the seed which will bring about the new birth. Without the Word, without this seed, the new birth cannot take place. It is by the Word of God that you can be born again and become a partaker of the divine nature of God.

How can this be? Mary, the mother of Jesus, asked that same question of the angel that God sent to tell her of the forthcoming birth of Jesus. In Luke 1:34, after the angel had told her that she would be the mother of the Son of God, she asked, "How shall this be?"

In verse 35 the angel replied, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." In verse 38 Mary replied, "Be it unto me according to thy word."

So it is with the rebirth of the spirit of a man. The Holy Ghost shall come upon you, and the power of God shall overshadow you. As you receive the divine seed (the Word of God) into your spirit, a miracle takes place.

The spiritual death that entered man's heart at the time of Adam's disobedience is driven out by the power of God, and your spirit is recreated in God's image. His life enters your spirit as you receive His Word. God does no less a miracle in the rebirth of the human spirit than He did at the virgin birth of Jesus.

When you receive the Word of God, something very powerful happens. Colossians 1:13 tells us that when one is born again, he is delivered from the power of darkness (sin), and translated into the kingdom of his dear Son (eternal life).

In other words, Satan loses the right to control your life from that point on because by your choice you are no longer a subject of his kingdom.

Second Corinthians 4:4 tells us that Satan is the god (ruler) of this world. Because of your decision to receive Jesus as your Lord, you are set free from his authority and received into the kingdom of God. Satan's dominion of your life legally comes to an end at this time. He is no longer your god. You have a new nature and a new Father.

Second Corinthians 5:17 tells us this: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." There is a whole new way of life for you to learn about. Life in the kingdom of God is very different from life in this world. Now, through knowledge of God's Word, you can learn to walk in that which Jesus has provided for you.

Remember, 1 Peter 1:23 says that you are born again by the Word of God. What is the Word of God for one seeking salvation? Romans 10:9-10 is God's Word that brings new life to the spirit of a man: "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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

To be born again into the kingdom of God, believe in your heart that Jesus was God's Son, that He died for your sins on the cross, and God has raised Him from the dead. Then confess this with your mouth because you believe it.

Remember, in Luke the first chapter, Mary believed the Word that the angel of God brought to her, and as she received it, she said, "Be it unto me according to thy word."

As you believe in your heart that Jesus was God's Son and is raised from the dead and make this confession with your mouth, it will be done unto you according to the Word of God. You will be born again You will be saved! Eternal life will be yours.

Now Satan doesn't want you to believe that. But Jesus said in John 6:37, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." No matter what you've done, Jesus paid the price for that sin and God the Father will receive you today.

Once you come to God, the past is wiped out forever. Hebrews 8:12 says, "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." Glory to God! You can stand before God cleansed of every sin.

Satan can't stop you from being born again. Remember, you have the right of choice. If you determine in your heart to receive Jesus, no devil in hell can stop you. Now the only thing left for Satan to do is to try to make you doubt your salvation once you've received Jesus as your Lord.

One day you might get up and not "feel" so good. You may not "feel" saved. You may not "look" much like a child of God right at that moment either. But your "feelings" or how you "look" have nothing to do with your salvation.

God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). His Word is true and it never changes. Your "feelings" may change, but God's Word won't. His Word in your heart is what is true. So doubts and the temptation to fear may come, but just keep right on walking with God and believing in Him.

The Word of God says that Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you (Heb. 13:5). Believe on His Word. Once you make Jesus your Lord, you are a part of the family of God forever.

Is there any reason that you can't make Jesus the Lord of your life right now? Please pray this prayer out loud with me. Pray with a sincere and trusting heart, and you will be born again.
Dear God in Heaven, I come to you in the Name of Jesus to receive salvation and eternal life. I believe that Jesus was Your Son. I believe that He died on the cross for my sins and that You raised Him from the dead.

I receive Jesus now into my heart and make Him the Lord of my life. Jesus, come into my heart. I welcome You as my Lord and Savior. Father, I believe Your Word that says I am now saved. I confess with my mouth that I am saved and born again. I am now a child of God.
Now begin to praise God for your salvation and thank Him that you have been born again. You have been received into the kingdom of God. 1 John 3:2 says, "Beloved, now we are the sons of God. As you gain knowledge of God's Word and the principles of this new kingdom, you can learn to walk in the inheritance you have as a child of God."

Copyright © 2005 Jerry Savelle Ministries International
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Author Biography

Jerry Savelle
Web site: Jerry Savelle Ministries International
 
Dr. Jerry Savelle was an average, blue-collar man who was struggling and needed God's help. While he considered himself a "nobody," when he became a believer God told him not to worry about it because He was a master at making champions out of nobodies. God has since taken Dr. Savelle from being a constant quitter to a man who knows how to stand on the Word of God until victory is experienced. Because of the life-changing combination of God's faithfulness and Dr. Savelle's "no quit" attitude, his life is totally different than it was thirty-eight years ago.
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