Gift #1 – salvation

What does history tell us?

Adam and Eve rebelled against God and ate fruit from the forbidden tree. Consequently, their spirit – ability to know God – died; they lost their innocence; they now had knowledge of good and evil; they knew they were naked; they lied to God about what happened; and they were cast out from the Garden of Eden and made to work in order to eat.

You and I were born in Adam’s likeness, with a sinful rebellious nature and a dead spirit -an inability to see God. But God is so rich in love and grace and mercy that He made a way for you and me to be saved from the penalty of sin.

What does God’s Word say about the human condition?

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

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

Here is what John says Jesus Christ did for you and me – John 3:¹⁴And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:¹⁵That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.¹⁷For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.¹⁸He 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.¹⁹And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

You can choose whether or not to receive this free gift from Jesus Christ.

Will you receive salvation from the One, Who paid the penalty for your rebellion against God?

Jesus Christ’s free gift of salvation has three phases

• As soon as you ask Jesus Christ to give you His free gift of salvation and save you from sin’s penalty, He wipes away your sin and considers your debt to God paid in full. He saves you from the penalty God requires for your rebellion.
• For the rest of your lifetime on earth, Jesus Christ will actively work to free you from the pattern and habit of sin.
• At the end of your lifetime on earth, Jesus Christ will remove you from the very presence of sin and take you to His home to live with Him forever. Revelation 21: ¹And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. ²And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. ⁴And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Questions for refection

Will you receive Jesus Christ’s free gift of salvation or is there something in the way?