Hello there,

Welcome and thanks for visiting our web site.  You may or may not know us; if you don’t, you will learn some things about us via the postings.  However, in the big scheme of things, whether or not you know us makes little difference.   But there is someone who is essential for you to personally know.  As a matter of fact, your life depends on that.

The reason you must have a personal relationship with him is because he is the solution to a common problem we share.  This problem is sin, and it is a killer – literally (Rom. 6:23).  Now you may not know what sin is, so let me explain it.  Sin is anything we do, think, or fail to do that falls short of God’s glory – His perfection (Rom. 3:23).

Ah, but you are thinking you are a good person, as good or better than anyone else.  Hold it there! Let’s put that premise to the test.  Here are four questions to validate it.  1) Have you ever told a lie? 2) Have you ever stolen anything?  3) Have you ever looked at another person with lustful thoughts?  4) Have you ever used God’s name in a disrespectful or improper manner?  If you answered “Yes,” you admitted to being a lying, thieving, adulterous, blasphemer.  We covered just four (9, 8, 7, and 3) of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20), and you broke them all.   Thus the premise that you are a good person is false.  Even disobeying one commandment just once makes you 100% no good (James 2:10).

Perhaps when you compare yourself to others you think that you are good.  But that is an invalid comparison because the standard is neither you nor the other person, but rather, God, and when compared to God’s righteous standards you failed the test.  This ought to concern you because God says, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6.9-10), and in Revelation 21:8, “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

Now you may be thinking that God wouldn’t certainly send you to the lake of fire because, after all, He is a good and loving God.  It is true that God is good and loving, but He is also holy (Psalm 99:9) and just (Isa. 45:21).  Because of He is holy, He cannot tolerate sin, and because He is just He must punish it.  Nahum 1.3 says, “The Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished,” that means you.

This is bad news, and it gets even worse because God rejects every human effort, sacrament, baptism, or whatever attempt you may make to solve your sin problem (Eph. 2:8-9; Tit 3:5).

So you have two problems.  Problem one is your sin problem.  Problem two is that there is nothing you can do about problem one.  You are doomed.

Yes, it is a fact that left to yourself you are doomed.  However, the word gospel means good news.  The good news is that God did for you what you couldn’t do for yourself.  He paid your sin-debt.  He provided the means by which you can be forgiven of your sins and thus be reconciled with Him.  How did He do that?  By dying on the cross for your sins.

There are four things you must know and understand before you can be reconciled with God.  First you must understand that you have a sin problem.  Hopefully this was made clear above, and you realize your depraved condition – remember, as a minimum you are a lying, thieving, adulterous, blasphemer.  Consequently, you deserve eternal separation from God in the lake of fire (1 Cor. 6.10; Rev. 21.8). 

Second, you must understand who Jesus is.  There are many Bible passages that indicate that Jesus is God in human form, the God-man, but for the sake of space, let’s just take a look at a few.  In the Old Testament, Exodus 3:13-14, God revealed to Moses His name, “I AM.”  In the New Testament, Jesus identified Himself as the “I AM” (John 8:58, 10:33).  What Jesus is saying is that HE is the Old Testament “I AM.”  He is God. 

The prophet Isaiah foretold this when he wrote, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isa. 9:6).  What would His name be?  Mighty God, Eternal Father.  New Testament writers testified of Jesus’ deity also.  The apostle John said, “And the Word became flesh,” (Jn 1.14), the Word being God (Jn. 1:1).  The apostle Peter referred to Jesus as “our God and Savior, Jesus Christ,” (2 Pet. 1:1).  The apostle Paul used similar language in Titus 2:13, “…our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” 

The apostles were convinced of the deity of Jesus, and so must you be.  Jesus warned against rejecting His deity; He said, “Therefore I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins" (Jn. 8:24).

Third, having understood who Jesus is, you must comprehend what He did – He paid for your sins with His own life.  Concerning Jesus, Paul wrote, “who gave Himself as a ransom for all,” (1 Tim. 2:5-6).  Ransom is the payment made to free someone.  He paid your sin penalty.  In other words, He bailed you out by offering Himself as payment.   The apostle John wrote, “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world,” (1 Jn. 2:2).  Jesus atoned for your sins; He is the satisfactory payment for sin.

Along with His death and burial, it is important to realize that He was also resurrected, and that for your justification (Rom. 4:29).  He paid your debt in full so that you can be declared just as if you have never sinned.

See, Jesus did in deed do it all.  But the fourth thing you must understand is that you have a two-fold responsibility in order to be reconciled with God.  Jesus said, “Repent and believe the gospel,” (Mark 1:15).  Repent means that you must not just acknowledge your sins, but that you must also forsake them.   Believe requires you to place your complete trust, with your heart (Rom. 10:9), in Jesus Christ.  The Bible says that salvation is by grace through faith and not of works – human efforts (Eph. 2:8).  Grace means favor,God's favor, and faith means to believe, to fully trust Jesus.

Are you willing?  Would you repent of your sins and accept God’s favor by placing your trust in Jesus Christ alone?  If so, believe and call on Him; settle matters with Jesus.  He promises to save and not disappoint you (Rom. 10:11-13).