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Favorite Verses (and what makes them so great)
The free gift of eternal life & your assurance as a believer:
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life.
Romans 5:8 God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
John 5:24 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has
eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."
Romans 10:9-10 "If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that
God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with
your mouth that you confess and are saved.
1 John 5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that
you may know that you have eternal life.
Romans 10:13 "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
How freeing these verses are! We have been separated from God and his heaven for countless centuries as a result of
Adam & Eve's original sin in the garden of Eden. Through progressive revelation in the bible, we are now at a point where
we realize that we can never earn our way into heaven. It is by the mercy of our heavenly Father that he sent his son to
take on the sin of the world. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. In Genesis, Adam & Eve's son Able offered
the blood sacrifice of a lamb to God and thus was clothed in righteousness. When Moses was to lead the
Isrealites out of Egypt, the blood of a sacrificed lamb was painted on the door post so that the family would be spared the
death of the first-born that went through the Egyptians. Later, in the book of Leviticus, we are told that the priests of the
Temple would sacrifice a lamb for the sake of the nation of Isreal. Finally, Jesus' blood was shed on the cross as a sacrifice for
the whole world (remember that John the Baptist, upon seeing Jesus for the first time said "Behold, the Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world."). So what do we have? One lamb for one man; one lamb for a family; one lamb for a
nation; and one lamb for the whole world." When we believe in Him, we are clothed in His righteousness.
If you haven't
already, isn't it time you accepted Jesus as your Lord & savior?
Click here if you are ready...
What the Bible says about "being good" (does God view it as a necessary step to get to heaven?)
Romans 3:10 As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one."
James 2:10 "Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking
all of it. "
Isaiah 64:6 "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;"
Titus 3:5 He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy
Spirit."
Romans 11:6 And if (we are saved) by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--
not by works, so that no one can boast.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Galatians 2:21 "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead in vain!"
I grew up with the notion that you had to be "good" to get to heaven. The bible teaches us that no matter how "bad" you have been,
you are still able to get to heaven simply by trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Some denominations would have
you believe that you also have to do good works (go to church every Sunday, give money, etc.) to be saved.
The scriptures quoted above clearly show these "works" doctrines to be false.
You may ask, "Where do these other ideas come from then?" The primary root of this misconception comes from the book
of James, where it is written "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith
save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well;
keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it
is not accompanied by action, is dead."(James 2:15-17).
When trying to discern what is meant in a particular passage, a time honored method employed is to "interpret scripture
with scripture," meaning that you should take unclear passages and interpret them using clear passages.
Because the bible tells us that "all scripture is God-breathed," we know that other bible passages are not going to be wrong,
unlike what could happen if you introduce an outside source of information such as the proclamation of one man, a group
of bishops, etc. Therefore, the passage in James, when viewed in light of the other passages shown,
is really telling us that works are an outward evidence of your faith, not something required in addition to your
complete faith in Christ. Remember, salvation (eternal life in heaven) is a free gift. The following illustration may help if
you are still in doubt:
Suppose it was Christmas morning, and your spouse leads you out the door, and shows you a shiny new Mercedes Benz with a big bow on the hood. Then
your spouse says, "Here's that Mercedes you have always dreamed of having. It's my gift to you, but only if you give me a
dollar." What kind of gift is that? It is no longer a gift, you had to earn it by coughing up a dollar! Similarly, every clear
passage in scripture tells us that eternal life is a free gift to those who believe in Jesus and Him alone for their
salvation.
I know I've beaten this issue pretty hard, but if you've come so far as to believe that Jesus was born,
died, and resurrected and sits at the right hand of the Father, it would be one of life's greatest tragedies for you to not go
the extra mile and believe in him and him alone for your salvation. Click here if you are ready to put your trust
in him
Is The Bible Really The Inspired Word of God?
2 Timothy 3:16 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."
2 Peter 1:19-21 "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation.
For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."
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This page was last updated on August 4, 1998.
© 1997 Christian Corner & Guy de Blank. All Rights Reserved
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