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the
free gift
 The
central theme of the Bible is God's love
for you and for all people. This
love was revealed when Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, came into the world as a
human being, lived a sinless life, died
on the cross, and rose from the dead.
Because Christ died, your sins can be
forgiven, and because He conquered death
you can have eternal life. You can know
for sure what will become of you after
you die.
You have probably heard the story of
God's love referred to as the "Gospel."
The word Gospel simply means "Good
News." The Gospel is the Good News
that, because of what Christ has done,
we can be forgiven and can live forever.
But this gift of forgiveness and
eternal life cannot be yours unless you
willingly accept it. God requires
an individual response from you. The
following verses from the Bible show
God's part and yours in this process:
God's Love Is Revealed in the Bible
"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." --John 3:16 (NIV)
God loves you. He wants to
bless your life and make it full and
complete. And He wants to give you
a life which will last forever, even
after you experience physical death.
 We
Are Sinful
"For all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God." --Romans
3:23 (NIV)
You may have heard someone say, "I'm
only human -- nobody's perfect."
This Bible verse says the same thing: We
are all sinners. We all do things that
we know are wrong. And that's why we
feel estranged from God -- because God
is holy and good, and we are not.
Sin Has a penalty
"For the wages of
sin is death." --Romans 6:23 (NIV)
Just as criminals must pay the
penalty for their crimes, sinners must
pay the penalty for their sins. If you
continue to sin, you will pay the
penalty of spiritual death: You will not
only die physically; you will also be
separated from our holy God for all
eternity. The Bible teaches that
those who choose to remain separated
from God will spend eternity in a place
called Hell.
Christ Has Paid Our
Penalty!
"But God demonstrates his own
love for us in this: While we were still
sinners, Christ died for us." --Romans
5:8 (NIV)
The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ,
the sinless Son of God, has paid the
penalty for all your sins. You may
think you have to lead a good life and
do good deeds before God will love you.
But the Bible says that Christ loved you
enough to die for you, even when you
were rebelling against Him.
 Salvation
Is a Free Gift
"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." --Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
The word grace means "undeserved
favor." It means God is offering
you something you could never provide
for yourself: forgiveness of sins and
eternal life, God's gift to you is free.
You do not have to work for a gift.
All you have to do is joyfully receive
it, Believe with all your heart that
Jesus Christ died for you!
Christ Is at Your Heart's Door
"Here
I am! I stand at the door and knock. If
anyone hears my voice and opens the
door, I will come in and eat with him,
and he with me." --Revelation 3:20 (NIV)
Jesus Christ wants to have a personal
relationship with you. Picture, if
you will, Jesus Christ standing at the
door of your heart (the door of your
emotions, intellect and will).
Invite Him in; He is waiting for you to
receive Him into your heart and life.
You Must Receive Him
"Yet to all who
received him, to those who believed in
his name, he gave the right to become
children of God." --John 1:12 (NIV)
When you receive Christ into your
heart you become a child of God, and
have the privilege of talking to Him in
prayer at any time about anything.
The Christian life is a personal
relationship to God through Jesus
Christ. And best of all, it is a
relationship that will last for all
eternity.
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