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What does being saved mean? How are we saved? God gives us a very simple and clear plan
in the Holy Bible.
1. REALIZE
YOU ARE A SINNER. “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God”
(Romans 3:23). Sin creates a gap
between God and us as shown in the picture above.
What is sin? "Anyone, then, who
knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins" (James
4:17). Sin is not only the act of
doing something wrong. Not believing
in God and Jesus is also a sin.
Because we are sinners, we must pay a penalty. “For the wages of sin is
death” (Romans 6:23). The death
referenced here is not the end of an earthly life but is an eternal
separation from God in a tortuous place called Hell.
2. BELIEVE THAT JESUS
DIED FOR YOU. Even
though we do wrong in God’s sight, He
still loves us and wants to erase our sin. God felt so strongly about this that He
sent Jesus (his son) from Heaven to the earth to be punished as a
substitute for us. “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.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but to save the world through Him” (John 3:16-17).
In the Bible, a
jailer asked two early preachers who were his prisoners, “Sirs, what must I
do to be saved?” They replied,
“Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:30-31).
The Bible is very
clear that our sins were transferred to Jesus while he was being executed
on the cross. After three days he
was resurrected from the grave and later returned to Heaven. As in the picture above, Jesus now waits
in Heaven to bridge the gap between sinners and God.
3. ACCEPT FORGIVENESS AND LIVE A NEW LIFE. Trust God by
accepting His free forgiveness of your past wrongs. “It is by grace you have been saved,
through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians
2:8). Grace
and salvation are free gifts from God.
No benefit comes from any gift unless it is accepted, opened, and
used.
4. BE BAPTIZED. In the first
sermon after Jesus went back to Heaven, Peter the Apostle said, “Repent AND
be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your
sins may be forgiven” (Acts 2:38).
Peter is clear here that baptism is one of the steps of salvation.
Baptism represents the death, burial and
resurrection of Jesus. Baptism is
necessary to bury the sinful person you once were and to resurrect a new
person to walk with Christ for eternity (Romans 6:1-5). Therefore, HCC
baptizes by immersion in water.
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The plan has only FOUR steps.
The final question is: Are you
ready to implement the plan? If you
do not own a Bible and would like to read and study the verses referenced
above, an online Bible is available at The Bible
Gateway (http://bible.gospelcom.net/).
If you decided to become a Christian today, welcome to our family. Please let us know so we can rejoice with
you. If you are still undecided,
please call us. We will explain this
process to you.
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