When I first attended Bible study, I heard the women say they were thankful for Jesus’ sacrifice and that they had assurance of going to heaven. I said to them, “Wait a minute, how can you be so sure? What if I kill someone five years from now, would I still go to heaven?” My thinking was, if you sin, you lose your salvation. That’s why in my example I came up with a serious type of crime such as murder.
My friends pointed out that all sin separates us from our Holy God. Lying, pride, envy are all sin too. And the list goes on and on—sin is sin. No matter what kind of wrong I might commit in the future, Jesus had paid the price at the cross. All I needed was to sincerely repent and ask God for forgiveness.
They assured me that the same day I invited Jesus into my heart I became a child of God, received salvation, forgiveness and the promise of eternal life. This was hard for me to accept. It sounded too easy. I said, “There has to be more I should do—I have to be good all the time.” A friend lovingly said, “Guadalupe, are you saying Jesus’ sacrifice and death wasn’t good enough and that you have to add to it?”
Another friend asked me, “How many times does Jesus have to die on the cross to keep on forgiving you?” She showed me in Scripture where it says Jesus died once and for all.
Hebrews 7:27 says, “Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once and for all when He offered himself.”
This amazing verse made perfect sense. Of course, we need to repent of our sins and ask God to help us not continue to sin, but the Word of God assures us that eternal life is obtained by faith in Jesus, the Son of God, not by our behavior. (Excerpt from my book, Chapter 3, "How Do You Love God With All Your Heart?" Copyright 2011)
During my years as a Bible study leader, I’ve listened to many people express their guilt for past sins. Even though they’ve asked God for forgiveness, they continued to carry burdens that according to the Word of God, no longer exist.
Think for example of a child who says to his parent that he’s sorry and truly repents for what he has done. The parent forgives the son, but the son still goes on the rest of his life feeling heavy with guilt and shame. The parent no longer remembers what the child did because he forgave him. That’s an example of how God is with us.
After repenting and asking God for His forgiveness, I still carried guilt, until I realized this meant I didn’t fully accept God’s forgiveness. We need to be able to believe and accept His total forgiveness—He wants us to. (Excerpt from my book, Chapter 3, "How Do You Love God With All Your Heart?" Copyright 2011)
It took me years to understand that eternal life was given to me as a “free” gift. Have you ever heard of a gift that isn’t free? God loves us so much, He wants to make sure we “get it” by telling us His gift is “free”— no strings attached. We can’t earn eternal life, it’s given to us the minute we place our faith in Jesus.
There are many religions that believe people have to do many good deeds in order to go to heaven. The truth is we can’t make it on our own effort. Our righteousness comes from God through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. He is the only way to the Father. Look at the thief at the cross. How many good deeds did the thief have to do to enter paradise? None! Yet he received this response from Jesus, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke
Here are some Bible passages that assure us of forgiveness and eternal life:
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 10:9 “That 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.”
Colossians 2:13-14
“When you
were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God
made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all
our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was
against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the
cross.”
Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
John 5:24
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."
John 8:36
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
This is only a small section of my chapter and just a few verses, where I explain salvation and the assurance of eternal life.
Today, by placing
your faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, you can become a son or daughter of
God. Read the following prayer. You may want to read it aloud and sign your
name. By doing this, you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. When you
repent of your sins, you will receive His complete forgiveness and the
assurance of eternal life.
After you do this,
you can celebrate and literally jump up and down out of joy from now knowing
where you’ll spend eternity! Jesus said, "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.”-
John 5:24.
PRAYER TO INVITE JESUS INTO YOUR HEART
LORD JESUS,
I
BELIEVE BY FAITH YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD
THAT
YOU DIED FOR ME ON THE CROSS
AND GOD RAISED YOU FROM THE DEAD.
I
REPENT OF ALL MY SINS… EVEN THE ONES I HAVE ALREADY FORGOTTEN.
I
SURRENDER TO YOU.
I
INVITE YOU TO COME INTO MY HEART
AS
MY PERSONAL LORD AND SAVIOR.
THANK
YOU FOR WASHING AWAY ALL OF MY
SINS
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR GIFT
OF ETERNAL LIFE .
PLEASE
HELP ME TO FOLLOW YOU
AND TO DO YOUR WILL
ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE !
IT
IS IN YOUR NAME, LORD JESUS, I PRAY. AMEN !!!
_______________________________________
Sign &
Date
The word "condemn" means to pronounce guilty and to convict. When we are in
Christ, we are free from condemnation—Glory to God!
Romans 8:1 says,“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Celebrate with this YouTube Video song, "I Am Free"
Photo and blog are excerpts from my book, "How Do You Love God With All Your Heart?" Copyright 2011
Guadalupe C. Casillas
PRAYER TO INVITE JESUS INTO YOUR HEART
Celebrate with this YouTube Video song, "I Am Free"
2 comments:
WHO BELIEVES WATER BAPTISM IS ESSENTIAL TO SALVATION?
THERE ARE MEN WHO BELIEVED OR BELIEVE THAT WATER BAPTISM IS ESSENTIAL TO SALVATION AND THERE ARE THOSE REJECT THAT REQUIREMENT.
THOSE WHO REJECT WATER BAPTISM AS A PREREQUISITE TO SALVATION.
Max Lucado
T.D. Jakes
John MacArthur
Charles Stanley
Billy Graham
Joel Osteen
Rick Warren
Jimmy Swaggart
Chuck Colson
Charles Swindoll
Jerry Falwell
Joyce Meyer
And all "Faith Only" preachers.
THOSE WHO BELIEVED WATER BAPTISM WAS AND IS ESSENTIAL FOR SALVATION
The Apostle Peter
The Apostle Andrew
The Apostle James the son of Zebedee
The Apostle John
The Apostle Philip
The Apostle Bartholomew
The Apostle Thomas
The Apostle Matthew
The Apostle James son of Alphaeus
The Apostle Simon the Zealot
The Apostle Thaddaeus
The Apostle Matthias
Acts 2:37-38 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren,what shall we do?" Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
All twelve apostles believed water baptism was essential to the forgiveness of sins.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ananias believed water baptism was essential to be saved.
Acts 22:1-16.....10 And I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me , 'Get up and go on to Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do'........12 "A certainAnanias .....16 Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized,and wash away your sins, calling on His name.
Ananias, a spokesman for Jesus, told Saul to be baptized to wash away his sins.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Apostle Paul believed water baptism was essential for the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 2:12-13 having been buried with Him in baptism, ......13 ....He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jesus, the Son of God, believes water baptism precedes salvation.
Mark 16:16 He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; ........
Shall be saved does not mean already has been saved.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are looking for answers about faith and practice of Christianity under the New Covenant, should you look to Ananias, the apostles, and Jesus or should your spiritual guidance come from men who deny that water baptism is essential to forgiveness from sin? Do you really want to follow the teaching of men who say you can be saved before you are baptized in water? THERE ARE NO DRY-CLEANED CHRISTIANS!
YOU ARE INVITED TO FOLLOW MY CHRISTIAN BLOG. Google search >>> steve finnell a christian view
Dear Steve, Thank you for reading my blog and taking the time to leave a comment! You are my brother-in-Christ and we have something in common... our favorite book is the Bible!!! I also love worship. May God bless your ministry as a Keyboard Evangelist. The first time I read the verses about repentance and water baptism, I immediately went to my pastors, theologians, Christian mentors and asked, "Is baptism required to be saved and obtain eternal life? Their answer was, "No" and they pointed me to the verses written by the apostles that indicate we are saved through grace by faith in Jesus, the Son of God. I liked that you included a list of Pastors, Theologians and Evangelists that I respect and think the way I do... but, ultimately I will follow Jesus and Him alone....so here it is... When Jesus told the thief on the cross, who believed in Him at the last minute, that He would be in Paradise with Him that same afternoon, the thief did not have a chance to be baptized at that moment. Which makes him a "dry-cleaned Christian." Also, when Jesus was baptized, He was the sinless Son of God, He did not need to repent of any sin and yet in obedience He modeled the example of baptism. I really would love to see every Believer in Christ be baptized as soon as they repent and receive Jesus as Lord in their hearts. It is sad that they wait to "be right" with God when God already made them righteous through Jesus' blood which covers all sin. I received Jesus at the age of 10 and was baptized at the age 16. I wish I could say I never sinned or lied after that, but we are work in progress. If it's true that when we sin we need to repent and confess to God and that baptism is a requirement to be forgiven then by the time we are baptized, we would get in the back of the line to continue to be forgiven. My pastor used to say, "Baptism is initiation, not graduation." It is the blood of Jesus that cleanse us from all sin and unrighteousness as we place our faith in Him. I would love to see every believer follow the example of Jesus and not wait to be baptized. Baptism is a public acknowledgement of their faith in Him, symbolizing that the old man is buried and we are raised to life when we come out of the water.
Blessings, my brother and if I don't meet you in person here on earth, I now I will meet you in Heaven, Steve.
May the Lord bless you and prosper you in everything you do! Guadalupe :)
Post a Comment