This article begins with a brief summary that explains the dynamics and the “why” of God’s plan for saving mankind from his fallen state. Following this summary are quotations from relevant Bible passages along with limited comments to help the reader put the verses into a meaningful context. A few verses are repeated where appropriate because they apply to more than one truth. Bible passages are from the New International Version (NIV) but feel free to compare them to your version of choice.

Summary of the Biblical Teaching

God is absolutely void of sin and is purely and infinitely holy. Sin is the antithesis of God’s very nature, therefore, He hates all sin, no matter how small it may seem to us, with an infinite hate. Because God is perfectly holy, He cannot mingle His holiness with sin in any way, be it ever so slight, or His holiness would be adulterated, and He would cease to be a Holy God. That is a frightening thought, but it can never happen. Because of God’s perfect holiness there is no way for sin to enter into His being. Holiness is not something that God has; it is part of His nature, who God is.

Before they sinned, Adam and Eve were able to have unhindered fellowship in the very presence of God, but when they sinned, because of God’s holiness, that relationship abruptly shattered, and as they were warned, physical death and spiritual death i.e. eternal separation from God resulted. This broken relationship not only impacted Adam and Eve, but also all of their offspring who subsequently inherited their inability to not sin. This is very evident when we observe the emerging behavior of tiny children. Everyone is inherently selfish and must be taught to be good. It is impossible through the grandest efforts of any child or adult to live a sinless life. Since every one of us has this sinful nature and have sinned in some capacity, we too are necessarily excluded from entering into the presence of an all-Holy God. Even if someone could “turn over a new leaf” at some point, and never sin again thereafter, he could not disown his past sins. All of us are sinners by nature and by practice, and we choose to do so even knowing that God hates it.

Man’s problem goes beyond God’s perfect Holiness, because God is also perfectly Just. Therefore, God cannot simply ignore man’s sin. There are consequences for disobeying God, just as there are for those who break our criminal and civil laws. When one breaks the law, if justice is not carried through, then justice simply does not exist. Because of God’s perfect Holiness and Justice, man, left to himself, is hopelessly bound and lost in his sin. Eternal separation from God is the resulting consequence and penalty. Man is helplessly left with no options of his own doing to restore his relationship with God. He doesn’t need justice, he needs mercy and grace.

Thankfully, God is also perfect in His Love. He loves us infinitely more than any human has ever loved. He made man to have fellowship with Himself, but we broke that by sinning. Because of His love, however, God provided a way to satisfy His justice and to restore that broken relationship so man can live eternally with Him in spite of the impossible dilemma he faces at the fallen human level. God, without obligation, freely offered His sinless Son, who did not deserve death, to die in our place and to take the penalty for our sins upon Himself. This satisfied God’s justice so we could be pardoned and declared clean, pure, and free from the penalty for our sin. We can, therefore, be free to stand guiltlessly before an all-Holy God, free from the consequences of all of our sins, past, present, and future. This act of mercy and grace provides the way to have true fellowship with God once again, and one day to enter into His presence just as though we were forever pure and sinless. We enter in, not because of our own merits, but because of the love, mercy, and grace of God, because Jesus took the full penalty for our sins through His substitutionary death for us on the cross. Our tearful hearts cry out and say, “Thank you Jesus!”

Salvation is now free to come to us, but it is totally because of God’s love and grace and not one mite through our own merit. So, all praise is given to God and none to us. We can add nothing to what Jesus did for us on the cross, or we would be worthy to receive praise from God, and have reason to boast of our own accomplishments, instead of praising God alone. 

This free gift is given to us when we abandon our futile efforts and struggles to please God through our many and varied good works (including ritualistic, religious acts and rites) and turn our hearts and hope solely to the work of Jesus on the cross, and accept His sacrifice for us as His free love gift. In doing so, we humbly repent of relying on our own puny efforts to placate God and acknowledge our own sinfulness and helplessness, and through prayer confess our personal need for God’s forgiveness, and receive or welcome Jesus as our Savior and Lord. We have the promise of our Holy and trustworthy God that He will forgive our sins, cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and will receive us into His presence, washed clean and forever forgiven. This does not mean that we will never sin again. That is certainly our desire, but we still possess our humanness and are still tempted to sin, and often we fail. However, when Jesus took our penalty, He wiped out all our guilt, restored our broken relationship with our Heavenly Father, and purchased lasting forgiveness that covered all past, present, and future sin. True Christians desire to live their lives to please God, and ask for His forgiveness when they fail. But they have peace knowing that if and when they sin they are secure in the infinite and eternal love and grace of God. Our own efforts were not capable of saving us and they are not capable of sustaining a sinless life. God’s grace and forgiveness is complete and all-encompassing to the end.

Some Scriptures that Explain the Above Summary in More Detail

God’s Holiness, Justice, and Love

Leviticus 19:2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.’”

Habakkuk 1:13a “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong.”

1 John 1:5 “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”

Acts 17:31 “For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”

Revelation 15:4 “Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Man’s Need and God’s Provision

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 3:20-31 “Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-- he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.”

Isaiah 64:6 “All of us have become one who is unclean and all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”

John 1:29 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Comment: Romans 3 tells us not only that we all sinners, but that God’s Holiness (His “glory”) is His standard, from which we all fall short. We sometimes feel proud of the good things we do and even judge others as we pat ourselves on the back, but Isaiah 64:6 reveals how the sum total of our very best deeds compares to God’s Holy standard. They are collectively described as “filthy rags” (women’s menstrual cloths in the original language).  So much for impressing God with our wonderful works! Romans 3 explains that the law teaches us to recognize our sin. It shows us what God’s perfect standard is. It also shows that no one can measure up to God’s standard, His own holiness. Therefore, we need His grace and forgiveness that comes only through trusting solely in the person and work of Jesus on the cross for our salvation. The way is the same for both Jews and gentiles. Even the Old Testament saints were saved by their faith, even though they didn’t fully understand all of the details at the time. As we look back to the cross, the Old Testament saints looked forward and were justified through their faith because of “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

Galatians 5:4 “You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”Comment: In context, the “law” included the Ten Commandments and various Jewish practices and customs such as circumcision and dietary laws. In the greater context, the “law” is represented by all acts of doing good, which fundamentally find their roots in the Ten Commandments.

Romans 11:6 “And if by grace, then it (salvation) is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”Comment: Salvation through one’s good works and salvation by God’s grace are opposites and incompatible…like oil and water. This does not mean that grace and good works are opposites—in fact, those saved by God’s grace will go on to do good works—but that the attempt to deserve salvation by one’s good works is incompatible with the principle of undeserved salvation by grace.

Romans 4: 4, 5 “Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.” Comment:Even the wicked can trust God and be saved by their faith.

Ephesians 2:4-10 “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 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. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Comment: Salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone (we contribute absolutely nothing through our own efforts) is the only message taught in the New Testament. There is no plan “B” given in Scripture. Even the good works that we do as believers are the product of God’s grace; they are the fruit, not the root, of salvation.

John 14:6 “Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

John 6:28-29 “Then they asked him (Jesus), ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent.’”

Romans 10:1-4 “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”

John 3:14-18 “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. 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. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.”

Comment: There was a point in time in the Old Testament when the Israelites were deep in sin, so God sent deadly poisonous serpents to get their attention. For them to be healed, God instructed Moses to make a brass serpent and place it at the top of a tall pole and put it in the middle of the Israelite’s camp. If the Israelites would simply look to that serpent, they would be healed. In the New Testament we find that this Old Testament event was a picture of Jesus dying on the cross. If people will look to him in faith and trust him for forgiveness (healing) of their sin they will likewise be saved from eternal death (hell), the results of their sin.

John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

1 John 5:12 “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

Galatians 2:21-3:11 “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law (works), Christ died for nothing! You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard? Consider Abraham: ‘He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’ So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.’ Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, ‘The righteous will live by faith.’”

Comment: False teachers were influencing some new Gentile Christians, causing confusion. Because of this, they were having the same problem as some people today. They were having a hard time accepting that salvation was free and were trying to add to it, by including Jewish customs and laws that the false teachers said were required for salvation. Paul, the author of this letter to those living in Galatia, is saying that salvation is free and is not compatible with salvation by works. If one wants to be justified before God by his good works, then he will have to keep that entire law perfectly his entire life from start to finish. In that case, he is doomed, because that is an impossible task. Paul is also saying that after receiving salvation one cannot keep it by works, because it was impossible to be obtained by works in the first place. One’s salvation is kept secure by God’s grace just like it is received by His grace.

Romans 3:21-24 “But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Good works come after salvation.

Titus 3:3-8 “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 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, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.”

Ephesians 2:4-10 “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 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. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Comment: The fact that salvation is free apart from works does not give a Christian the freedom or right to go out and live a life of sin. He is responsible for his life even more and will show his gratitude and love back to God for His free gift through his life.

God alone is to be praised for His free gift of salvation; we have nothing to boast about.

God’s eternal plan is not only to grant salvation freely to those who trust in Him, but also that God will receive the praises of his children through all of eternity for His love and kindness. This is not pride on God’s part. This will be a fantastically joyful experience and privilege.  They will experience the perfect love of God and will be able to express love and praise back to Him. This is a mutually expressed love relationship between man and God, after all He has done for us. This is like a rich loving relationship between husband and wife, however, multiplied countless times. Those who seek to enter God’s Kingdom through their own merits would have little reason to praise, love and worship God, but would expect to receive praise for themselves based upon their own merits. This would be a huge slap in God’s face for all he has done and can never happen.

Galatians 2:21 “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Comment: No man will ever stand alongside of Jesus and put his arm around him and boast to God, or anyone, by saying, “Look what Jesus and I did!” Jesus alone will receive all of the praise and glory.

Ephesians 2:4-9  “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 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.” Comment: Note that we cannot even boast of our faith which is also granted to us by God.

Romans 3:27, 28 “Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.”

1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

1 Peter 4:11 “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

2 Corinthians 4:15 “All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.”

Ephesians 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”

Ephesians 1:13, 14 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of salvation, having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

How do we receive this free gift and become true children of God?

Romans 10: 9 -13 “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. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, ‘Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’ For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

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.”

John 1:12, 13 “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

Comment: We “receive” the gift of salvation when we acknowledge to God that we are sinners and have nothing to offer through our own merit, and deserve just punishment for our sin and that we are totally dependent upon His gift of grace. God’s gift to us is His own Son, who died on the cross in our place to pay for our sins, so that we might enter into His holy presence, sinless and holy in His sight as His own precious children. We simply need to turn 180 degrees from depending upon our own goodness and depend totally and completely upon what Jesus did for us on our behalf. He took the penalty for our sins and died in our place. To receive God’s gift of eternal salvation, then, is to turn to Him in faith, and through prayer acknowledge and confess that we are helpless, unworthy sinners and totally dependent upon His grace and Jesus’ death on the cross to cover and pay for our sins. We acknowledge and accept (receive) Him through prayer from our hearts, as our only hope, and our Savior, our Sovereign and Lord.

The result of refusing God’s gift and trusting in good works.

To refuse to accept Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf and to depend upon our own righteousness is to say that our works are better and more important than the gift of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. This arrogance leads to being condemned by God to eternal death, eternal hell, separation from God in outer darkness.

John 3:16-18 "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. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Galatians 2:21 “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.”

No person is too bad to be saved by grace.

1 Timothy 1: 14-16 “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”

Romans 5:6-8 “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Ephesians 2:4-5 “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”

Colossians 1:21-22 “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.”

Luke 7:48-50 “Then Jesus said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ The other guests began to say among themselves, ‘Who is this who even forgives sins?’ Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’” (This was the immoral woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears.)

Luke 18:10-14 (Jesus speaking) “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Luke 23:42, 43 “Then he (the repentant thief on the cross) said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.’  

Comment: The people in the three passages above humbled themselves, recognized their need, and were saved immediately, on the spot, in spite of their sinful lives, not after successfully completing a long list of good works, and neither were they baptized.

Examples of no person is good enough to be saved by his own efforts

Philippians 3:4b-9 “If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, (human effort and merit) I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.”

Isaiah 64:6 “All of us have become one who is unclean and all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”

To Refuse God’s Grace is to be at War with Him

Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” Comment: One might say, “Why do I need peace with God—I am not at war with Him?” But God is at war with sin. We are all sinners and if our sins are not blotted out by the righteousness of Christ we are considered guilty, in God’s sight.

Romans 1:18 “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.”

Romans 8:7-8 “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.”

When the sinless Christ died on the cross, He died in our place and took our penalty for our sin upon Himself so that we may enter into the presence of an all Holy God.

2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Romans 5:6-8 “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Colossians 1: 22 “But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.”

Praying to receive God’s free and perfect gift of salvation

There is no rigid formula or recipe for prayer to God to ask Him for, and to receive, His forgiveness. God is not impressed with formalities. He wants only our heart, not our works or our rituals. Everything belongs to Him and He needs nothing. Our hearts are the only meaningful thing we can offer Him. If you recognize that you are a sinner and are in need of God’s forgiveness then you can receive His grace and forgiveness right now and forever. Simply with a sincere heart, express to Him in your own words that you recognize that you are a sinner and helpless before Him with nothing to offer, and that you depend totally upon His grace, given to you freely through the sacrificial death of the resurrected Christ, and ask Him to forgive you and save you, even right now. If we do this we have the promise of Jesus Himself that we will receive what we ask. After the miracle of feeding thousands with a few loaves of bread, Jesus said the following:

John 6:47-52 “I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

If you are tired of the futile and endless task of trying to rid yourself of sin I urge you to follow the words of Christ:

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

If you feel you need further counsel on how to receive Jesus as your personal Savior we would be delighted to have you contact us at IRR. May God bless you richly.