Accepting Jesus

Written by: James Travis
Written on: July 11, 2005

If you’ve never accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior then you are missing out on the greatest gift anyone could ever give or receive. It may seem cliché to say that in the culture we are currently living in, but it is true none-the-less.

Accepting Jesus as your personal savior is the most important decision you will ever make. You are going to live forever somewhere, the simple question is where. And without trying to be dramatic, both Heaven and Hell are realities.

We are all born into sin because of the original sin of Adam and Eve. Even if it were not so, we have all committed sin at some point in our lives; if anyone claims otherwise than they are lying, which is a sin.

The Bible is very clear that the punishment for sin is death and eternal torment in Hell. That may seem harsh but really we are the ones to blame for it. God is light and in Him there can be no darkness; when we make the choice to disobey God and commit a sin, we are allowing darkness to corrupt us and as a result of our own choices we alienate and separate ourselves from God. Hell is eternal separation from God.

There is hope however… God in His fantastic mercy and grace has made a provision for us. Without going into the long details of the law of sin and sacrifice, let me tell you that God came to earth in the form of a man, Jesus Christ, and lived a completely perfect sinless life and willingly sacrificed Himself on the cross (He died the most brutally painful and agonizing death possible) in order that our sins could we wiped clean by His sacrifice.

It doesn’t matter what you have done in the past, I don’t want or need to know about it. God already knows, and He is the only one that matters. Whatever your sins, Jesus can cleanse you of them. He did it for the people in Biblical times, and He is willing and able to do it for you.

So what do you have to do? You first must realize that you need Jesus. No-one else can cleanse you from sin except Him.

Secondly you must truthfully and honestly want to accept Him. God knows when someone is just saying words without meaning them. He isn’t fooled by empty promises.

Thirdly, you must tell others about your decision to accept Jesus. This shows that you are not embarrassed by Christ. Jesus said that if you are embarrassed of Him before men, He will be embarrassed of you at the final judgment.

So here it is, the moment of truth. Time for you to make a decision, to continue to live a sinful life destined for Hell. Or accept Jesus’ sacrifice in your place and start heading toward Heaven. The choice is yours and no-one can make it for you. Don’t put it off until tomorrow because tomorrow may never come; no-one is guaranteed tomorrow.

If you are ready to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, please pray this prayer right now wherever you are. There is no magical rule that says God will only ear you from a church. God will hear you wherever you are. Pray this prayer:

"Dear God, I know that I am a sinner. And I know that I deserve an eternity in Hell because of my sin. I thank you that you sent Your Son Jesus and that He paid the ultimate price for me when He died on the cross for my sins. I renounce my sins and make you the Lord and Savior of my life. Thank you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

If you prayed that prayer and meant it, you have just made the best decision anyone could ever make. I would encourage you to get a reliable copy of the Holy Bible and begin to study it to find out more about the life God has for you.

If you don’t yet have a reliable copy of the Holy Bible (or any copy at all) I would suggest getting a copy as soon as possible. I would recommend either the NIV (New International Version) or the ESV (English Standard Version) as those two versions are in my opinion the easiest translations to read while still remaining accurate and faithful to the original text.

Stay strong and thank you for Rising to the Challenge!