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Are you part of God's Family?

Being a part of a family is a blessing from God that is Irreplaceable. God the father showed us His tremendous love when He sent His only Son into the world to suffer and die on the cross that we might by faith become members of His eternal family.

The words of John 3:16 give us a revealing look at the heart of God where it says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God "so loved" you and me that He allowed His Son to pay man's sin debt. If Jesus Christ had not willingly come into our world as an offering for our sin, we would be eternally lost. In the Gospel of John Jesus said of Himself, "...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the father, but by me.“ (John 14:6).

There is life beyond this earthly existence in which all those who have trusted Christ will live as members of God's family. You can become a part of the family of God by humbling yourself before God and following a few simple but necessary steps:

Acknowledge (Understand that you are a sinner)

What exactly is a sinner? What is sin? Sin is "breaking the law", transgressing the will of God, and disobeying the rules, so to speak. Have you ever told a lie? Stolen anything? Broken a rule (such as driving above the speed limit)? You have, because the Bible says…

Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

EVERYBODY is a sinner. Realize (There is a penalty for sin)

God is a holy God. He is a God of love, yes. He is also full of compassion and mercy. But He is holy, and He is just. God's justice demands that sin be punished. You might say "What kind of loving God would send a person to Hell?” Well, you must understand that Hell was NOT created for people, it was created for Satan. Matthew 25:41 says "Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

It was never God's plan for men to go to Hell. It wasn't even God's plan that men should die! The Bible says in James 1:15 "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." We have brought death upon ourselves by sinning!

Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We go to work, and when we do, we earn a wage. At the end of the pay period, we expect to get a paycheck, the reward we have earned by working hard all week. Death…not just physical death, but spiritual death as well, is what we have "earned" for our sins. You're probably thinking that the Bible is just a book of doom, gloom, and bad news at this point. It gets better, just keep reading.

Trust Him (Jesus paid the price for your sin)

We FINALLY get some good news. That's what "gospel" literally means, "good news". You may have noticed it in the last verse listed for you above, Romans 6:23: "… but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." We EARNED death by our sins, but LIFE is a FREE GIFT! We don't have to go to church, we don't have to do good deeds, we don't have to get baptized, we don't have to recite a rosary, we don't have to give all of our money to the poor…a GIFT cannot be earned! You just ACCEPT it. The Bible is very clear that salvation is a gift, freely offered by God to ALL men, women, and children!

Ephesians 2:8,9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the Answer to our sin problem. Jesus is God. God became a man, was born of a virgin, and lived a perfect, sinless life. Because He never sinned, He did not earn death, as all other men have. However, He willingly allowed Himself to be killed, so that by His blood, we could be reconciled to the God who is holy, so that His justice could be satisfied. The Bible again makes this very clear.

Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Romans 5:8-10 But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Ephesians 1:7 In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace;

Colossians 1:14 In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Jesus Christ died for us, but more than that, He rose from the dead for us! He ascended bodily back to Heaven, and will come back to Earth again for us in the future. His perfect life, death, and resurrection make it possible for us, as sinners, to be made acceptable to a holy and just God, if we believe on Him and accept the free gift that He offers us.

4. Accept (The free gift of eternal life that Jesus longs to give you)

We have covered the things you need to understand: You're a sinner, there's a penalty on sin, and Jesus paid the penalty. Now we get to the one thing you need to do. You need to TAKE the free gift! That's all you have to do! "That's too easy", you say? Is it really?

Think of it this way. Jesus Christ has unlimited credit at the supermarket. He has offered to pay for everyone's groceries; they only have to ask for it. You go through the checkout line; the cashier rings up all your items, and tells you the total cost. Upon hearing the price, you realize that you don't have your wallet with you. You have no money, no credit card, no checkbook, no debit card, NOTHING. The cashier tells you that it's ok, Jesus has paid the cost; all you have to do is ask for the "Jesus discount", and you can take your groceries home without having to pay. And even if you don't know Jesus yet, He DOES know you, and He loves you, and wants so very badly to give you His free gift of life. If someone were to write you a check for a million dollars, it would do you no good at all until you cashed it. Jesus has written the check, signed it with His own precious blood, and He is ready to cash it for you, if you will only ask Him to.

The Bible says:

Romans 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

All you have to do is believe. To show yourself, the Lord, and others that you believe, the Bible teaches here that one should make an oral, audible statement that they believe. There is no special incantation, there are no "magic words"…you just tell God that you believe. Do you believe? If so, you can pray something like this:

Dear God,