How To Get Saved

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Here is all you need to do to become saved. Believe In Jesus Christ As Your Savior.
He has already done the work to earn your entry into heaven.

What Does It Mean
to Get Saved?

Short Answer Version

The term ''Get Saved'' is a phrase that means a number of very positive things.

Perhaps the most common feature is the right to live-on after physical death in a much better state of mind, in a much better place, and with a much clearer understanding and appreciation of our loving God.

The better place is often called ''Heaven'' and is also known by other names such as ''Paradise'', or ''God's Kingdom''. But becoming saved has much more meaning than that, starting immediately upon believing in Jesus.

Long Answer Version

Heaven is widely thought of as a place of inexpressible beauty, peace, love, purpose, and meaning. It reflects the glory of God. His loving presence fills heaven in a way that is very tangible and enjoyable, or so I am told by Scripture.

The promise of heaven is only one part of being saved. In some ways, we can start our experience of heaven here on earth, at least in part.

Getting saved also means being set free in this lifetime from many of the burdens that we humans experience. God can set us free from guilt, shame, loneliness, and hopelessness, to name just a few. He saves us from ourselves and many of the unwise choices we would make without Him. He saves us from behaviors that hurt us and that bring negativity into our lives.

Not only does Jesus save us FROM many unwanted circumstances, but He saves us TO a better life with Him in the picture during this lifetime.

Getting saved means being adopted by God spiritually as a son or daughter. He is generous and loving to His children. As we give Him that place of loving Father in our lives, it is amazing what good it produces in our hearts, and experiences.

Getting saved entails being infused with life of a godly, heavenly nature that makes each of us a better person progressively through our stays here on earth. That nature grows within each of us, producing wonderful benefits.

Getting saved is starting a new relationship with Jesus. Receiving salvation means we receive forgiveness for sins. Being saved leads to many other new rights and benefits that come with the salvation “package”.

If you choose to believe in Jesus as your Savior, you will experience many blessings afterward. Maybe not all at once, but just wait. You will see the more you get to know Jesus, new clarity will bloom. The Bible will make more sense to you. You will pray and see the results of answered prayer. You will notice a new spiritual side to yourself, that is honed in on Jesus and able to sense things about Him. These things are just the beginning. As time goes on, you'll find your life has more meaning and purpose.

Heaven is a kingdom. ''Kingdom'' means the rule and reign of a king.

When the king is good and loving to His people, the ''Kingdom'' results the wonderful experiences and benefits that the King brings upon those who live under His reign. Jesus is the highest King of all. He brings His kingdom to us here, on earth, in our lives and hearts when we are saved and afterward.

The apostle Peter stated something as one of the central reasons to believe in Jesus. He addressed the crowd after healing a lame man in Solomon's porch of the Temple. He proclaimed the message of the good news of Jesus. Shouting so the crowd could hear, he said, ''turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.''

In a sense these times of refreshing are God’s kingdom love, presence, and power appearing for us to experience. My prayer is that you will receive and enjoy periods of refreshing from Jesus for years to come in this lifetime.

Refreshing can also come when we serve others and God with an openness to His presence with us. These activities deepen my love and trust for Him. The more we deeply express our love to Jesus, our inner beings will follow suit. We will find ourselves loving Him more. The more we love Him, we will recognize the many blessings He puts into our lives.

The brilliance of His kingdom that we experience later, will far exceed the glimpses in our earthly lives, but these glimpses can be nonetheless breathtakingly beautiful to our souls. The Bible says they are foretastes of a future kingdom that believers will experience someday.

Believers can be said said to have "tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit, tasted the good word of God, and tasted the powers of the age to come''. These tastes and partakings might not come to us all the time, but even when they are infrequent, they are blessings nonetheless. They are too precious to dismiss.

I have found that refreshing and foretastes come more often and tangibly to my heart the more I spend time with God in prayer, praise, worship, and tasting "the good word of God".

Refreshing can also come when we serve others and God. These activities deepen our love and trust for Him. The more we deeply express our love to Jesus, our emotions will follow suit. We will find ourselves loving Him more. The more we love Him, we will recognize the many blessings He puts into our lives.

God has His ways and timing for each of us. He made us all to be different, and knows where, when, and how to work in us.

These things are just the beginning. As time goes on, you'll find your life has more meaning and purpose. The benefits and experiences I am describing can come either with, or without special feelings from God. If it seems you are not feeling anything blatantly spiritual yet, please keep in mind that faith is more important than feelings. He will customize your faith to your personal make-up, so you do not base the truth of your salvation primarily on feelings. He will be near to you no matter what you are going through.

You will feel His presence when, and to the extent, He wants you to. When you believe in Jesus as personal Savior, the truth of your salvation will always supercede your feelings. You receive salvation merely by deciding to welcome Jesus into your hearts. That is positive in every way. It is cause for rejoicing.

Once you believe in Jesus as your Savior, you can be encouraged to express your heart to Him. You may confidently reach out to Him with your best feelings of love, thanksgiving, and joy. Also, it is OK to bring to Him all your sorrow, pain, loneliness, depression, and neediness, when those feelings arise.

Try to let yourself feel toward Him when you pray; don't just talk. Receive the truth of His love for you, and let yourself feel warmed by it. You don't need to be a super spiritual believer to do any of this. Just be real with Him, and you might find that He will be even more real with you.

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What Does It Mean to Believe?

Short Answer Version

“Believe” is the action word for “faith”. In the original New Testament language, the word for “believe” was the verb form of the noun for “faith”. You “believe” simply by putting faith into action.

What is faith, and how do we put it into action? Faith is, by definition, a hopeful acknowledgement that something is true without anyone proving it to our satisfaction first. When we hope for something with conviction and have an assurance that our unseen hope will be realized, that is faith.

Faith in something untrue will not make it true. But faith in something true, that you are not able to prove, can result in the needed experience of its certainty.

Long Answer Version

To use faith in asking Jesus to be our Savior, is to believe with saving faith. The same is true when we believe that Jesus died for our sins and will come into our lives to have relationship with us.

It is a one-time decision. We don’t have to exercise saving faith over and over to get to Heaven. However, during our whole lives we can believe as a result of our decision. In fact, faith perpetuates more faith. Faith is something everybody knows how to do. For example, if you sit in a chair, you are having faith that it will hold you up. We all use faith many times a day, often without noticeably thinking about it.

When we become saved, faith is something that gets stronger the more we exercise it. We learn gradually how best to apply it in an effective way, and we develop it like a skill. We would be wise to remember, the power initiated by our faith is the power of Almighty God, not that of ourselves.

Faith takes risk. But life is full of risks. For example, if we waited for proof before following our dreams or aspirations, we would never take any risks at all, and none of us would be a success at anything. Take the risk of believing in Jesus and you will be saved even though you had to risk that it was true.

Believing in Jesus is a risk worth taking. Choose the kind of risk that initiates your salvation rather than prevents it. It takes risk to reject Jesus too. That is not a risk worth taking.

To believe in Jesus as your Savior also means to believe in truths associated with Him as Savior. For example, if you don't believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead, you do not believe in Jesus. If you don't believe Jesus is the "King of Kings", you do not believe in Jesus.

As much as people try, they cannot change Jesus by making up their own ideas of what He is or isn't. To be saved, we believe in the real risen Jesus and let Him be Himself.

Here is another way of looking at the meaning of “believe”. In today’s world, if you have a friend who is going for a job interview, you might encourage the person by saying “You’ll do great. I BELIEVE in you.” You do not mean “I believe you exist”. You are expressing a positive, considerate thought about who your friend is. That is also true about believing in Jesus.

By believing in Jesus, you are expressing your support personally to Him for who He truly is. Believing in Him is as easy as being a friend. In our culture we like the saying, “I love you just the way you are.” That phrase is a way of saying, “I believe in you.”

God loves us just the way we are, so why not decide to love Him just the way He is, by faith?

A believer is called a believer because they believe. Believing produces righteousness and peace in us. “By faith we have been made righteous. Therefore, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”. Believing is an ongoing practice of the believer. “The righteous shall live by faith”. We “walk by faith, not by sight.''

However, the element of faith being ongoing, is not what saves us. It comes as a result of being saved.” There are many other words or phrases that basically mean the same thing as believing in Jesus with saving faith, in a biblical sense.

For example, “receiving Jesus” means the same thing and depicts an openness of heart to let Him be in your life. It is a biblical phrase: "as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

''Accepting Jesus'' is another term people use that is synonymous for believing in Jesus. Some people say, “Trust in Jesus for your salvation”. It all stands for the same thing. Receive Him, accept Him, trust Him for your salvation, believe in Him, it’s all good.

Can a person lose their faith? We sometimes see this phrase in movies, books, or TV when a person is very downhearted about a tragedy, presumably because they expected God to prevent the disaster.

In my opinion, a true believer will never lose their faith. They might get dragged through the meat grinder of life and lose their excitement about God for a while, but real faith is something that cannot be lost. It can only be ignored by a person based on a personal choice to do so.

When is faith in Jesus ''real faith''? God always knows real faith when He sees it. It becomes apparent to us when we mean our decision to believe for real, and open ourselves to a relationship with Him.

If you are ever so down that you want to ''lose your faith'', please remember that God has compassion on you. He will welcome you back and help you heal. Don't let pride or arrogance stop you from experiencing the blessings God still has for you. Your sense of faith can always be reclaimed.

I've been through many meat grinders in life, and my sense of having faith did dwindle at times, but it was never lost. I predict that yours will never be lost either. You can regain it by saying "I believe in You Jesus, as my Savior". Say it out loud, or quietly in your heart alone. Doing it with understanding helps strengthen you throughout your life in any circumstance. Saying it will prevent you from losing your sense of experiencing faith.

Believe. Exercise Faith. Rejoice in the Lord and His promises of abundant life. He has good plans for you, to bless you, as well as to give you a meaningful future and a bright hope.

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Here is all you need to do to become saved. Believe In Jesus Christ As Your Savior.
He has already done the work to earn your entry into heaven.

Who is Jesus Christ?

Short Answer Version

Billions of people recognize that Jesus Christ has been the most influential human who has ever lived, fulfilling His hugely important mission on this planet.

Jesus came to earth, humbling Himself from His exalted position in heaven to be a human, relate with people, help them, teach them, motivate them, and save them by His sacrifice on the cross and resurrection.

He died in our place, and rose so we too can experience new-miracle-eternal life. He lives on and His importance has never dimished. Neither has His divinity.

He is completely deserving of all the glory, love, praise, worship, and friendship we can give Him. Of course you also know by now that He is the one we believe in if we want to be saved and go to heaven.

Long Answer Version

Imagine God becoming a man, so He could walk among people as a humble and kind person. He could experience what they experience and teach them truthful wisdom. As the respected leaders of His time pointed out, He displayed wisdom and authority that could not be rivaled by anyone else.

Jesus spoke often of love, and demonstrated it every day. That describes Jesus as He lived physically on earth. Then He died sacrificially for us and rose again on the third day afterward. Forty days later, He ascended into the air, while being witnessed by a crowd of over 500 people, to whom He had just been preaching.

As the respected leaders of His time pointed out, He displayed wisdom and authority that could not be rivaled by anyone else. He spoke often of love, and demonstrated it every day. That describes Jesus as He lived physically on earth. Then He died sacrificially for us and rose again on the third day afterward. Forty days later, He ascended into the air, while being witnessed by a crowd of over 500 people, to whom He had just been preaching.

In the Bible's depictions of Jesus we see much of His human side. We get a glimpse of what His personality was like during the early first century. We also see His divine side in many ways.

Today, we can pray and spend time with Him. We can get to know what He is like in person when we develop a spiritual and emotional connection with Him. Often we hear that people like this will see their lives and beings change for the better. Jesus on earth literally called His Father God, “Daddy” (''Abba'' in His common language). He told us that He and the Father are one. He wanted us to know His Father in the same intimate way.

Many who get to know Him find Jesus beautiful on the inside. Millions of people consider Him more beautiful than any other person. There is nobody more deserving of our respect, love, praise, glory, and worship than He.

Jesus is majestic and powerful, yet friendly, loving, fun, and enjoyable. He is knowable. People can meet Him, greet Him, and even be sweet to Him. He can do the same with us. I have found Him to be the most loving, caring, strong, and wise person of all. It is not only for His sake that we recognize and admit so much glory about Him, but for ours. It changes our hearts.

One of the things that drew me to Jesus is that He died on the cross to remove the separation between God and me. I was told that when I received Him as my Savior, I could have DIRECT CONTACT WITH GOD! Wow. That cinched the deal. It turned out the person who said this to me was right. I have experienced this direct contact with God thousands of times, and you can too.

People call Him “Christ”. That has become a title, like the word “President”. The word “President” means the person who “presides” over a group of people. I am convinced that “Christ” means the one person who most profoundly delivers, saves, and leads God’s followers.

For my country there is only one President. But a presidency is temporary. For all time and all people, there is only one person who deserves the title ''Christ'' today, and that is Jesus.

Christ is a translation for the word ''Messiah''. The word literally translated ''Anointed One'', was originally a reference to Aaron the first high priest of Israel. God commanded that Aaron be anointed with oil mixed with spices, for a seet fragrance denoting the Spirit of the Lord on him.

The word "Messiah" is packed full of meaning. One woman to whom Jesus spoke, the ''woman at the well'', let us know what it meant in her time. She said to Him, '' “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.'' Jesus replied, ''I who speak to you am He.'' God revealed this to the apostle Peter who told Jesus, '' You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.''

Read His story in the New Testament, how he was born, grew up, taught people, and died, resurrected, and ascended into Heaven. Read all His wise sayings and see all the good things He did. That is the best way to begin understanding who Jesus Christ is.

The apostle Paul said about Jesus: ''He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.''

Think about it: Sooner or later, my knee and your knee will bow at the name of Jesus, and we will each confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God our Father.

To find out more about who Jesus is in relation to God the Father and the Holy Spirit, click here: Next Page

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Here is all you need to do to become saved. Believe In Jesus Christ As Your Savior.
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Who is Jesus Christ?
(Continued - The Trinity)

Short Answer Version

If we are to examine who Jesus is, it is a good idea to talk about how He fits into relationship with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit a little bit.

Jesus said "I and My Father are one". He also said, "He that has seen me has seen the Father". He taught both unity with God the Father, and identification with Him.

The people to whom Jesus spoke, already had a concept of God and the Holy Spirit because of the Old Testament verses. John the Baptist also taught about the Holy Spirit, predicting that Jesus would baptize people with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Jesus taught more about the Holy Spirit, saying He is "the Comforter" or "Helper", "the Spirit of Truth", and the one who would glorify Jesus and the Father.

When the time came to reveal it, Jesus had no hesitation calling Himself the Son of God. He admitted it plainly even though He knew it would be considered a statement that would probably get Him killed. It would be taken as a statement that He was God Himself.

The word "Trinity" was conceived by early New Testament scholars to describe the way the Bible portrays God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit as one. The word "Trinity" never appears in the Bible.

Long Answer Version

Here is a rather lengthy examination of the subject of the Trinity for the more curious readers.

In mathematics, the value of one rarely equals three, but not so with God. If you tend to think in mathematical absolutes keep in mind that the laws of mathematics were designed by this same God. They do not govern Him. He governs them. The same applies to the laws of physics and nature.

Here are some insights to help give you a comfort level with the thought of a three-in-one God. You can think of Him as only one God. He is a Father, a Savior, and a Comforter in our lives. He is not bound by time or space. He is not limited to the boundaries of human comprehension. He is omnipotent, which means all-powerful.

Since God is omnipotent, it is possible for us to think of Him as beyond our ability to fathom. Because of that, it is possible for Him to be Father, Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit. He revealed Himself clearly in the Old Testament as both Father God and the Holy Spirit, also known as the Spirit of the Lord.

The first two verses of the Bible say, ''In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.'' Even though this could be interpreted to support the idea that God and the Spirit of God were two names for one God. But that interpretation is problematic. The word "And" points to a difference between ''God'' and ''the Spirit of God''.

Fifteen other times in the Old Testament, the moniker ''Spirit of God'' was used pointedly. Ordinarily it was associated with the Spirit coming in power on an Old Testament believer, such as a king or prophet.

It was a mystery until Jesus came and explained to us that God was not simply one or two but all three. Yet God is also One. He made it clear that we are not to confuse Him with the idea of multiple gods, an idea that was common outside Israel. He is not a polytheistic God, but a monotheistic God.

God once told a man named Moses that His name is YHWH (in the Hebrew language), which translated means “I Am” or “I Am that I Am”. The name “Jesus” also means “I Am”, but with a little more description. The name “Jesus” means “I Am is Salvation”.

The Comforter I mentioned is a real person too. He is often called, “The Spirit of I Am” in the Bible, which gets translated “The Spirit of the Lord”.

Do you see the connection? There are three “I Am” persons. The word “Trinity” speaks of the three persons in unity literally, meaning three-in-one.

Jesus told His followers to go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus used the name "I Am" in talking about Himself at least nine times in the first four books of the New Testament.

It is evident in the original language that He presented Himself as the great I Am. For example he said,"Before Abraham was born I Am", "I am the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father except through me". He also said many other statements indicating His divinity, such as "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father".

By the way, you don’t have to grasp this information about the Trinity fully, to be saved. I didn't. In fact, I had never even heard that Jesus was God when I asked Him to be my Savior. I thought He was only the Son of God. I had just previously found out I could receive Him as my personal Lord and Savior. But my early knowledge gap did not stop God from saving me and straightening me out later.

What about the Holy Spirit? Who is He? By observation, I can tell you one aspect of Him is that He is a go-between. The Holy Spirit can reveal the attributes of Jesus and the Father directly to our hearts, and He also reveals His own personhood and ways of thinking. The Bible says He leads us into all truth.

The Bible calls the Holy Spirit "the Spirit of Jesus Christ" in Philippians 1:19. That designation further shows His connectedness of identity to Jesus in the Trinity.

Paul the apostle also wrote, "when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." Who is the Spirit? "the Lord is the Spirit".

The Holy Spirit reveals truth and frees people from bondage to misguided ways of living.

After believing in Jesus and starting relationship with Him, many of the things not originally understand will start to make better sense. You start to become a spiritual person. Therefore, spiritual things begin to become clear. That is the work of the Holy Spirit.

Even before you are saved, the Holy Spirit can start making Jesus real to you. The night I first heard about receiving Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior, I went home and I could feel Jesus on the doorstep to my heart, on the verge of coming in. Out of fear and selfishness, I didn’t let Him come in until three days later.

The Bible mentions a phenomenon of coming to Jesus because the Father is drawing you. I was a person who actually felt that take place three days before I got saved. I didn’t know yet that the Bible had a name for it.

The Holy Spirit is no less powerful than the Father or Son. The earth's creation is partially attributed to Him in the Bible (Such as in the first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1). In fact, all three persons of the Trinity were said to be involved when you compare the first chapter in Genesis with the first chapter of the gospel of John.

The Holy Spirit is mighty to do many wonderful things on the earth. He also reveals Himself in a sweet presence that shows God's gentle love for us.

In one of the opening statements to this website, I suggested some words to say in prayer to be saved by believing in Jesus. They included, “Please come into my life and make yourself real to me.” If you really want to know who God is, that prayer will start the ball rolling.

You will be born again by the Holy Spirit dwelling in you. You will also be spiritually adopted by God the Father, and rescued by the atonement of Jesus (found in His death and resurrection). The intimate fatherly wisdom and undying love comfort us. All three are called comforters in the Bible.

We see the Trinity portrayed in many Bible verses, such as Luke 1:35, when the Angel mentioned all three persons to Mary as taking part in the birth of Jesus. In that verse the Angel Gabriel differentiated the persons of the Trinity calling the Father "The Most High", also sometimes translated "the Majesty on High". It was His power and the Holy Spirit who came on Mary when Jesus, the Son of God was conceived as a human.

But Jesus existed previously in the "form of God" (Phillipians 2:6). The Trinity existed for all eternity past, and will always exist. What we have covered here is just the tip of the iceberg about who Jesus is, and how the Father and Spirit interrelate. The Bible has much more to say on the subject, as does the Holy Spirit who glorifies Jesus and the Father to us as He leads us into spiritual truth.

A few years ago, even though I thoroughly believed in the fact that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one and the same, I was having a difficult time when I prayed, trying to sort out to whom I should address my prayers.

I usually prayed to the Father, in Jesus' name. Sometimes I prayed to Jesus, and sometimes I spoke with the Holy Spirit. But it became a little confusing and frustrating to me, knowing whether I was doing it correctly. I expressed this to God one time when I was feeling especially close to Him. He gave me an answer, a way around my concern. I heard Him say, "Just call me Trinity."

I was totally aware that He was providing me with a wise solution, but that it was found nowhere in the Bible. I did what He said and it removed my blockage whenever I started to feel the frustration I had experienced before.

Now, I feel free to picture Him as Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. I address Him in any of these ways, as well as "Trinity", "Lord", "God", and other fond names, knowing He understands my heart is inclined toward Him.

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Here is all you need to do to become saved. Believe In Jesus Christ As Your Savior.
He has already done the work to earn your entry into heaven.

What Does Savior Mean?

Short Version Answer

“Savior” means a special person who rescues in a big way. Jesus will rescue believers from going anywhere other than Heaven after the body dies, and He will be glad to rescue and help us in many big ways during our present lifetimes. He is high above all others we look to for help.

If you have ever experienced someone saving your life, that is an example of what a human savior does. I was with a friend, as a teenager, and my dog was with me as we walked along a railroad track.

Tony yelled down at me from an elevated mound of dirt next to the track telling me a train was coming. Its horn was blaring, but I was not paying attention. I looked up and saw it coming. I immediately got my dog off the track, which was a challenge, and then stepped off it myself just in time.

I know what it is like to be physically saved, and to save my dog. As Savior Jesus saves many lives from death, and into heaven. But also from many negative outcomes here on earth.

Long Version Answer

A Savior brings Salvation. Salvation means the state of being saved or rescued. Once we “get” saved, we “are” saved, and we are in a state of salvation. Jesus is not just the Savior of the world. He wants you to make Him your personal Savior. Accept Him as being just that, Your Personal Savior.

Our English words for salvation and salvage have the same root word. Imagine you find an item in a trash heap that you know you can clean up and enjoy. Then, you offer to buy it so you can make it a prized possession. When you do so you have salvaged the item.

When you experience salvation, it is a bit like a valuable item being saved from the trash heap, cleaned up, fixed up, and made better than new. You are a valuable person, even if others don't see you that way.

When you are saved, you are placed in the hands of Jesus, the Master Craftsman. You are being salvaged. You are being made better than new. You are given new life.

When you start relationship with Jesus, you are in the process of being cleansed, fixed up, and filled with purpose. He makes your life a beautiful thing. Some have said He is making each of us His masterpiece.

Some people think they don’t need to be rescued or salvaged. They don’t want anyone to try and help them. These people are not as wise as those who recognize everyone sometimes needs others to come along and offer some assistance.

The same is true of letting Jesus be your personal Savior. Let Him, through His Holy Spirit, come along and be your Helper.

It was in the lyrics of an ancient praise song where the first mention of the word "Savior" appeared in the Bible. David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

David wrote: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior." -2 Samuel 22

The word "savior" was used many times after that for God's intervention in difficult situations. Before God came to earth embodied in Jesus Christ, He consistently showed Himself to be a savior.

When Jesus died in our place, He fulfilled the ultimate meaning of the word. He saved us from a fate worse than death, delivered us from our evil enemies, and now shields us under His wing from the present day to eternity.

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Here is all you need to do to become saved. Believe In Jesus Christ As Your Savior.
He has already done the work to earn your entry into heaven.

How Did Jesus Already Do the Work to Earn My Entry into Heaven?

Short Answer Version

Jesus removed from you the burden of earning your way to Heaven. Instead He earned Heaven for you. He did this by paying the price Himself.

In contrast to other religious paths, which require good works as the way to Heaven, Jesus said of Himself, "I am the way". No one comes to the Father in Heaven any other way.

Jesus did the work for you by an insurpassable display of love.

This work was good enough, powerful enough, to be applied to you, me, and everyone else who believes in Jesus.

In His sacrificial death He completed the task of taking the punishment of all our sins and shortcomings on Himself, thereby SAVING us from them.

The only work on our parts is, in actuality not a condition at all. It is effortless non-work. Faith requires no effort because it is a gift from God. He provides the gift of faith to believe in Jesus as your personal Savior. Ask and you will receive.

Long Answer Version

Jesus did something that stands as the most important event in history. He substituted Himself for you. He died in your place, when He was 33 years of age. It was just outside Jerusalem on a Roman cross. He did it so you wouldn’t have to die. He did it in an act of sacrificial love that was powerful beyond measure.

Jesus died on the cross in our place and rose from the dead on the third day later.

His substitutionary death was not for only you but was powerful enough to cover the whole world of people needing a Savior, throughout time. It was powerful enough to do the work of earning the way into Heaven for everyone who believes.

That is why you can consider Jesus not only your personal Savior. He is also called the Savior of the world.

When Jesus took our place on the cross, it was to fulfill God the Father's desire to reconcile as many as would believe to Himself. Unfortunately, those who refuse will not have that honor, as far as we can tell from what we know here on earth.

Here, "reconcile" means to take away the emotional and spiritual separation between a person and their Heavenly Father.

Unfortunately, those who refuse will not have that honor, as far as we can tell from what we know here on earth.

Jesus experienced the agony of all the wrongdoings that ever happened or will happen. He did this “in our stead”. Today we don’t use the phrase “in our stead” very often, but we do use the words “instead of us”. The two phrases mean the same thing. He died instead of you dying, and instead of me having to die. He paid for ALL our penalties, Himself.

This means you do not have to work your way into heaven or earn points for doing good things.

God is not waiting to count all the bad things and all the good things you did and decide your future based on which number was higher. When you have faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior, you can rejoice because your name is written in heaven. Jesus said that. You are on the guest list.

Not only His sacrificial death, but also His resurrection are both part of the deal. He died as a substitute for us and so we are united with Him in death. We are also united with Him in His resurrection. He applies resurrection power into our lives as we are born anew, and it carries over all the way into the next life. It is a “package deal”.

You don't have to do good works to live forever. But you certainly can do good works, and try to be as good a person as you are able. God likes that. He is good, and appreciates it when we let Him transform us to be more like Him in those ways.

When we get to know Him personally, He puts the desire in our hearts to do good things, and become better people. He give us the ability to live out the lives of saved and Spirit-filled individuals. This is because we wouldn't otherwise be able, not at the heart level, due to our limited abilities. He improves our hearts.

One way of explaining this is that He ransomed you. The word picture is like He paid the ransom for you after being kidnapped. Then He brought you home as part of His family. He bought you and placed you in His large family of believers. He paid a high price to be close to you. He welcomes all who believe to be part of His close, loving family. Salvation is a gift, not a burden.

A Few Old Testament Passages foretlling about Jesus Doing the Work that Earned Our Entry into Heaven

We see foreshadowed in several of the Old Testament prophecies that Jesus would die in our place. His death would defeat satan and break his hold from our lives. The defeat of satan proved to be our victory, pretold from the beginning.

In Genesis 3, just after Adam's fall, God gave a prophecy that the serpent would “bruise the heel” of a descendant of Eve, but that descendant would "crush the serpent's head.'' Many believe this descendant was Jesus and the serpent was satan. Jesus was not defeated. He resurrected alive and well. But satan’s head was crushed because the cross brought victory and sealed his fate, satan's ultimate demise.

Jesus was not defeated. He resurrected alive and well. But satan’s head was crushed because the cross brought victory and sealed his fate, satan's ultimate demise.

In Genesis 22, the near-sacrifice of Isaac was symbolic of Jesus. Abraham, said, ''God will provide Himself a lamb.'' It is easy to look back on that account and see the symbolism in which Abraham represented God the Father, Isaac represented the Son of God, and the lamb (aka the ram) represented Jesus the ultimate sacrifice.

The fact that Isaac lived while the lamb died, might represent the ongoing life of Jesus after being slain and resurrecting.

Later, in Exodus 12, we are introduced to the concept of a lamb to be offered in sacrifice to save God's people from sin and death. It was unblemished, and its blood protected the children of Israel.

The Passover lamb most likely also foretold of Jesus, our unblemished sacrifice. If we consider the passover as not only an historical fact, but also a typological prophecy, the meaning indicated God would triumph over death to save God's people later as well, probably in Jesus. The death of Jesus stands as continually and utterly effective through all generations.

Then, in Exodus 22, the sin offering was set up. A bull and two lambs would be sacrificed. The lambs would be slain, one in the morning and one in the evening. This was to be a continual burnt offering throughout all generations of Israel to cover their sins.

In Leviticus 4, a lamb without blemish was again a sin offering assigned by God. When Jesus was 30 years old, He was called “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” by John the Baptist. Jesus was unblemished in that He was without sin his entire life.

Many other prophecies foretelling the substitutionary death of Jesus were made. The most famous is in Isaiah 53. The entire chapter is remarkable, but the following statement stands out.

''Surely, he has borne our griefs and has carried our sorrows. Yet, we esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his wounds, such as through being whipped, we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way, but despite such failures, the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted. Yet, he didn't even open his mouth; he was brought as a lamb to the slaughter.'' In the field of theology (the study of God) the word “vicarious” means the same as “done in the place of”, also known as “substitutionary”. The word “Atone” means to completely make amends. The noun form is "Atonement." The phrase “vicarious atonement” is the idea that Jesus Christ experientially took the place of mankind, being punished for our faults. In so doing, He paid for the sins we commit. Thereby, He brings reconciliation between the believer and God.

Paul wrote about Christ's sacrifice, saying "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them''.

The Lord, who is all-wise, has laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all. When Jesus from the cross said, “It is finished,” it was this act of which He spoke. It was this work that earned your way into heaven.

This quote is attributed to James MacDonald: "Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay."

When I received Jesus into my heart, I knew He was my Savior. Over a year later I started to grasp what it meant. I had many questions, and deeply studied these concepts in Bible College. It deepened my love for Jesus immeasurably just to know the extent of His demonstrated love.

I have laid this out for you in the beginning of your journey, hoping you will start to understand how this good message of Jesus, though simple, is deeper than all other profound statements ever known to humanity.

Scriptures On This Topic From the New Testament

These verses are for those who are interested in seeing what the New Testament says about the work of Jesus dying in our place. To save time, you can read the verses by copying each line below and pasting it into the search field of biblegateway.com or a similar Bible search site or application.

John 11:49-51
Acts 5:29-32
Romans 5:8-11
Romans 6:3-7
Romans 6:9-11
Romans 8:1-2
Romans 8:32
1 Corinthians 15:1-7
2 corinthians 5:14-19
Ephesians 1:7
Colossians 3:3-4
Romans 6:9-11
1 Timothy 1:15
1 Peter 3:18
1 John 2:1-2
Revelation 1:5-6

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Here is all you need to do to become saved. Believe In Jesus Christ As Your Savior.
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Why Should I Believe in Jesus?

Short Answer Version

There are many good reasons to believe. We will look at them in several general categories. They include Benefits Offered, Overwhelming Evidence, Needs Met, and other similar topics.

After reading about them, if you wish to delve deeper, you will find a large number of menu items at the bottom of this page.

There are so many good reasons and answers to why you should believe in Jesus, that they are impossible to count. But they are possible to experience with just a little faith.

Long Answer Version

We approach the question, ''Why Should I Believe in Jesus?'', from various angles customized to various individual concerns.

For example, is your main focal point analytical, emotional, intellectual, historical, scientific, cultural, or familial? Many avenues exist, some more atuned to a given individual than others.

We'll start with Benefits Offered, because it is the most fun. Next we will examine some sources of evidence external to the Bible and Christian literature. Other parts of this website will be devoted to more comprehensive topics like science or philosophy.

You will see links to each category at the end of each page for other questions you may have.

Category 1:

Benefits Offered.

The reasons to believe in Jesus start with these:

-His promises to believers
-His track record of fulfilling His-promises
-Knowing Him
-He makes a really good friend
-Eternal life, inheriting God's kingdom
-New purpose and meaning
-He provides practical guidance and solutions to your problems and issues
-Forgiveness of sins
-His presence, which combats loneliness and comforts us

The benefits of salvation also include many other blessings, like lifelong help from God, and royalty as a child of the most royal King. You will have an improved sense of identity and belonging that will lift your spirits.

New and great value is placed on you. You become a partaker of God's nature so to speak. When you spend time with Him, His nature rubs off on you somewhat.

Innumerable believers have attributed their high level of success to Him.

You are given availability to peace that passes all understanding. You are given a future and a hope. There is an immense sense of freedom that comes.

I could list a hundred more benefits, but I'll confine it to these:

You are set free from sin and emotional bondage. Your past sins are cleansed off of you, and your future sins are paid for. You can feel cleansed from present sins as well by confessing them to God, when you realize they have occurred, and turning back to Him.

Perhaps the most powerful reasons for believing are that He always loves you for who you are, and also sees your potential to grow more into your better self.

He provides spiritual power for you to overcome temptation, side with Him in spiritual light against the influences of spiritual darkness, turn away from harmful thinking patterns, experience freedom spiritually and emotionally, and be healed of past hurts.

I believe God is not limited to time, seeing that He created it. Therefore, right this second He can see The Future You.

He sees you living in the realization of your great potential during this lifetime, and shining with even greater potential eternally in His kingdom.

I have heard many people tell about miraculous things that Jesus did in their lives.

If I were to name the large number of wonderful things He has done so far in my life, it would bewilder you.

I realize it is intriguing to hear the juicy details of such a claim, but I would prefer to keep your mind on the main point.

It is that YOU can experience many positive and miraculous experiences in your own life when you believe in Jesus and put your trust in Him.

You will not experience them all in the beginning, but with time you will look back on your life and see He was there all along doing incredible things for you, starting with one of the greatest miracles of all: you becoming born again from His Spirit.

You get a new nature growing within you, kind of like a seed. It is full of joy, love, and peace. You can tap into all these things by seeking to be close to God, trusting Him, and living in His ways.

The popularity of self-improvement books, seminars, websites and videos indicate people, even those who are ''comfortable in their own skin'', want to become better. Believing in Jesus is the best way possible to improve yourself.

He can change your life for the positive in a better and more powerful way than any human teacher can.

One thing to remember is that God gives spiritual tools to those who believe in Jesus. So after you choose to believe in Him, use your tools! If you don't use them, they won't help you.

You can grow in the use of those tools, including faith, believing prayer, trust in God, teaming up with His Holy Spirit in you, and operating with confidence and authority to use your God-given talents and giftings. The Bible itself is a powerful spiritual tool, and is full of insight on how to use specific tools God gives.

The Gospel is Positive

When it comes to telling people why they should believe in Jesus as their Savior, it is pointless to resort to overblown negativity, such as scaring them about Hell, brow beating them, imposing peer pressure, arguing with them out of anger, deceptive sales tactics, or threatening to cut off their allowance (if they are your kids).

The gospel of Jesus Christ is 100% positive. We will soil it if we resort to rejecting it for anything less positive. We need not blind ourselves to the possible outcomes from refusing to believe in Jesus. People are by nature prudent to avoid danger. Understanding the good news results in safety, positivity, and a wonderful life. That is reason not to fear, but rather believe and enjoy.

There are many other benefits of becoming saved that I could list, but it is better for you to experience them yourself. He is calling you in a gentle way to come to Him and be saved.

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What Does it Mean to Follow Jesus?

Here is another menu with lots of great information that might help you decide to become a follower of Jesus.

What is the Gospel?

More About the Great "I AM"

Will it Help if I try to Turn

Away from Sin?

Do I Need to Do Something

Extra to be Saved?

More Evidence - Prophecies of Jesus

What if I Have Doubts?

What Do I Do After Deciding to Believe in Jesus?

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Here is all you need to do to become saved. Believe In Jesus Christ As Your Savior.
He has already done the work to earn your entry into heaven.

What is the Meaning of Life?

Answer

I f you research this question, either on the internet or in libraries, you will find a significant number of attempts to analyze the question, and even more to try and answer it. I’m writing rather informally here, but I’m going to try my hand at answering this question without repeating the many ideas already out there.

The reason the question is so elusive to most people is that they erroneously think of themselves at the center of life, and all their feelings, thoughts, experiences, dreams, and hopes are at the heart of the question about the meaning of life. All those things are good, but most people are going about this all wrong.

We should not put ourselves in the center and think about our lives as the thing we want to find the meaning for. Life exists outside us much more than it does inside us. If we want to find the real meaning of life, consider this: What is the meaning of life to the One who created it? All the real answers will stream from that.

I might think something different tomorrow, but today I think that the meaning of human life is to give joy to God. There are probably other things, but I think that answer eclipses all others.

If it concerns you that I might be skirting the issue of the meaning of YOUR life, please be patient. We’ll get to that shortly.

If any of you readers have children and love them, you might understand a little of the concept of finding joy and meaning in loving your offspring.

When my kids were little, when I could simply sit and watch them, I didn’t need TV, movies, music, sports, or any other past time. They gave me such a kick, just by looking at them doing all the things they did. They were so sweet and cute, I just drank it in, and felt joy to be around them. (I’ll tell you a secret. My kids are in their twenties now, and I often still get the same feeling when I look at them.)

If you don’t have kids, think about people in your life that have given you joy without them even knowing it. Take that kind of feeling and multiply it in your mind to the point where it is joy of great maginitude, and you might be able to understand that as God's children, WE are the meaning of life!

In the eyes of our Heavenly Father love abounds beyond our ability to comprehend. Since our life provides joy and meaning to Him, we mean something. Life means something. I am not saying God would feel empty and meaningless without us. That would be absurd. But I am saying He is overjoyed with us and has a purpose for this planet that includes us. We help fulfill His worthwhile purpose, which gives our lives purpose.

God loves life. If He didn’t, then why did He make so much of it? Over five billion species have existed on earth. These are examples of life that began with God. All life has meaning to Him. But I’ll tell you what kind of life has the most meaning to Him.

We get a hint in the scripture where Jesus said, “Or if there is a woman who has ten silver coins, and loses one, won’t she light a lamp and sweep and search the house until she finds it? And when she does, she will call her friends and neighbors together. ‘Come and celebrate with me’, she will say, ‘for I have found that precious coin I lost.’ I tell you, it is the same in Heaven—there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who turns to God.”

Not only does it give God and the angels intense joy when one person is saved, but that heavenly joy echoes back from Heaven on to the person who chose to receive the gift of salvation. And it doesn’t end there. The Holy Spirit brings to the person love, joy, peace, and other blessings as lifetime benefits of knowing and communing with Him. The Bible calls these the fruit of the Spirit.

Contemplate that for a while. We bring meaning to God, for Him to enjoy. God brings meaning back into our lives for us to enjoy.

This brings us back now to answer the person looking for the meaning of life with self at the center. Understand this cycle, the meaning of life comes to you and you understand it, when you step into the circle of love in relationship with Jesus. The circle continues into the future. The two of you are in the center together. Joy, meaning, and significance together increase in you personally.

And that is the meaning of life.

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