What We Believe
What would you say
if I told you that you could have eternal life?
And the amazing thing is that it's free! All you have to do is ask for it.
What! Eternal life? Yes, eternal life, it's promised to anyone who places
their faith in Jesus Christ.
God
loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.
John 3:16
says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life". God loves us
so much He sent His Son so that all sinners may have eternal life with Him.
This is why Jesus was born, to save us from our sin. In John 10:10 Jesus says,
"I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly".
Man
is sinful and separated from God.
He cannot
know and experience God's love and plan for his life.
Man
is sinful.
Romans
3:23 reads, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. "We are
all sinners by nature and by choice. Man was created to have fellowship with
God; but, because of his stubborn self-will, he chose to go his own
independent way, and fellowship with God was broken. This self-will, by an
attitude of rebellion or passive indifference, is evidence of what the Bible
calls sin.
Man
is separated.
Romans
6:23 reads," For the wages of sin is death, . . ." This means spiritual
separation form God. We deserve death and hell for our sins.
God
is holy and man is sinful.
A great
gulf separates the two. Man is continually trying to reach God through his own
efforts, such as a good life, or religion. We cannot save ourselves from our
sins.
There
is only one way to bridge this gulf
. . .
Jesus Christ is God's ONLY provision for man's sin. Through Him you can know
and experience God's love and plan for your life. Jesus died in our place, for
our sins. Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in
that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." He rose from the dead,
"Christ died for our sins. . . He was buried. . . He was raised on the third
day, according to the scriptures. . ."
This is found in I Corinthians 15:3-6. God is holy and just and must punish
sin, yet He loves us and has provided forgiveness for our sin. Jesus is the
ONLY WAY to God. Jesus said to Him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the
life; no one comes to the Father , but through Me," John 14:6. The good news
is that God has provided for the forgiveness of our sins.
God has bridged
the gulf which separates us from Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ,
to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sins. Jesus is God
and became man. John 1:1, 14 reads," In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. ." "And the Word was made flesh, and
dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory of the only begotten from the
Father," full of grace and truth. Jesus died for us on the cross. I Peter 3:18
reads, "Christ also hath one suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that
He might bring us to God." Jesus was resurrected from the dead, He was
delivered up for our sins, and was raised for our justification. That's good
news, . . . but the only way Jesus can effect our lives is for us to receive
Him. The Bible says, "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name," John 1:12. The choice
is ours. We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we
can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.
The
first thing to do
in
receiving Christ is to repent of sin. Repentance is turning to God through
Jesus and away from sin It's like making a U-Turn. Then as we turn, we must
place our faith in Jesus. "For by Grace you have been saved through faith; and
that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God" Ephesians 2:8. Faith is not
just believing facts about Jesus, faith is trusting in Jesus. It's like taking
a trip on airplane. You will never make the trip until you trust the plane
enough to board it. To trust totally in Jesus means we must surrender to Jesus
as Lord. "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your
heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the
heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth He
confesses resulting in salvation" Roman's 10:9,10. Surrendering to Jesus as
Lord is not just saying we give our lives to Jesus. Surrendering to Jesus as
Lord means giving Jesus control of our lives. To give Jesus control of our
lives is like driving down the road with another person, as long as you are
driving, you are in control. If you realize you don't know the way, but the
other does, you might say, "You take the wheel and drive". Then the other
person is in control and the two of you take the route He chooses.
Examine yourself
and ask
yourself, "Is there any reason why you would not be willing to receive God's
gift of eternal life which is Jesus Christ?" Are you willing to turn from your
sin and place your faith in Jesus right now? The Bible says, "Whoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" Romans 10:13. If you would like
to ask the Lord to save you, repeat this prayer:
"Dear God,
I know I am a sinner and need forgiveness, I believe that Jesus Is your Son,
and that He died on the cross for my sins and was raised from the dead. I turn
from my sins and receive Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you for
saving me. In Jesus' name, Amen".
Call upon the
Lord in Repentance, Faith and Surrender, using these or similar words of your
own and Jesus will become your Lord and Savior, If you have prayed to receive
Christ, please contact us so we can rejoice with you!
Call:
1-662-286-2935
Drop us a letter:
Tate Baptist Church
1201 Harper Road
Corinth, MS 38834
Or
contact us via e-mail, we'd love to hear from
YOU! |
