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What is meant by Salvation?
Salvation means to be rescued from sin and its punishment and set free to
know, love and serve God. Jesus replied,
"I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin...If the Son sets you
free, you will be free indeed " (John 8:34,36).
JESUS CHRIST: WHO HE IS & WHAT HE DID FOR YOU
JESUS & YOU
CREATION
In the beginning, thousands of years ago, God created the heavens and the earth. He made
the sun, the moon and the stars. He made the waters and the dry land. He made all
that is on earth. He made the grass, flowers and trees as well as all the fishes, birds
and mammal (Genesis 1:1-25).
MAN & WOMAN
Then God created man in His own image, male and female. He called the man Adam and the
woman was named Eve by her husband. God blessed them and gave them dominion over every
living thing on earth. He commissioned them to be fruitful and multiply to fill the earth.
(Genesis 1:26-28)
GARDEN OF EDEN- TWO SPECIAL TREES
God made a garden in Eden and put Adam and Eve there to take care of it. It was a
beautiful place. They lived there in happiness, eating from the trees of the garden. In
the garden, God had placed two special trees. One was the Tree of Life. The other, the
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God told Adam and Eve that they were not to eat of
this tree. If they did, God said that they would surely die. God did not want His children
to know evil, so He told them not to eat from that tree. God wanted His children pure and
innocent. (Genesis 2:8,9,15,16&17)
HEAVEN & ANGELS
Before God made the world, God had prepared a place in the heavenlies called Heaven. He
had also made thousands upon thousands of heavenly beings called angels. These heavenly
beings served and worshiped God. There was order among the angels. The angels in charge
were called arch angels or chief angels. (Hebrews 1:6,7)
LUCIFER (SATAN) & DECEPTION
At some point in time past, one of the chief angels called Lucifer became proud and
rebellious. He vowed to make himself like God. He influenced other angels to follow him
and they plotted to exalt themselves above God. God punished Lucifer and the angels by
casting them out of Heaven. A lake of fire in a place called Hell was prepared as an
ultimate punishment for them. Lucifer, who is the devil, hated God. He desired to
"get even" by destroying God's creation. He came into the garden in the form of
a serpent, a most crafty beast. He deceived Eve and she ate from the Tree of Knowledge of
Good and Evil. Eve gave some fruit to Adam, who was with her, and he ate some also.
(Genesis 3:1-6)
PUNISHMENT
The disobedience of Adam and Eve was the first sin. God banished them from the Garden of
Eden. He knew that they would be tempted to eat of the Tree of Life and, therefore, live
forever in their sin. Because of their sin, the curse of God came upon this first family.
Their sorrow, after being driven out of their beautiful home, was very great. Since that
time, all their descendants, all people from that time until now, are born with a sinful
nature, a desire to sin. It does not take long in an individual's life for this nature to
manifest itself. (Genesis 3:7-24)
GOD'S PROMISE OF HOPE
God loves people, His creation. He promised that He would send a Savior to deliver them
from the curse of sin. For thousands of years this promise was passed down from generation
to generation. Through the centuries, people waited for the Savior to come and free them
from the judgment of sin. God periodically sent messengers, His prophets, to encourage
people to have faith and wait a little longer. (Matthew 3:1-3)
FULFILLMENT OF GOD'S PROMISE
About 2,000 years ago, during the Roman Empire, God fulfilled His promise. A child, Jesus,
whose name means Savior, was to be born to a virgin named Mary. Mary was pledged to be
married to a man named Joseph. God said that this Child would be the long waited for
Savior of the world. This was to be a true miracle birth. Mary was not married at the time
of conception. She had not had sexual relations with any man. An angel called Gabriel
prepared Mary for this by visiting her and telling her that God the Holy Spirit would come
upon her, leaving her with Child. She would give birth to a Son who would be called Jesus.
This baby was God's very own Son. (Luke 1:26-35) |
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JESUS' LIFE & MINISTRY
Jesus, born in Bethlehem, lived for 33 years in the land of Israel. He grew up a child of
Mary and her husband Joseph. Jesus lived a sinless life. His life was a demonstration of
the love of God. He healed the sick and did many wonderful miracles: the blind were
made to see; the deaf heard; the lame walked; the dumb spoke. He raised some people from
the dead and cast evil spirits out of people who were possessed by them. People loved
Jesus and many believed in Him and followed Him. (Luke 7:1-23 , John 11: 30-45)
JESUS' DEATH
Some religious rulers known of that time became jealous of Jesus. They wanted to
kill Him. One day, they seized Him and brought Him before the religious and political
courts. After an unfair trial with false witnesses, they sentenced him to death by
crucifixion, the cruel Roman method of executing criminals. (John 11: 46-57, John 19)
JESUS' RESURRECTION
Those who wanted Jesus dead rejoiced, but not for long. After three days in a tomb, Jesus,
the Savior of the world, arose from the dead. He came out of the grave and for forty days
appeared to His disciples and friends. They later told this to others. He was taken up
into Heaven, where He is today. (Luke 24)
WHY JESUS DIED
Jesus, the Son of God, died for a purpose. He could have saved Himself by calling on
angels to set Him free, but He chose not to. He chose to die and thereby suffer the
punishment of sin for each and every one of us. He was judged by God, His father, with the
judgment we deserved. He bore our sins when He was crucified. His death, burial and
resurrection once again made fellowship between God and man possible. What sin destroyed
in the Garden of Eden, Jesus again made possible. (Isaiah 53:4-12, Romans 4:20-25,
Romans 5:18,19)
HE DIED FOR YOU
If you have never heard this story before, it might sound quite strange to you.
The Bible
says in John 3:16, "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." For
those who believe, this has become our joy, comfort and peace. If you choose to believe
that Jesus is the Son of God and that His death, burial and resurrection was for you, you
too can receive forgiveness and everlasting life. Jesus will become your personal Savior
and Lord if you ask Him. He loves you! He died for you! He wants you to love Him and tell
others the story you have just read. There is a penalty if you reject Jesus. The penalty
is spending eternity separated from God and His love. The Lake of Fire which was prepared
for the devil and his angels will be your eternal home if you do not accept Jesus Christ
as Savior and Lord. But if you believe, you will be saved from this terrible fate.
MAKING JESUS SAVIOR AND LORD
If, after reading this message, you want to make Jesus Christ your Savior and Lord and
become a part of the family of God, simply pray this prayer from your heart (sincerely),
and say unto God with your voice (out loud):
Heavenly Father, I come to You in the name of Jesus. I recognize that I am a sinner and
cannot change myself. I ask that You change me. I thank You for sending Jesus to die for
my sins. I believe that He died for me and that You raised Him from the dead after three
days. I renounce Satan, the devil. I repent of my sins and I ask Jesus into my heart
to be Savior and Lord. Jesus, I love You and will live my life for You. Come into my life
and make me pure and holy as You are. In Jesus' name. Amen."
Praise God! You are now a child of God and on your way to heaven! Build your
relationship with Jesus by calling on Him every day through prayer and reading His Word,
the Bible.
If you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour,
please let us know. Just send us an email by clicking on the following email
address: i...@jesusisall.com
pecial Thanks to
Pastor Ulrich, Word Of Life Ministries 80 W. Merrick Rd. Freeport, New York
11520
Authors of "JESUS CHRIST: WHO HE IS & WHAT HE DID FOR YOU" tract.
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