How to Receive God's Forgiveness
God offers forgiveness to all people through Jesus! When God forgives you, you begin a relationship with Him, you can know for certain that you will have eternal life with Him in heaven. To have this forgiveness and certainty of your eternal destiny turn to God with the following:
1. Admit you are a sinner in need of forgiveness.
God wants us to humble ourselves before Him and acknowledge to Him that we have disobeyed Him.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)
2. Believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
God came to earth in the form of a man, Jesus Christ. He lived a perfect life among us, teaching, healing, and proclaiming God's forgiveness and eternal life to those who believe in Him.
"Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God." (1 John 4:15)
3. Believe that Jesus did in your place and rose again from the dead.
According to the Bible, the "wages of sin is death." That means we all deserve to die, and we all deserve Hell. While that may seem harsh when we compare our own life to those around us, when we compare our life to a perfect and holy God, if we're being honest, we know that we can't stand in His presence. Jesus offered His own life in our place, so that we could be reconciled to God and have new life in Him.
"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures..." (1 Corinthians 15:3-5)
4. Believe that it is only by God's grace that you are forgiven, and that you cannot earn His favor by anything that you do.
You can't be good enough for God. Doing more good works than bad works doesn't get you to heaven. You just have to put your faith in Him and His promise to forgive you in His love and mercy.
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
This is what's known as the "gospel" or "good news". It's really quite simple: Believe in Jesus, and you will be saved. Nothing else you can do!
When you acknowledge your sin, and put your trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sin, you enter into a relationship with God. That is what it's all about: to know God Almighty, your Creator, who loves you.
"These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life." (1 John 5:13)
"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." (John 17:3)
1. Admit you are a sinner in need of forgiveness.
God wants us to humble ourselves before Him and acknowledge to Him that we have disobeyed Him.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)
2. Believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
God came to earth in the form of a man, Jesus Christ. He lived a perfect life among us, teaching, healing, and proclaiming God's forgiveness and eternal life to those who believe in Him.
"Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God." (1 John 4:15)
3. Believe that Jesus did in your place and rose again from the dead.
According to the Bible, the "wages of sin is death." That means we all deserve to die, and we all deserve Hell. While that may seem harsh when we compare our own life to those around us, when we compare our life to a perfect and holy God, if we're being honest, we know that we can't stand in His presence. Jesus offered His own life in our place, so that we could be reconciled to God and have new life in Him.
"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures..." (1 Corinthians 15:3-5)
4. Believe that it is only by God's grace that you are forgiven, and that you cannot earn His favor by anything that you do.
You can't be good enough for God. Doing more good works than bad works doesn't get you to heaven. You just have to put your faith in Him and His promise to forgive you in His love and mercy.
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
This is what's known as the "gospel" or "good news". It's really quite simple: Believe in Jesus, and you will be saved. Nothing else you can do!
When you acknowledge your sin, and put your trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sin, you enter into a relationship with God. That is what it's all about: to know God Almighty, your Creator, who loves you.
"These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life." (1 John 5:13)
"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." (John 17:3)