MY DEAR FRIEND!
These are very important questions. They are perhaps the most important questions you will ever face. Since they concern your relationship to Jesus Christ now and in the life to come, you will be most wise to give them the most serious consideration. In this letter, I want to help you to enter into a relationship with Jesus that will enable you, by God's grace, to answer "YES" confidently to each of the above questions.
The first thing I want to say is that God is holy and righteous. Man, on the other hand, is sinful. Man's sinfulness is revealed in many ways, e.g. in his doing what he knows he ought not to do. Most people tell lies, others commit adultery or fornication, others are full of envy or are covetous, some steal small or big things, others gossip, some are proud and arrogant, some cheat, others give or receive bribes, others hate one person or the other. Some read dirty books, etc.
The Bible says that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Even people, who have not openly sinned, have sinned in their hearts. According to the standard of Jesus Christ, if you look at a girl or boy or a man or woman with lust in your eyes, you are already guilty of immorality with her or him in your heart (Matthew 5:28), and if you hate someone, you have already committed murder in your heart (1 John 3:15).
So, sins that are committed in thoughts, words, and deeds are all serious before God. There is no one on earth that has never sinned. Some have sinned more than others, but because all have sinned, all are guilty before God. That includes you.
Sin separates man from God, since a Holy God cannot have a relationship with sinful people.
There is a sin-gap between man and God. Although man has tried to bridge this gap in many ways, e.g. by prayer, by going to church and doing a lot of what he considers good things, the gap is not removed. This is because God's righteous standard is so high that everything that anyone does on his own is insufficient before God. In fact, God sees all our good deeds as dirty rags before Him. They stink before Him because even at their best, they are corrupted by some selfish or impure motive. The Bible says that "no one is put right with God by doing what the Law requires" (Romans 3:20).
Sin does not only separate man from God. It also pays a salary. This is eternal separation from God in hell. It also pays a heartbreak that sin produces now, although the present suffering because of sin is nothing to be compared with the agony of hell, which shall be the lot of those who reject Jesus Christ.
Although all human beings are sinners and rightly deserve God's judgment and punishment, God nevertheless loves us. He loved us so much that he sent His only Son Jesus Christ to come and die on the Cross on our behalf. God put all our sins: past, present, and future on Jesus Christ and punished sin once and for all on the Cross. Jesus died where you ought to have died. He shed His innocent blood so that sinners may be forgiven. He bridged the gap that separated man from God, and opened a new way by which sinners can be reconciled to God. Jesus did it all on the Cross and rose again from the dead as proof that God was satisfied with His work on behalf of sinners. He lives forever to forgive all sinners who will repent of their sins and receive Him as their Savior. He wants to forgive you now and give you a new birth, as well as write your name in the book of eternal life.
God in Christ has paid the price for all sin. The only thing that is left for you to do is to respond to His love for you. There are four things to think about and act upon if you want God to forgive you and make you His child. I will represent these things by the first four letters of the alphabet: A, B, C, and D.
ADMIT that you are a sinner. Tell God that you have personally sinned in your thoughts, words and actions. Confess your sins to Him one after another. Do not leave out any. It may be helpful if you write them out on pieces of paper and burn them, after God has forgiven you. You must be sorry for your sins since they pierce God's heart. Then turn your back to your sinful ways. If you stole, determine not to steal again. If you have been committing immorality or any other sin, be determined to stop. God will not forgive you if you have no desire to stop sinning at once, and this means stopping ALL sins that you have knowingly been committing.
BELIEVE that Jesus Christ died on the Cross in your place. If you believe this, you are also rejecting every other system or philosophy that suggests that a man can be reconciled to God outside of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If you truly believe, you will want to personally receive Christ, but
CONSIDER the cost of following Him. Jesus said that all who will follow Him must deny themselves, and this includes selfish interests, love of fame, love of money, etc. He also wants His followers to take up their crosses daily and follow Him. Are you prepared to abandon your own interests daily for those of Christ? Are you prepared to be led in new directions by Him? Are you prepared to suffer for Him and to die for Him if need be?
Jesus said, "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26-27).
Jesus will have nothing to do with half-hearted people. He will only receive those who are willing to follow Him at ANY COST. Think about this and count the cost. If you are prepared to follow Him come what may, then there is something to DO.
INVITE Jesus to come into your life. Receive Him by faith as your Savior and Lord. You can receive Him now by praying in the following fashion:
Lord Jesus, I am a wretched sinner who has sinned in thought, word and deed. Forgive me all my sins and cleanse me. Make me your child, and give me eternal life. Come into my heart now. I will follow you at any cost. Amen.
If you prayed the above prayer sincerely, then Jesus has forgiven you and made you His child. Go at once and tell someone what you have done, and write to me immediately so that I can send you more information on how to go on with Christ.
God bless you!
Professor Zacharias Tanee Fomum
Christian Publishing House, PO Box 7100, Yaounde, Cameroon
Telephone: (237) 231 93 93 Fax: (237) 231 75 88.
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