Life’s Greatest Decision
What is the greatest decision you’ve ever made? Let me tell you about mine.
Although I was a child that grew up in church, I had a problem. Like everyone else in the world, I had a sin problem. I realized my sin separated me from God.
One day, some caring people shared with me that God still loved me and He sent His only son, Jesus Christ, to die for me at a place called Mt. Calvary. I came to an understanding that I had to accept Jesus by faith to be my Savior. I bowed my head as a sinner and invited Jesus into my life. That was the greatest decision I ever made.
If you have never done that, I invite you to take a few minutes to read these five things you need to know from God’s word. You could be on your way to making life’s greatest decision, too!
1
There is a God who created us in His image.
(Genesis 1:27) “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
You might have been taught that we are here because of some accident, and that we became who we are by an evolutionary process. The very nature of our complex being is evidence that we had to be created by an intelligent Designer. The Bible tells us that we have a Creator who designed us in His image; that gives us purpose and worth. We were created with intellect, emotions, a will, and a God-consciousness.
2
The entrance of sin into the world has marred all of God’s creation.
(Romans 5:12) “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
After God created us perfectly, man chose to be disobedient to God. When that happened, we went from having a sinless harmony with God to having a sinful nature that is opposed to the will and ways of God.
There were severe consequences of sin: The entrance of disease, The entrance of death, The entrance of evil behavior.
3
Our sin nature separates us from a relationship with God.
(Romans 3:23) “…For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 6:23) “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
God is holy, which means He is pure without sin, and man, now with a sinful nature, cannot dwell with God in a state of sinfulness. All of us would have to admit that we do or have done things that are not right. We do these things because of this sin nature that we inherited from Adam. Sin came with a penalty, which was death, both physically and spiritually.
4
Jesus, God’s son, died for us so that our sins could be forgiven and a relationship with God could be restored. His resurrection authenticated who He was and what He did.
(Romans 5:8) “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
The Bible calls this the Gospel, or, good news. That good news is that Jesus died in our place and was buried in a tomb. After three days He arose, overcoming death and the grave. This death satisfied God’s holy demand: sin had to be punished by death.
Rejecting Jesus means coming under God’s wrath in a place called Hell.
(John 3:36) He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
5
You can have a relationship with God by believing what Jesus did for you and by faith (believing or trusting) asking Jesus to save you.
(Romans 10: 13) “For ‘WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED’.” (Ephesians 2 :8-9) “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
• Salvation is a personal decision you must make.
• Salvation is a decision of the heart and will.
If you are serious about getting right with God and having your sins forgiven so you can live forever with God in heaven, then let us help you with this prayer that many of us have prayed:
“Dear God, I know that I am a sinner, but today I am willing to turn from my sins and my old ways and trust Jesus to come into my life. I am trusting Jesus’ death on the cross to pay the penalty for me. Thank you, God. Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer and meant it, the Bible tells us that you now have eternal life and the forgiveness of your sins.
(1 John 5:12-13) “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God, does not have life.” (John 5:24) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
If you have accepted Christ today, I encourage you to begin reading God’s Word. I recommend that you find the book of First John (near the end of the Bible, close to the book of Revelation) and read this five-chapter book first.
Then begin to have a prayer life. Prayer is simply talking to God.
Finally, get involved with a local church. The church will help you grow as a Christian and will give you a place to serve and worship the God who saved you. We invite you to come and be a part of our church or another church that teaches the Bible as the true, inspired Word of God.
-Pastor Michael Tallman