By doing nothing you ARE making a choice.
The Bad News First:
In the beginning, things started out “good” (Gen. 1:1-31). Adam and Eve were the first human beings created by God and the Lord prepared the Garden of Eden for them to live and to dwell in His eternal presence forever; with Adam having dominion over everything on earth. Unfortunately, Adam and Eve violated God’s command not to eat of the tree of good and evil (Gen. 2:7-24). Their disobedience (“sin”) resulted in them being evicted from the Garden and separated from God. Consequently, every single person born since the fall of Adam is separated from God; “born into sin and shaped in iniquity”. No earthly being can go to Heaven without God’s forgiveness of their sins.
The Word of God is absolute, we are all disqualified for Heaven because we all have sinned against God:
Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
Romans 3:10 says, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”
Romans 6:23, says, “For the wages of sin is death;”
Many people think that if they perform a certain amount of good they can be saved or by their own works enter into heaven. The Gospel Truth is that we cannot save ourselves. Ephesians 2:8-9 say, “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.”
According to St. John 3:18, “He that believeth on Him (Jesus) is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
The Book of Revelation, Chapter 21:1-27, clearly foretells of “The New Heaven and Earth”. However, Revelation 21:6-8 illustrates the eternal consequences for the life choices we make. Verses 6 and 7 say, “Then He said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” (Or daughter).
However, verse 8 says, “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (NASB)
Now “The Good News”:
Accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior is the only way to make peace with God. His innocent blood was shed on the cross at Calvary in payment for the sin debt of the whole world. St. John 1:29 says, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the whole world.” An (innocent) blood sacrifice was necessary to pay for your sins and Jesus was sent to become that sacrificial Lamb. He was crucified and died a horrible and vile death nailed to a Roman cross for every sin committed by guilty mankind. Yet, His blood was the only acceptable payment for your sin, because His blood was pure and innocent and not polluted with sin. He rose from the dead three days later, proving once and for all His humanity and divinity and His role as our only Savior.
In order to make it to Heaven we must believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only “Way” to Heaven.
Salvation is a free gift from our loving God to His children. “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 God sent not his Son into the world not to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (St. John 3:16-17)
The Bible makes it clear that we are saved by grace (alone) through faith in Jesus Christ. Our good deeds or good moral character will not get us in to Heaven. Bad deeds, poverty, or poor moral character are not enough to keep us out of Heaven if we allow Jesus to “acquit” us of our (sin) guilt. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)
The Apostle Paul confirms this awesome “Truth” concerning our “Way” to Heaven in Romans 3:21-23:
“But now God has shown us a different way to heaven- not by “being good enough” and trying to keep his laws, but by a new way (though not new, really, for the Scriptures told about it long ago). Now God says He will accept and acquit us- declare us “not guilty”- if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like. Yes, all have sinned; and fall short of God’s glorious ideal; yet now God declares us “not guilty” of offending Him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in His kindness freely takes away our sins.”
(Romans 3:21-23, The Living Bible) (Paraphrase)
Now Is The Time To Make Jesus Your Choice:
Now that you know your choices, come, enter into His gates with thanksgiving and enter into His courts with praise! Remember this, regardless of who you are or what you have been like, the little flicker of hope within you is enough to ignite a great love towards God. Jesus came for all, and died for all, and He rose again victoriously making salvation and forgiveness of sins available to us all. Now, that’s “Good News”! “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism” (Eph. 4:4-5). Jesus is Lord. He is the only Way to a more abundant life.
Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
And, Romans 10:13 says that “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
What We Believe
The Holy Bible is the infallible (reliable) Word of God and “all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”
Or, to express these same beliefs in another way,
We believe that “the whole Bible was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us to do what is right.” (II Timothy 3:16, The Living Bible) (Paraphrase)
We believe that true salvation and reconciliation to God is only accomplished through the believer’s repentance from sin, followed by water baptism (immersion) in the NAME OF JESUS (for the remission of sins), in accordance with the Holy Bible and the Apostles’ doctrine established in the New Testament. (Acts 2:4; 2:38)
We believe that love covers a multitude of sin… “God is love; and he that dwells in love, dwelleth in God and God in Him.” (I John 4:16)