We cannot wait for Jesus' return to try to find God. When Jesus returns (or after we die) there will be only judgement for those who are not covered by His blood, this is why He instructed that we should be prepared.

No one can come to God unless God himself draws them towards him. No one can boast. It is God's invitation. Faith comes only from Him.

The invitation from God is written in the Scriptures, for all to see. This extends to everyone on earth - it is not and has never been exclusive of any race or belief or nationality. EVERYONE is invited:

Isaiah 55:1-3
"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labour on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live........

God's invitation is confirmed by the words of Jesus when he was in the world:

Matthew 11:28
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

...........

as always... with the help of God!

Christianity cannot be inherited like the Jewish people inherit their Jewishness (by descent from the twelve tribes of Israel). Jewish people are born Jewish, but Christians are not born Christians, we must follow instructions to become Christians. It is all written in the Bible, ready for us to follow.

Jesus invites us. We make the decision:

Matthew 7:7
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Luke 11:9
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Revelation 3:20
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

For this purpose God has given us FREE WILL! We CAN decide to knock on His door!

Who can knock?

People can mistakenly believe that only "good" people can become Christians - but this is very far from true!— The invitation from God is an offer for new, higher, full and meaningful life. It is to give us what we do not have. It is a gift from the grace and mercy of a beautiful God, because it does NOT depend on what WE do but on WHAT JESUS did.

Jesus said that those who need Him are not the righteous people (or who 'think they are righteous'). He comes for those who are bad and suffering from the oppression of sin.

Matthew 9:11-13
When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

On hearing this, Jesus said, “ It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means:
'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

...........

Because of sin, we are enemies of God - we do not need to do VERY bad things to sin - anything which is short of perfection is sin. The standard for holiness is completely free of sin and there is NO ONE in the world who can be like that!

Romans 3:10
As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one...”

But God has made a plan to rescue us from sin and the consequence of sin (which is destruction) - his plan is perfect and is merciful!

2 Samuel 14:14
“Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.”

God sent His Son Jesus, who is the Christ, the Messiah, to be fully punished for our sin, so that we may be forgiven.

Do we need to pay any more?
No. God says that Christ's sacrifice is the ONLY sacrifice required to be redeemed and forgiven, restored to him and saved. Anything we may do to buy our salvation is worthless because it can never be enough. ONLY the blood of Jesus is enough.

Psalms 49:7-9
No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him- the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough- that he should live on forever and not see decay.

Acts 4:12
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

 

If Jesus DOES all - what do WE do?
We need to receive JESUS as Lord and King in our lives. He will come to us when :

• we confess : that we have done wrong things
• we repent : as we ask for forgiveness with the serious purpose of walking away from sin
• we believe : that Jesus is the One he claims to be and that His blood is all that is required to clean our sin
• we accept : Jesus' gift to enter a new life in Him, surrendering our will to his reign in our lives.

John 8:24
“I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.”

And so we enter a NEW LIFE. Not any new life, but the very LIFE of Jesus - that is why He says we MUST be born again:

John 3:6-7
Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'

 

What happens next?
Life in Jesus is our future, a life of transformation from one step to another as He carries us to eternity. There is a long list of beautiful things we receive as a fallout of God's grace, but immediately after we receive Jesus:

• we are cleansed from sin
• we are forgiven by the Father
• we are set free to FOLLOW Jesus Christ

The followers of Jesus Christ are called Christians. We follow Him because He is the ONLY WAY to our promised new life.

John 14:6
Jesus answered, “ I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

...........

How do we follow Jesus? We can follow Him, empowered by His Holy Spirit, by surrendering our own will so that He can change our lives.

When God asks us to do things, he always provides help by equipping us first - so as we enter the Kingdom of God through Jesus, we receive from God:

• the right to become children of God
• the gift of SALVATION and Eternal life
• the gift of the Holy Spirit

John 1:12-13
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

1 Thessalonians 5:9
For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:8
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God...

In Jesus Christ, living in us, comes a new life for us, as we are born again of the Spirit of God. He gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Titus 3:5
He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit...

Ephesians 1:13
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit...

Acts 2:38
Peter replied, "Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

1 Peter 1:23
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God
He is a PERSON, indwelling in every Christian, to comfort, guide, and help us. Jesus gave us his Spirit (also called 'the Counsellor') after He ascended into heaven as a "deposit" of the promised things to come.

John 16:7
But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

2 Corinthians 5:5
Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Armed with the Holy Spirit and the Word of God (the Sword of the Spirit), Christians prepare and live to serve the King awaiting the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This means being, doing, thinking and dreaming with God's purpose and will, not because it will buy more salvation, but because of GRATITUDE of what God has done for us.

Psalm 118:21
I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.

1 Thessalonians 5:18
..give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 6:17
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

...........

Preparation is ours, but only with massive help from God:

John 16:13
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

Training and preparation for Christians... How?

Eternal life starts when we become a Christian. Because God's promise is infallible, a promise of God must be taken as something which will certainly happen beyond any doubt. So the next step is to prepare. This requires study.

Just like the marathon runner needs to train for the marathon, we need to train to live the Life. The marathon runner who has not trained enough will become tired, and may even need to drop out of the race. Without training he will not keep up.

While we remain in the world, the life of a Christian has God's purpose written all over it -- we are called to relate to people in His way, to serve others, snatching them from the fire, to love and help everyone, to carry each other's burdens, to protect and encourage, to pray for each other, but always fixing our eyes and thoughts on Jesus.

2 Corinthians 4:18
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Hebrews 3:1
Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.

Hebrews 12:2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Yes, we need training to do this! We need to study His ways, so we know what to do and how to do it. If we are to keep our eyes on Him, we need to know Him, study His character because in the thick of the battle we must only rely on Him. We need to listen to His instructions, because after healing us, He is the one equipping us with the right armour as He sends us to alleviate the suffering in this world telling others about the Good News.

Where can we learn about God's character?

The Bible is God's biography. It is the place to find out about God because it has been given by God and it is the Word of God. Coming from the breath of God through the Holy Spirit, God has made himself known to man through His Word.

• Jesus is the living Word of God
• The Bible is the written Word of God

The Bible is a "Library" (the word "bible" derives from the Greek "biblos" which means Library), comprising sixty six books, written by around forty two different people of God, essentially guided by the Holy Spirit of God, over a historical period spanning approximately one and a half thousand years.

We can learn about the character of world leaders by getting to know the person even long after they are dead: a biography can show the way they led men in battle or in government and the way they resolved problems. Much in the same way, we can see the character of the triune person of God, as he deals with the nation of Israel through its history, in a relationship touching every aspect of their lives (Old Testament), and as he extends his grace and mercy to reach all nations, in the life of Jesus (New Testament).

The Bible is the true record of the character of God because God says that ALL Scripture is breathed from HIM . Through the Bible, God will also equip us with everything we need, to do His work here on earth. Therefore we need to know His Word well.

2 Timothy 3:16-18
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

God says that when we are in error, it is because we do not know what God says in the Bible.

Matthew 22:29
Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.

God says that HIS WORDS (all Scripture is God's Word) will never go out of date - and will never disappear. It stands forever.

Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Mark 13:31
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Luke 21:33
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

...........

We need to grow ever closer in relationship with Jesus, because once we receive His life in us, we also die with him. In this way our own life of sin and death is gone, crucified with Him. Since we have chosen to live in Him with his life which is forever, we depend entirely on Jesus, and without Him we can do nothing which will show up any evidence of our New Life.

John 15:5
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

The Bible is the place to find:

Our relationship with Jesus will grow stronger with daily prayer and study. Whoever is born again, becomes like a spiritual baby who needs spiritual milk form the written Word of God.

1 Peter 2:2
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,

Reading and studying the Bible, we can hear the message in the words of Christ. This will build a strong faith in us.

Romans 10:17
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

Warning about human traditions:

In the Bible we can also see God's warning against the dangers human tradition (which is man-made religion, mainly based on worldly principles) and its deceptive philosophy (Paul lived in a time of intense Greek philosophical debate).

Colossians 2:8
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

Mark 7:13
Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.

Which church?

In Christ, having been adopted as Children of God, we now belong to HIS family, and God also desires us to relate to other Christians within His family. This will happen in a spirit of love and encouragement, guided always by His Holy Spirit.

God's concept of Church is not a building nor a specific denomination, but a spiritual body belonging to Christ. We can read in the New Testament (book of ACTS) how the church of Christ was formed. We do not need to become 'members' of a church either by attendance nor by signing a paper (although the later may be recommendable to expedite administration). The truth is we ARE already MEMBERS belonging to the Body of Christ when we become followers of Christ.

Romans 12:5
so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

1 Corinthians 12:12
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:27
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

However, it is important to meet regularly with other Christians to study, worship and to share God's gifts, through the Holy Spirit, given to each one for the benefit of all.

1 Thessalonians 5:10-11
He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

1 Corinthians 12:4
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:7
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

Baptism

The Lord Jesus commanded to receive Baptism.
This should happen shortly after we receive Him in our lives. Since it is only when we BELIEVE in Jesus that we can receive forgiveness, baptism in itself does NOT bring forgiveness of sin and cleansing; our hearts cannot be purified by something which only touches our physical body.

Acts 10:43
"... everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

Baptism is a visible sign for others to see, of the cleansing which happened inside us when we received God's forgiveness in Jesus Christ. The blood of Christ washes our sin just in the same way as water can wash our body.

1 John 1:7
...the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

Jesus commanded to go to the nations to teach his word and make disciples and then to baptize them.

Matthew 28:19-21
«Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.»

While Christians grow in Christ,
they invite others to join...

God does not guarantee a life of "happiness" free from suffering for His children, but he does promise a wonderful outcome. Following Jesus command, we invite others to come, so that they may also enjoy the blessing of the promises from God in the new life which Jesus gives.

Our God is a God of GIVING. The proof is that while humanity was still full of sin He gave His precious son Jesus and He longs to give his forgiveness to all people. He wants to welcome you home, to bless you and to make His promises a reality in your life within Jesus. When those who are far can turn their face looking for God, the Father runs to meet them, with one purpose of infinite grace and mercy: to give him the welcoming feast of the prodigal son!

Does it seem unfair that the promise is ONLY for Christians? Does it seem unfair that only those in Christ can enter heaven?

It will not appear unfair if you know that EVERYONE is invited to receive the salvation in Jesus Christ. The invitation ALWAYS stands until He returns or until the day we die.

It is not reasonable that God should keep any impurity away form what is pure? If heaven is in His presence, and all is pure within it, how can it be kept pure and holy if there is free entry for unclean souls? The holiness required to live with God is not a percentage of goodness, but one hundred per cent perfect: with the purity of Jesus. The value is an absolute.

The good news is that there is no sin, no race, no language, no position, no illness... nothing whatsoever which can prevent anyone to become a Christian with the help of God... because what is impossible for man is possible for God.

All that is needed to be saved is to come to Jesus, follow his instructions, and let Him do the rest.

Luke 11:9
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Revelation 3:20
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”

Psalm 34:5
Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.

2 Timothy 2:10
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

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If you are already a Christian, greetings to you! in the name of the precious Saviour!

You are not yet a Christian ?

We invite you to come to Him

Come!
Come now!
Come before He arrives!

Receive the salvation He gives freely.
Receive His peace.
Receive from Him the Water of Life.

— Why? —

Any Christian will reply without a shadow of doubt, that this was the most important decision they ever made in their entire life.

Come! Let Jesus change your life, as you are born again!

Come Lord Jesus, come

...............