‘‘And as it is appointed unto men once
to die, but after this the judgment:’’- Hebrews 9:27
Regarding God’s judgment; humanity is faced with only two
options: (1) To have one’s sins forgiven here on earth prior to death; or (2)
To face God’s judgment after death as a sinner whose sins have not been
forgiven. What would you choose? The scriptures corroborate this postulation as
follows:
‘‘Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to
judgment; and some men they follow after.’’-1 Timothy 5:24
‘‘…and be sure your sin will find you out.’’-Numbers 32:23
God’s judgment is inevitable; therefore, it is pertinent at
this juncture to examine the two options available to human beings viz:
The first option which involves forgiveness of one’s sins
here on earth before death can only be accomplished through our Lord and
Saviour, Jesus Christ. The scriptures assert that all human beings have sinned; According
to the scriptures, ''...sin is the transgression of the law''-1 John 3:4;
Disobedience to the law of God in any way is sin. Christ
came to this world to save sinners; It is also written in the scriptures that:
''This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.''-1 Timothy
1:15; In order to receive forgiveness for sins committed here on earth, every sinner must be saved
from sin and become born again. The Lord Jesus
Christ states that: ‘‘Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of
God.’’-John 3:3. Essentially, the following steps can be taken
by anyone willing to be saved:
Four
Basic Steps to Salvation.
1. Acknowledge
that you are a sinner; ''For all have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God.’’-Roman 3:23
2. Repent today, confess and forsake your
sins. ''He who covers his sins will not prosper, But
whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.’’- Proverbs
28:13
3. Believe in your heart that God loves
you and Christ died for you. ''But God commendeth his love toward us, in
that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’’-Romans 5:8
4. Ask the Lord Jesus to come into your
life through a prayer of faith, accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. “Behold,
I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I
will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”-Revelation 3:20
The journey to God’s Kingdom begins with the
salvation-experience when a sinner is born again, and can only be sustained
through complete obedience to the Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ and the word
of God. The scriptures abound with assurances
or promises of forgiveness of sins for any sinner who comes to the Lord Jesus
Christ for the salvation of his soul. A few of such promises are listed as
follows:
‘‘Having predestinated us unto the adoption of
children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,...In whom we have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;’’-Ephesians 1:5-7; The Lord Jesus Christ paid the price
for our salvation with His blood that was shed on the cross of Calvary. Again,
the scriptures contend that: ''Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed
with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation
received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of
Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:’’-1 Peter 1:18-19.
The second option entails human beings facing God’s judgment
after death as sinners whose sins have not been forgiven. The scriptures
present graphic details of God’s judgment day as follows:
‘‘And I saw a great white throne, and him that
sat on it, from whose face the
earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And
I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened:
and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead
were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to
their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and
hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man
according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of
fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the
book of life was cast into the lake of fire.’’-Revelation 20:11-15
Again,
as a reader of this article, this question is being directed at you, that is to
say, which of the two options would you choose?
The scripture says: ‘‘I call heaven and earth
to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death,
blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may
live:’’-Deuteronomy 30:19. Jesus loves you.
