John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Ephesians 2:8-9: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast."
To begin with:
Man and the world were created perfectly by a loving, just, Holy God.
"And He saw that it was good." (Genesis 1)
Unfortunately, the good news comes first with the bad news:
Man was tempted by Satan (a fallen angel) and rebelled against God.
Because of this resistance, a separation arose between God and man, and sin, sickness, and even more misery entered the world.
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:"
Because of this ‘fall’, everyone is guilty of sin based on God’s moral laws. For example: everyone has lied, stolen something, hated someone, or looked at another with lust at some point.
Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
The consequence of sin is death (eternal separation from God), no matter how good we think we are. For God is holy/pure, and a single sin in our lives makes us the complete opposite, which separates us from Him and everything that is good. These two cannot coexist.
Romans 6:23a: “The wages of sin is death.”
But… The Good News!
Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
God loves you so much and offers salvation through His Holy Son. He was without sin, died in our place, and 'bought us free'.
John 3:16-17: "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 to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."
2 Corinthians 5:21: "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
Accept His Sacrifice. Believe. Trust that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, paid the penalty, and rose again on the third day to overcome 'death'. Do not trust in your own works, but in what He has done.
Romans 10:9: “For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one should boast.”
Read briefly below about who the Holy Spirit is and how He helps you after you have come to faith.
The Holy Spirit
When you place your faith in Jesus, you are born again and receive the Holy Spirit who comes to live within you. He will help you increasingly conform to who God intended you to be when you allow this with humility and surrender and invest time in your relationship with God. A renewal of your mind will take place. This process is also called "sanctification." You will develop a hunger for His Word and aversion to/repentance for (certain) sins. This doesn't mean you will never sin again, because that is and remains impossible for a human being, despite all their flaws, and that is why everyone needs Jesus for salvation. But you will indeed be renewed in your mind and changed.
Titus 3:3-7: For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
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