The message of Christianity is very simple. The Bible’s message is all about Jesus Christ and what He has done to make it possible for us to be reconciled to God. You may not think that you need to be reconciled to God but read on and you might be surprised as to how much we all need this reconciliation.

There are a few things we need to grasp: Some are negative and some others gloriously positive but all very necessary.

1. This is God's World

He designed and created it with all its beauty, complexity, and amazing detail. It was most certainly not the product of a set of random chance events, after all, it is far too breathtakingly wonderful to be the result of a series of accidents. 

He also created us humans who He made to be something like Himself and He put us in charge of His world, and very importantly He gave us good and right Laws that we are meant to live by.

"The earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness,

The world and those who dwell therein.

For He has founded it upon the seas,

And established it upon the waters."

                   Psalms 24 verses 1-2

 

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2. We have all sinned. 

Regretfully the sad reality is we all reject God’s rule in our lives and have chosen instead to live life our own way. The Bible calls this sin. We sin in our thoughts, in our words and in our deeds, and regretfully we do this every day. We even sin when we choose to worship God in ways that He has not sanctioned. Our sin will have serious consequences, so we need a solution.


"…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"

                                                            Romans 3 verse 23 

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3. God will not ignore our sin. 

He is too holy, too pure, and too good to turn a blind eye to our sinfulness. Yet in His love, He has provided a way by which we can be forgiven and brought into a close personal and eternal relationship with Himself. He provided the solution to our sin problem. If we fail to turn to God seeking reconciliation, we will reap what we have sown and end up suffering the judgement of God; separation from Him in hell forever. An unreconciled person will never enter heaven.

"…we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God."

                                                    2 Corinthians 5 verse 20

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4. The awesome gift made possible because of Calvary and the Resurrection. 

Forgiveness, full and complete, and reconciliation are freely available. On the Cross, Jesus absorbed into Himself all the punishment due to the sin of every person who would come seeking forgiveness from Him. By His resurrection, He confirmed that on Calvary He had fully paid the penalty for the sin of every believer in all ages.

"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."  
                                           John 3 verse 16

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5. The Required Response. 

No amount of good works or religious observances can ever bring about this reconciliation. Salvation cannot be merited by anything we do; it is a pure gift to be received not earned. The response the Bible calls for is Repentance and Faith.

Repentance: In sorrow for our sinfulness, we surrender ourselves to live under the loving management of the Lord Jesus.

Faith: That we put our entire confidence for our much-needed forgiveness in the fact that the Lord Jesus has already paid the entire penalty due our sinfulness.

Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

                                                                                                                          Romans 3:28


He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."  

                                        John 3:36

Have a listen to *** as he explains this in a little more detail:

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If all this makes sense to you and you would like to be reconciled to God here is a sample prayer that you could use:

Dear God, I acknowledge my sinfulness before you and my need for your forgiveness. Thank you so much for sending the Lord Jesus to pay the penalty for my sin so that I could be reconciled to you. Thank you that He rose again from the dead to give me new life. Please grant me your forgiveness and help me from now on to live my life the way you want it lived.

If you have truly, in sincerity, prayed this prayer, then you are now completely forgiven; fully reconciled to God. God the Father accepts Jesus’ death on the Cross as full payment for your sin. God’s amazing love is now eternally set upon you, and He will never leave you and He will never forsake you. Also, you can be assured that one day He will joyfully receive you into His heaven.

So What's Next?

If this prayer is a true expression of your heart, then you have become a disciple of the Lord Jesus. In the New Testament, a disciple was a person who was learning from another, a little bit like being an apprentice. We are apprentices to the Lord Jesus as we read and follow His Word, the Bible. We need to be a part of a good Gospel centered church where God’s Word is taught and where you will find true encouragement and heart-warming friendship.

Therefore, we would encourage you to seek out a Bible-teaching church in your area. If you need help in finding such a church please contact us, we are here to help. office@aontas.ie

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FAQs  

1.    Why Suffering? (Seth Lewis)

2.    Can the Bible be trusted?

3.    How can I be sure that there is a God? (Matthew Brennan)

4.    What about atheism.

5.    How to read the Bible. (Peter Jemphrey)

6.    What sin is?

7.    How to pray – to whom, in His Name,