How can I be saved?

Let’s start from the beginning

From the beginning, God was. The Lord was before the heavens; he was before the earth; he was before all animals and even people. And in the beginning, God was holy, which means he was perfect and whole in himself. God did not need anything or anyone to make him complete.

Let’s add people

But God, in His perfect wisdom, created people to be with Him. The first man’s name was Adam, and he had a wife named Eve. God created them holy, perfect, and whole because to be with the Lord; a person must be perfect, righteous, and whole in his presence. God made each of us with a purpose—to worship him and walk with him (Gen. 1:31).

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.  (Genesis 1:31)

Sin

But one day, Adam and Eve decided not to listen to God, who loved them and thought they knew best. Life doesn’t work when we ignore God. So Adam and Eve ate of a tree that God said don’t eat! So the first people selfishly insisted on doing things their way.

The Bible calls this sin. Because of sin, the Lord cursed Adam and Eve that one day they would die and they must immediately leave God. Because to be with God, you must be holy, perfect, and whole.

Did you know that Adam and Eve are our great grandparents? And just like Adam and Eve, the Bible says that everyone has sinned (Rom. 3:23). And because of our sin, we cannot be with God and will one day die. If we live without God, we will die without God.

We all live under a curse handed down many, many years ago. We cannot have Jesus in our hearts because of the ugly sin that lives inside.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God  (Romans 3:23)

Good News

At this point, we need some good news. God did not want to leave us under a curse. So he sent his Son Jesus- God in human flesh- to rescue us. Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves. We are dirty and sinful. But Jesus was perfect. And to be with God, we must be holy, righteous, and perfect, just like God. The Bible says that God loves you so much that He gave His one and only Son (John 3:16). Jesus died (the curse,) and for three days, he stayed in the tomb. But on the third day, he rose again. Why? Because Jesus broke the curse.

Now What?

Isn’t what Jesus did for us great news? However, simply hearing this news is not enough. The Bible says that we must admit/own our sin and stop trusting ourselves. We don’t have the power to escape the curse of sin. We must ask God to forgive us- turning from our sin and trusting only in Jesus. This is what It means to repent and believe (Mark 1:15).

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15)