Hi! im bailey, To begin with, I would like to share my testimony of how I accepted Christ as my personal Savior. It was in April 2023 that I realized that I needed Christ in my life. I had always heard about God's love and His sacrifice for us, but I never understood the gravity of it until I hit rock bottom in my life. I was going through a tough phase in my life, struggling with depression and anxiety, and I felt so lost and alone. One day, as I was reading the Bible, I came across 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." It was then that I realized the depth of God's love for me, and I decided to give my life to Christ. Not only did I get baptized and reborn, I became a youth leader and now I share the gospel as much as I can. God is always close to the broken hearted and it is great to connect with other people
Hi BailyVallina,
I appreciate your enthusiasm!
When I first got saved about the time I started highschool, I went to a Baptist church that had a lot of programs. Missions conferences and revivals exposed me to a LOT of preachers from all over the world. With that variety came a lot of opinions on the gospel. I heard about 10 different opinions and variations on the same theme. I talked to my pastor about it and he said they are all right.
I said, how can they all be right when they are different? I know what I understand from reading the chapters of the gospel I was handed, but those preachers were confusing. Same was true for a non denominational big church I attended.
I spent over three years studying that subject in depth because it is so important. There should be no confusion on the part of those ministers.
I asked the Lord for understanding and was very certain it was clearly by faith alone in the Savior; what Jesus did suffering the judgement for my sins and dying, buried and rising the third day. It was not of works like surrender, baptism, obeying the law, giving my heart or life to Christ, perseverance, or repenting of all my sins. But BailyVallina that's what the many preachers were teaching or saying in the invitational prayers.
I love the verse you quoted.
"
16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
God does love us.
He loves us so much that He did what?
Did He tell us that we had to give ourselves to be saved?
No, that would be an unacceptable sacrifice.
Why?
Because we have sinned and deserve the wages of sin.
"
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Romans 6:23
When we believe that we can contribute to our own salvation, we remain condemned..
(See John 3:18 above. )
How are we no longer condemned to hell?
By changing our mind and accepting the gift of eternal life by believing completely in Jesus, the only begotten Son of God.
I'm happy to talk more about that if you want. Here's an interesting short video from the top of a tower about that. No, that's not me. I'm not into heights.
📖😄👍
God's highest and best!
3
1
1
