 Knowing God
4.
We must individually accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord; then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our life.
The Bible says, " But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God " (John 1:12).
We accept Jesus by faith. The Bible says, " God saved you by his special favour when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it " (Ephesians 2:8,9).
Accepting Jesus means first believing that Jesus is who he claimed to be, then inviting him to take the control of our lives and make us into new people (John 3:1-8). Jesus said, " I'm standing at the door and I'm knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in " (Revelation 3:20).
We must realize that our own efforts to earn God's acceptance are inadequate.
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit." -Titus 3:5
We must admit our need for forgiveness.
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." -Romans 3:23
"And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' " -Luke 18:13
We must receive Christ and His offer of salvation as a gift.
"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name." -John 1:12
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." -Ephesians 2:8-9
Respond to God's invitation ... NEXT
* Image taken from RBC.org.
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