For the most part, many, if not all of us, want to know what comes after life. What comes next? What do I need to do to earn what comes next? How do I maintain what it takes to experience the glory of life after death?
Love: God Loves Us
John 3:16 (ESV) 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life
Plan: God has a Plan for Us
John 10:10 (ESV) 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Would you like to experience God’s Love? Then, like all of us who have done so, you must be willing to follow His plan. Below describes how you can experience the blessing of life after death with Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit.
Our Need: We are Separated by Sin … and Justified by His Grace
Romans 3:22-24 (ESV) For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Sin’s Penalty: Sin Leads to Death, God’s Gift to Us is Life
Romans 6:23 (ESV) 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God’s Remedy: Redemption Through the Son
Romans 5:8 (ESV) 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Our Salvation
Romans 10:9-10 (ESV) 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Romans 10:13 (ESV) 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
I was listening to an e-book recently. In that book the author asked which comes first repentance or redemption. I always thought we first repented and then we were redeemed. However, the author pointed out, and rightly so, that Christ first REDEEMS us (Romans 5:8) and then we Repent (Romans 10:9-10).
It seems subtle, but there is a huge implication. In Romans 5:8 Paul tells us that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ went to the cross and paid the penalty for our sin, before we even fully realized the extent of our sinfulness. The redemption He provides was not only for those who abandoned Him during His lifetime, but His redemption is for all who have come along since His sacrifice.
If Christ had not first redeemed us we would not have an opportunity to repent.
We like to talk about paying it forward. The concept is that others have helped us along the way, therefore, we should help others even before they ask.
Jesus truly “paid it forward”…
