Is the salvation possible?
book of ‘’Genesis 1:26: And God said, Let us make man in
Introduction.
We are all foreigners and travelers on this earth, it is
commonly said. So whoever we are, rich or poor, free or
slave, we are simply pilgrims on this earth. The events of
life demonstrate this to us every day and it is obvious.
The question now that arises from this reality is where
do those who leave us here on earth go? Where are they
going and what does this new world they now belong
look like?
By sculpting the Holy Scriptures, in this case the Bible, we
can have a glimpse of this so-called world beyond. The
Bible then speaks to us of two types of world, two types
of lives that are reserved for each human being after his
earthly journey. These are: Eternal Life (Paradise) or
Eternal Death (Hell). Every human being after his death
necessarily faces these two types of lives as it is written
in ‘’Hebrews 9:27: And as it is appointed unto men once
to die, but after this the judgment’’. We know that
judgment is either admitting people to heaven or
sending them to hell. So there are not two possible
choices after our death. We won’t have time to describe
what hell is here, but we can reassure you that it’s the
worst place you should ever be. So is it possible to avoid
hell? If yes, how to avoid it then?
In the Bible, God addresses his people (Israel) by urging
them to prepare to meet their God. ‘’Amos 4:12:
Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because
I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O
Israel’’. This passage calls out to every human being
today, and everyone is invited to prepare for the
encounter with their God. And that is the purpose of this
booklet.
1- Man’s condition before God.
Why should man prepare to meet his God?
When we return again in the scriptures, we will find
elements of response.
First of all it is good to situate the present condition of
man in its spiritual context. When we go back to the
origins of man we can understand that man was initially
created in the image of God himself. We find this in the
to go to God as the example of the Tower of Babel is cited
our image, after our likeness: and let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the
air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over
every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth’’.
Later we will see that God himself came personally to
fellowship with the man he created in the garden until an
incident happened one day. Indeed, God had given this
command to man:’’ Of every tree of the garden thou
mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that
thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Genesis 2:16-
17’’. This order not having been respected by man since
he will eat the fruit of the tree, sin will be introduced into
the world. The man had thus just sinned and also
submitted all his future descendants to sin. And Holy
God, not being able to cooperate with sin, will be obliged
to separate Himself from man for a time. This is how he
took this sentence of ‘’Genesis 3:23-24: Therefore the
Lord God sent him (man) forth from the garden of Eden,
to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove
out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of
Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned
every way, to keep the way of the tree of life’’. We clearly
see here that because of sin man and God have been
separated. And that is why the book of romans will also
tell us this: ’’For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God’’. Also it adds in ‘’Romans 3:10: As it is
written, There is none righteous, no, not one’’. So
therefore we can say that there is no man on earth who
is not contaminated by sin and this since his birth. And
every man, regardless of the degree of his piety, remains
a sinner before God. This is Man’s condition before God.
2- You need salvation.
The point just discussed above shows man’s desperate
conditions in the face of his destiny. It follows from this
point that every man is a sinner before God and worse is
deprived of His glory. It is therefore impossible for any
human effort to bring man himself back to God. All our
techniques, all our rules and practices are in vain. And it is
in this that even our religions are in failure, however good
they may be. All religions are good, but no religion can
lead to God. Religion on reminder it is the man who tries
to us in the Bible in ‘’Genesis 11:1-9”. And we see how God
put an end to this project of men, to say that no man by
himself can go to God. We need salvation, you need
salvation. And what is salvation? Salvation is simply God
coming to Man. Man as sinner cannot go to God, but God
can come to Man.
3- The assurance of salvation.
The second point revealed to us our inability as human
beings to go to God. So is it possible to have the
assurance of my salvation on earth?
It should be noted that this point is very crucial because
will determine your choice, and your choice will
determine your destination beyond. First of all it must be
understood that God does not send any human being to
hell, nor to paradise. It is the choices we make here on
earth that determine our destination in the hereafter. Of
all God’s creation, man is the only one to whom God has
given the gift of will, of choice. And with choice comes
responsibility. Thus everyone is responsible for his life
here below and in the hereafter. No father, no mother,
no brother will answer for any son, daughter, brother or
sister. Everyone will respond. So we make the choice to
go to hell, or we make the choice to go to heaven. And
this choice it is here below and even now that you are
reading us. Have you already made your choice? Do you
know your next destination?
Let’s suppose a traveler decides to go to country X. He
will take his ticket. But on the day of the trip, will he come
and get into the first bus he finds at the bus station? Is he
going to make the trip with this first bus thinking that it
could go to his destination? We think not. This traveler
will take care to inquire at the station to find the correct
bus number before considering anything. So he will take
his bus and is reassured of his destination. The natural
life teaches us many times spiritual things so that no one
can find an argument before God on the Day of
Judgment. Thus it is written: ‘’Yea, let God be true, but
every man liar; as it is written, that thou mightest be
justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when
thou art judged. Romans 3:4’’. It is also written: ‘’Because
that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for
God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of
him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being
understood by the things that are made, even his eternal
power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.
Romans 1:19-20’’. This verse simply supports what we
said a little earlier: we can understand spiritual things if
only to a lesser extent by observing the natural. So in
summary do you have the assurance of your salvation? If
not, as you read this booklet, it is still possible for you to
find that priceless treasure which is eternal life.
4- The Gift of God
We’ve covered a lot of interesting stuff so far. We have
approached the point on the sinful condition of Man
before God. And we have also shown how all religions are
good but limited when it comes to salvation. We had
therefore made a first declaration that Man necessarily
needed salvation, which was defined by the fact that it
was God who himself came to Man. So we said before
that every Man has sinned and falls short of the glory of
God.
There is one fundamental thing to know about God. God
is Love. And the love of God surpasses all the faults and
sins of man. This is why when we go back to the creation
and the origin of sin, we certainly see that the
consequences of sin are incurred because God is Just, but
God already announced a plan of salvation for Man from
those first hours of the fall of Man. And we read that in
‘’Genesis 3:14-15: And the Lord God said unto the
serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed
above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon
thy belly thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of
thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the
woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall
bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel’’. This is
the first announcement of God’s plan of salvation for
mankind. Time having run its course, this word and so
many others that God gave through his prophets will be
fulfilled in one person. So we see clearly that it is God
Himself who has taken the initiative to solve the problem
of sin. Since it is sin that separated Him from Man. But
the love of God for man being so strong that God could
not leave Man to his fate. This is why it is written ‘’John
3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life’’. It is also written in
‘’Romans 5:8: But God commendeth his love toward us,
in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us’’.
Then ‘’Romans 6:23 says: For the wages of sin is death;
but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord’’.
Who is then the Gift of God? It’s Jesus Christ. Jesus said
in ‘’John 14:6: I am the way, the truth, and the life: no
man cometh unto the Father but by me’’.
5- How could I be saved?
As we have just seen, Jesus Christ is the Gift of God for
the world. It is he who came to destroy the power of sin
as it is written in ‘’John 1:29: The next day John seeth
Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world’’. And Jesus
fulfilled this word by his death on the cross where he
shed his blood to redeem the whole world. And to
benefit from this sacrifice that Jesus made you simply
have to recognize and accept what he did on the cross. It
is written that ‘’ If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the
Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with
heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the
mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:9-
10’’. Here is simply and for free how you can obtain your
salvation.
So do you want to be saved? Do you want to accept Jesus
in your life? If yes, follow us to the sixth point.
6- The sinner prayer.
Say:
O Lord God. I heard about you today. I had not realized
until then the extent of my state of sinner. I had believed
that by trying hard I would one day reach you. But now I
realize that none of my efforts can get me to you because
of my sinful nature. I have now understood that you
yourself took on the problem of sin by sending your Son
Jesus to die on the cross for me because of sin. Therefore
Lord Jesus, I accept you as my Savior and my Lord. Thank
you for taking all my sins to the cross, my past, present
and future sins. Thank you for writing my name in your
Book of Life. I confess that I am now a Child of God, born
of the family of God, and that Christ dwells in my heart
by his Holy Spirit. Amen.
7- Now you are saved.
The prayer you have just made gives you the legal
spiritual right to be a child of God and to belong to the
family of God as it is written in ‘’John 1:12-13: But as
many as received him, to them gave he the power to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on
his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will
of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God’’. It is also
written in ‘’2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if any man be
in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed
away; behold, all things are become new’’. And since you
have accepted Jesus Christ, then you are in Christ and
then you are now a new creature. So you are born again.
We congratulate you and encourage you in this walk with
the Lord Jesus.
Some practical advice.
The Bible teaches us to always relate to a family. The
Church is the family of God. So to get to know Jesus
better, and to grow in your faith, we strongly encourage
you to join the family of God. Thus you will be taught and
will be able to fully live your faith. To do this we leave you
our contacts for all your needs: information, exhortation,
prayer…
Our contacts: +233 0506881313
+233 0594520518
If for some reason you will not be able to join us, we still
urge you to find a living church where the Word of God
is preached in all its Truth in your locality and to join it.
And if from the point of view of your newness in faith it
is difficult for you to understand all this, we give you this
simple tip. Just pray this prayer: Tell Jesus, you who saved
me, I want to join your family to be taught there and
remain in you, but I don’t know any. Will you take me to
this family? Say this simple prayer but with faith and with
a firm expectation and Jesus will come to you and show
you the family to which you must belong. He will take you
there. He is Faithful.
Stay blessed. Shalom.