Discover the Reality of Knowing God

Have the Certainty of Eternal Life in Heaven After Death

Know WHY you Believe WHAT you Believe

These resources come from the FaithSearch Pocket Guide series. They are specially designed to encourage you in your personal faith, and to help you present a clear case for faith to those who don’t know Jesus. It’s like a condensed version of the FaithSearch Discovery course you can view from any mobile or tablet device with access to the web.

“Remember that you were… separate from Christ… having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12).

Observations of the myriad evils in the world – such as crime, terrorism, wars, abortion, lies, drunkenness, and fraud – have led many to agree with English writer, philosopher, lay theologian, and literary critic G. K. Chesterton: “Original sin is the only Christian doctrine that’s been empirically validated by 2,000 years of human history.”

In other words, the evidence of history confirms our sin nature. Long before Chesterton even lived, God had already declared that the fundamental disharmony within human beings is a sin nature. In fact, God says this is not limited to so-called “bad” people.

Photo caption: G. K. Chesterton, ca. 1915. (Public domain. Library of Congress, George Grantham Bain Collection, reproduction number LC-DIG-ggbain-06610.)

“Original sin is the only Christian doctrine that’s been empirically validated by 2,000 years of human history.”

– G. K. Chesterton

Seven Biblical Truths

1. The Bible Says:

Sin is a UNIVERSAL condition of all people.

“…for there is no distinction, for all have sinned…” (Romans 3:22b-23)

“If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)

In the United States we are a people who historically respect the “rule of law.” We understand there are consequences for everyone equally, whenever laws are violated. Likewise, in spiritual matters, one of the attributes of the infinite and personal Creator is holiness. God has established a perfect moral law for His creation. Everyone violates that spiritual rule of law, which has serious consequences.

Something to think about:
Sinning is not primarily something that a person does, but something a person is!

2. The Bible Says:

The consequences of sin are SEPARATION from God and DEATH.

“But your wrongdoings have caused a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you…” (Isaiah 59:2)

“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned…” (Romans 5:12)

3. The Bible Says:

Jesus Christ has provided the ONLY WAY back to God.

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me‘” (John 14:6).

“And there is salvation [redemption] in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven… by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Does everyone who says they believe in God have a personal, saving relationship with Him?

Through the sacrifice system of ancient Judaism, God made one point clear: sin means DEATH. A “Go’el” (redeemer) is needed who can remove the sin and its consequences so a forgiven relationship with God can be established. Through the Old Testament Law, God taught the Hebrew people that only a kinsman (relative) could qualify as a Go’el (see Leviticus 25:24-5 [property], 48-9 [slavery]; Ruth 3:13 [barrenness]; Numbers 35:19 [murder]).

When this is applied to salvation, the Bible points out a problem: “no one can by any means redeem another or give God a ransom for him…” (Psalm 49:6-7). Why? All have sinned and need a redeemer (Go’el) themselves. God then announced that He would be our Go’el, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine” (Isaiah 43:1). But how? God had said that only a kinsman (human) can qualify to be a redeemer.

To be an eligible kinsman, God became flesh (human) as Jesus Christ, to be both qualified as a human and efficacious to redeem because Jesus was without sin.

Something to think about:
Many people in the world believe in God or a god, but without faith in Jesus, their sin remains – and they are still aliens, separated from God.

4. The Bible says:

Jesus Christ’s death was a SUBSTITUTE to redeem people from sin into a forgiven relationship with God.

“For Christ also suffered for sins once for all time, the just for the unjust; so that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6).

Jesus’ death freed God to forgive us of our sin because our substitute, Jesus, satisfied His justice. Jesus paid our debt. This act reveals another attribute of God – His love – as expressed in the familiar Bible passage John 3:16. As you read this key bible passage, imagine putting your first name in each of the following blanks:

“God so loved ________ that He gave His one and only Son, that if ________ believes in Him, ________ shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

5. The Bible Says:

God’s forgiveness through Christ’s death must be affirmed by REPENTANCE and a CONFESSION of FAITH.

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out…” (Acts 3:19)

“… if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

God is our righteous and omnipotent Creator but will not coerce us to do His will. His will is for everyone to be in heaven and invites us to settle our sin debt “out of court.” We can ignore His invitation, say “no” to it, or we can accept His forgiveness by acknowledging our sin and confessing faith in Jesus. If “yes,” then the Bible exclaims, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

Something to think about:
Repentance is a change of mind resulting in a change of life!

6. The Bible says:

God’s act of grace in those who confess faith in Jesus Christ includes NEW BIRTH, ADOPTION into God’s eternal family, and the indwelling HOLY SPIRIT.

“Jesus answered and said to him [Nicodemus], ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again [new life from above], he cannot see the kingdom of God.‘” (John 3:3)

“Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent… but born of God.” (John 1:12)

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (I Corinthians 3:16)

Jesus taught (John 3:3-5): If I don’t have NEW LIFE FROM ABOVE, then I am not in personal relationship with God, and will not have eternal life in heaven.

The new relationship we experience is based on God’s grace, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). This contradicts the erroneous view that many people have about becoming/being a Christian; that is, people think it is based on being good enough. Not true!

The gift of the Holy Spirit has special meaning. The Bible says, regarding the Spirit, that “you were sealed in Him” (Ephesians 1:13). The word “sealed” indicates ownership – you now belong to God. You have been adopted into His family and He is now your heavenly Father.

The Holy Spirit is also “given as a pledge of our inheritance” (v. 14). The word “pledge” is like an earnest we give to secure a home purchase until the closing date. The Holy Spirit within us is God’s earnest and promise that He is coming again to complete our redemption by taking us with Him to heaven forever.

7. The Bible Says:

God’s act of grace in those who place their trust in Jesus Christ includes the GIFT and ASSURANCE of eternal life in heaven.

“…the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23b)

“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life.” (I John 5:13)

Action Step

God promises that we will have peace with Him and receive eternal life in heaven after death if we act on these seven biblical truths. I have personally found, by repenting of my sin and embracing Jesus Christ as my Savior years ago, that every aspect of my life has been enriched. If you are uncertain about your relationship with God or sense a conviction to take the step of initiating a new beginning with Him, take time now to talk with Him about it. The prayer below may help you verbalize your heart.

Dear God,
I have ignored or resisted your invitation to follow you for forgiveness and eternal life. I want to know the reality of a personal relationship with you. I now understand that you desire that relationship with me as well, but my sin is in the way. I acknowledge that I am a sinner and am truly sorry for my sin. I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross in my place so I can be forgiven. I am thankful for that. Create new life within me by your gift of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit and enable me to understand and follow your Word from this day on. Thank you for adopting me into your heavenly family and giving me the gift and assurance of eternal life. Amen.

“But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ… So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow-citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household” (Ephesians 2:13, 19).

We hope this FaithSearch content stimulated your thinking, and that it helped you to “discover” the reality of knowing God. We would love to hear from you if this material was helpful, or if you have any further questions. Don’t hesitate to CONTACT US here.

Taking the Next Step

If you have made a faith commitment to Jesus for the first time in your life, or if the Bible Learning Center has helped you to renew your faith in Christ, this is good! We encourage you to consider two matters of great importance to your future spiritual confidence and fulfillment in life:

First, the Bible says very clearly, “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11,12). You have God’s promise that your eternal life began the very instant you received His free gift by placing your faith and trust in Jesus. Turn to this promise often for assurance.

Second, we also encourage you to grow in your relationship to God by getting to know Him more each day. The difference between a “so-so” existence and the abundant life Jesus promised is found in building your relationship with God through the study of His Word, the Bible.

“And now just as you trusted Christ to save you, trust Him, too, for each day’s problems… See that you go on growing in the Lord, and becoming strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught” (Colossians 2:6,7, TLB).

FaithSearch has prepared a book to help you do just that, called Growing Faith. It is available from our office, and we are offering this valuable resource FREE of charge to anyone who has made a faith commitment to Jesus Christ for the first time as a result of the Bible Learning Center. Simply Contact Us.

You can also take the self-paced course, FREE right here in the Bible Learning Center. We look forward to hearing from you.

If you would like more information, we encourage you to contact us as well. We offer a number of publications and events that may help you find answers to life’s most important questions.

For example, the book Surprised by Faith, by former skeptic and Ph.D. biologist Dr. Donald A. Bierle, tells the story of his personal, life-changing discoveries about God, the Bible and personal fulfillment. The information in the book is also offered as FaithSearch Discovery, a live event, video series or self-paced FREE course.

Summary

Review the 7 Biblical Truths