LOOKING WITHOUT EYES

In contrast to other world religions, the gospel of Jesus Christ offers eternal salvation by faith. God insists that no one earns salvation even if they try. Ephesians 2:8-9 say, “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Since Jesus paid the debt for our sin, God offers salvation as a gift. Forgiveness is promised if we repent and believe. Both are needed. Repentance is turning away from former false views of God, ourselves, and our sins in order to conform to God’s views. To “believe” is to completely trust and place our faith in Jesus alone to save us. At these Games we all want to see the action and hear the roar of the crowd. We want to enjoy all the Games has to offer. In the end, there will be medals awarded. Each athlete hopes that at the end of their event they are the winner. Some will experience their dream. We all hope to enjoy life before the end comes. The question is, will we be ready? Salvation, eternity with God, is not wishful thinking. We can know we have the eternal prize! “The one who does not work but believes in Him who [makes acceptable] the ungodly, their faith is counted as righteousness.” Romans 4:5. With faith being what counts to God, we must believe He has taken care of our sins. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him (Jesus) from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is [made acceptable], and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” Romans 10:9-10. The quote above mentioned confessing with our mouth, but it is not the “prayer” that saves us. Faith saves us. God promised to always hear our prayers, and it is a good thing to verbalize the words. A prayer of salvation could be something like this: “Thank you God! You have loved me, and You have allowed me to learn more about salvation. Thank You for sending Jesus as an example for me. I believe He died and rose again to make my salvation possible. I want to accept that gift today, God. I receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Thank You for no longer holding my sin against me because of my faith in Jesus. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen”