Before you begin
reading this, I strongly recommend that you watch two
ten-minute videos. In these videos, two former atheists who believe they went to
Hell (or somewhere near it) tell their stories as parts of each story are
dramatized.
Both of these men are
doctors. One was an "alcoholic" physician who partied with famous people like
Ringo Starr of The Beatles and Hoyt Axton. The other was a Russian scientist who
was run over by a car driven by KGB agents. The latter spent 3 days in the
morgue before he was revived. Keep in mind that the first story ends on the
second video.
DO NOT FAST FORWARD
THESE VIDEOS TO AVOID HEARING THE CHRISTIAN NARRATOR. IF YOU DO, THE STORIES
WILL NOT MAKE SENSE. So get a barf bag if you think you need one. You will hear
the name "Jesus" and a few other Bible words from the narrator before he
introduces these two men. Click the links below to hear these
stories:
What Must I Do to Be
Saved?
(The Beginning of God's
Solution for "Addictions")
The message of the
Bible is a message of true freedom - freedom from our greatest problem - the
problem that is the root cause of all so-called addictions and all so-called mental
illness. What
problem am I talking about? The problem I am talking about is what the
Bible calls SIN. The Bible says that "all [of us] have sinned" (See Romans 3:23 KJV). Sin is a behavior. It is something
we do.
But what exactly
is this behavior called sin? Well, to understand what sin is you must first
understand what we are. We are creatures who have the ability to
choose to do right or wrong. This is why our Creator holds us responsible when
we choose to do wrong. We have choices and the power to choose, (See Jos 24:15; Isa 65:12 KJV).
So
even so-called alcoholics and so-called addicts are NOT powerless, like
Step One of AA and Step One of NA says they are. These 12-step programs are wrong and
dangerous.
When we do something wrong (like misuse drugs) we can't honestly say we
have no choice. We might FEEL like we don't
have a choice but, in reality, we do. However, we might
not make the right choice simply because we don't like
it, or because the wrong choice is more
appealing, or because a program like AA has deceived us about
this. But we always have a choice to do the right thing
- what our Creator wants us to do.
Our Creator has given us a Book that tells us what is right and what
is wrong. But when we choose not to read this Book, understand, believe, and/or follow it, we
hurt ourselves and others. We think wrong thoughts that cause us to feel and
behave the wrong way, (See Isa 55:9; Php 4:8 KJV).
And, many times, psychological counselors are part of the
problem.
Now, let me explain
exactly what sin is. The Bible plainly states that...
In other words, sin is
breaking God's law. It is doing what God's instruction Book says not to do because you want
to do it, or not doing what its says to do because you don't want to do it. In
other words, sin is choosing to break God's law because you don't want to obey
it. You might choose to obey SOME parts of it (if or when you want to) but
that's not true obedience.
How would you feel if a
child you wanted to adopt lived in your home but, continually and purposely,
chose to break your rules? What if they kept making excuses for breaking your
rules when you knew there was no excuse, because you had given them the means to
obey them? Or what if they let you know that they are not even interested in knowing your
rules? You
would be very angry, wouldn't you? Why? Because they are showing they have no
real respect for you or your rules.
You see, you would be
angry because it is YOUR house, so you have the right to make the rules, and to
expect those who stay there, or visit, to follow your rules. Likewise, the Bible
says that...
"The earth is
the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein."
(See Psalm 24:1 KJV)
In other words, the
earth, and everything in it, belongs to the One who created it, including every
human being. All people belong to the One who created the human
race. And all
of us are living on His planet and using His resources. This is why He has the
right to make the rules for us to live by.
He wants to adopt every
one of us who is staying on His earth, but most of us are choosing not to obey
His rules, His law, (See Ro 8:15; Ga 4:5; Eph 1:5 KJV). And just like we would be angry
with the rule-breaking child, The Father is angry with us. However, he still
wants to adopt us in order to save us from the consequences of sin, which is
Hell, (Watch: "Alcoholic" Atheist Doctor Who Died and
Went to Hell.
Watch: Atheist Psychiatrist Who Died and Went
to Hell).
So the question this
should lead every lawbreaker to ask (including you and me) is "What must I do to
be saved?" This is the question which each of us must learn the answer to, or
else be separated from God forever, and suffer the torments of Hell, (Watch:
"Alcoholic" Atheist Doctor Who Died and
Went to Hell.
Watch: Atheist Psychiatrist Who Died and Went
to Hell).
"What must I do to be
saved?" This question is asked and answered in The Bible (The Book), which is The Word of God.
There are other questions in The Bible concerning the welfare of our souls. And,
in many places in the Bible, God's plan for saving us is made
plain.
But this question is
asked and answered, word for word, in only one place in The Bible, when two
preachers named Paul and Silas were in jail. The Bible says that at midnight
(while in jail), Paul and Silas sang praises to God, and prayed to Him, and He
caused a great earthquake that shook the prison, opened the doors, and unlocked
the bands on their wrists and ankles. The jailer, was so frightened and
convinced that their message was true that he asked these two preachers this
question. The Bible says that...
"[He] came trembling,
and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out [of their cell], and
said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house" (See Acts 16:29-31 KJV).
"What must I do to be
saved?" "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved"! This is the
ONLY plan that God has for saving sinners - those who have broken His
law.
This is what we
each must do if we want to be saved. There was hope for this jailer
because he saw himself as he truly was, a lawbreaker (a sinner) on his way to
Hell, and he came trembling to ask, "What must I do to be
saved?"
Dear reader, you are a
sinner. The Bible (The Word of God) from beginning to end emphasizes this fact.
It says...
"ALL we like sheep have
gone astray; we have turned EVERY ONE to his own way; and [God the Father] hath
laid on [Jesus His Son] the [sin] of us ALL." (See Isaiah 53:6 KJV)
This means that we have
all strayed away from doing what is right and good. And God does not want
us left believing we are good when, in fact, we are sinners who need to be
saved. Again, the Bible says that...
Here, "the glory of
God" means God's approval. So, here, the Bible is telling us that by sinning (by
breaking God's law) ALL of us have come short of meeting God's approval. The
Bible says...
"Whosoever shall keep
the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." (See
James 2:10 KJV).
In other words, you
are still guilty of breaking God's law even if, in the past, you have not broken
all of His commands, or even if you are not breaking all of them now. If you
have broken only one of His commands (or you are breaking only one of them now)
you are still guilty. And you did this (or you are still doing it) on
purpose. You thought about doing it and then decided to do it, or you are still
choosing to do it. In other words, the sin you committed was premeditated.
And it was a habit and maybe still is.
And by being in the
habit of breaking this command on purpose, you showed that you were not under
God's authority. And if you are still breaking it, you are showing that
you are still not under His authority. And whatever commands that you DID
follow, you you followed for selfish reasons, not because you cared about doing
God's will. And the same is true today.
So, back then, God was
not patting you on the back for not breaking some of His commands, and He is not
patting you on the back for not breaking some now. So don't deceive yourself
into believing that He was pleased with your behavior then, or that He is
pleased with it now. And you are in very serious trouble unless you get
honest about this, and then... BELIEVE THE TRUE GOSPEL. If you do, God will
forgive you, adopt you, and save you all at the same time.
But what is The True
Gospel? Well, the word "gospel" means "good news". So the question is, what is
the good news you must believe for God to save you? The good news is that your
sins have been paid for by Jesus, God's Son. This is the good news you have to
believe for God to forgive, adopt, and save you. Jesus said...
"God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him [will
not go to Hell], but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the
world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He
that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of
God." (John 3:16-18 KJV)
Jesus made it very
clear that all of us are "condemned already" if we don't believe in Him. So if
you want to be saved, you must admit to yourself that you are a sinner who
needs to be saved." No one has ever been saved (or ever will
be) without first admitting that they are a sinner.
So I am pleading
with you to be honest about this fact. Confess that you have hardened your heart
and resisted the call of God - that you have rejected Jesus Christ. You might
see yourself as a pretty good person and others might agree. But the question
is, how does GOD see you? That's what will count in the end. How do you measure
up when you compare yourself with the kind of person that HE says you should
be?
The Bible says that God
created us "to be conformed to the image of his Son" (See Romans 8:29 KJV). So have you been becoming more and
more like Jesus Christ in the way you think and behave?
If you are honest, the
answer is NO. You have been seeing things and doing things your own way, not
God's way (Php 2:5 KJV). You have been breaking as many of
God's commands as you please. So God does not see you as a pretty good
person. He sees you as a sinner who needs to be saved.
Here is God's simple
way to be saved. Confess that you are a sinner, that your heart is wrong, that
you cannot save yourself, and that you are already condemned. After this, all
you have to do is simply trust Jesus Christ as your Savior.
It is not good enough
to just believe He is the Savior, but you must believe He is YOUR Savior. It has
to be personal. For example, you can believe that a certain physician is a good
doctor without calling him to be YOUR doctor when you are sick. You can believe
that a certain man is a good lawyer without taking him as YOUR lawyer to
defend YOUR case. And you can believe that Jesus is the Savior without receiving
Him as YOUR Savior. The Bible says that...
"As many as RECEIVED
HIM, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that
believe on his name" (See John 1:12 KJV)
So to be saved, you
must receive Christ as YOUR Savior by believing on His name. "Believ[ing] on his
name" is just another way of saying "believing in Him". So when you receive
Christ as your Savior by believing in Him, God forgives you and you are saved -
you are adopted into the family of God.
You see, believing on
Christ means you are depending on Him, trusting Him to save you instead of
trusting in something or someone else to save you. You cannot be saved by
keeping the Ten Commandments because The Bible clearly shows that you have not
kept them. It says...
The Bible
also says...
"That NO
MAN is [guiltless] by [obeying] the law in the sight of God, it is evident" (See
Galatians 3:11 KJV).
The Bible says, again
and again, that we cannot be saved by obeying God's law. It
says...
"Not by works of
righteousness which WE have done, but according to his mercy he saved us" (See
Titus 3:5 KJV)
It also
says...
"By grace are [you
all] saved through faith; and that NOT OF YOURSELVES: it is the gift of God: NOT
OF WORKS, lest any man should boast." (See Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV).
This tells us that God
will forgive us (although we don't deserve it) if we trust Christ to save us
instead of trying to save ourselves. It also tells us that God's forgiveness is
a free gift, (Ephesians 2:9 KJV). NO ONE deserves to be saved
and NO ONE can save themselves. In fact, it takes blood to pay for sin.
The Bible says...
It also says that all
of us are "redeemed" (bought, saved) by...
"The precious blood of
Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (See 1Peter 1:18-19 KJV)
In the Old Testament
times, every lamb, bull, goat, dove, and pigeon, that was offered on the altar
as a sacrifice, represented us as guilty sinners who must have some innocent
person to shed his blood to pay for our sins. Jesus died to pay
for everyone's sins, including yours. And in order to be saved, all you have to
do is believe this. This is what it means to "believe on him". The Bible says
that...
"The wages of sin is
death; but the GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ" (See Roman 6:23 KJV).
Being a member of a
church will not save you. If you have been baptized, that will not save you
either. Baptism does not save anyone and does not keep anyone saved. Getting
baptized is only something you should do AFTER you have been saved, (See
Acts 8:12; Acts 8:18; Acts 18:8 KJV).
Being what you think is
a good person, or a lodge member, or a good citizen will not save you. Why?
Because nothing YOU do can save you. So please don't depend on what you do, or
on some church, group, or club you belong to. Depend ONLY on what Jesus promises
to do for you if you will simply believe that His death on the cross paid for
your sins. YOU ARE SAVED THE MOMENT YOU BELIEVE THIS.
The jailer who asked
"What must I do to be saved? was saved instantly, the moment he believed. He did
not have to cry, beg, or do anything. He was simply told to believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and that was it. And he did just that and was saved, and his whole
family was saved the same way, immediately.
If you read the New
Testament, you see over and over again that people were saved all at once
without any process. A man named Zacchaeus was up in a tree when he trusted
Jesus and was saved. When he climbed down out of the tree and came to Jesus,
Jesus said...
When a man
named Cornelius, and everyone in his house, were told that they could be saved
by believing, they simply believed the message and God saved them, (See
Acts 10:44-48 KJV).
Two wicked thieves,
hanging on crosses next to Jesus, were insulting Him. But, a little while
later, one of them got honest about being a sinner and changed his mind about
Jesus. He believed on Him and was saved immediately, (See Matt 27:38; Mark 15:32; Luke 23:39-43 KJV).
Andrew, Peter, Philip,
and Nathanael were all saved, one by one, immediately, by believing in Christ,
(See John 1:35-49 KJV). The Bible does not say that
anyone has to wait, or mourn, or cry about his sins before trusting Jesus and
being saved. And there is no example of anyone doing these things before being
saved.
When a person believes
in Christ they have repented. "Repent" means to change your mind. When you
change your mind about Jesus Christ by believing in Him, you are saved
immediately, no matter what you do or how you feel.
The only thing that
will keep you from being saved right now is holding on to something evil in your
heart, instead of being honest about your sin and trusting Jesus Christ. You
might be holding on to anger, bitterness, or some resentment you have because of
some bad experience(s) you have had.
But I'm pleading
with you to put all this aside and change your mind and trust in Christ and be
saved. Whatever happened to you was not God's fault, even if you chose to
believe that it was. Besides, you have no excuse for that wrong thing you chose
to break just because it felt good to do it. So you need to be saved just like
every other sinner.
And you can be saved
without praying. However, there are many cases in The Bible where sinners prayed
to be saved. But they prayed because they believed. BELIEVING is what saved
them. The Bible says...
So you can pray to God
to save you, and He will. But it will be because you believe, not because you
prayed.
What if you had no
tongue and could not speak? If you had to call on God to save you, you could not
be saved. But The Bible says that God is "not willing that any should perish"
which means He wants everyone to be saved, including people who can't
speak, (See 2Pe 3:9 KJV). So BELIEVING is all it takes to be
saved.
Many people believe
that a sinner cannot be saved without a period of prayer, without consciously
calling on God. However, the Bible does not say that a sinner must pray in order
to be saved. In fact, immediately following the verse in Romans 10:13 is an explanation which shows that
calling on God is just an evidence of your faith and that it is really faith
which settles the matter. Read it again.
"For whosoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him
in whom they have not believed?" (Romans 10:13-14 KJV).
God encourages the
sinner to pray, and He hears and answers the sinner's prayer if that sinner
trusts in Jesus Christ for salvation when he prays. He heard the prayer of the
thief on the cross, of the publican in the Temple, of blind Bartimaeus (See
Luke 23:42; Luke 18:13; Mark 10:46-47 KJV). But the Scripture says, "How
then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?"
So when it comes to
being saved, prayer is just an evidence of faith. It is not necessary to pray to
be saved. No matter how long one prays, if he does not trust in Christ, he can
never be saved. If he trusts in Christ, even without prayer, then he is saved
already. There is only one plan of salvation and just one step a sinner must
take to be saved. That step is to BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus
Christ.
God is not hardhearted.
It doe not takes many tears, loud cries, and long periods of sorrow for Him to
save a sinner. You don't have to touch His heart somehow and get Him ready to
forgive you. He loves people so much that He gave His only Son (the only Son
that He did not create or adopt) so that whoever BELIEVES in Him will not be
lost forever, sentenced to endless misery, but will have everlasting life
instead. (See John 3:17 KJV)
All sins are already
paid for by Jesus' death on the cross. So if you believe that YOUR sins have
been paid for, God's will no longer be angry with you, although you have been
ungrateful to Him and have rebelled against Him.
He wants to save every
sinner more than you can imagine. So you don't have to beg Him to forgive your
sins. You just need to be honest about being a sinner, who has broken His law on
purpose, and believe the good news that Christ has paid the penalty for you.
Being saved is that easy.
However, some people
believe that you must stop breaking God's law in order to be saved. But a
sorcerer named Simon was saved although his heart was not "right with God."
Almost immediately after he believed the gospel and was saved, Simon showed that
he had not changed his ways. He still had a wicked desire, and made a wicked
request, but he was still a child of God because he believed the gospel, (See
Acts 8:9-13 KJV).
So to be saved all you
have to do is believe. However, like Simon, your evil desires might not change
immediately, and you might be in danger of losing your life, you will still be
God's child, (See Acts 8:18-24 KJV). Another example of this is a man
named Ananias and his wife named Sapphira. They were both saved but they were
killed because they lied to God, (See Acts 5:1-10 KJV). They were still God's adopted
children but they lost their lives because of their bad behavior. So please see
the difference between believing and being saved, and changing AFTER you are
saved.
And you don't have to
feel a certain way immediately BEFORE you are saved, at the MOMENT you are
saved, or immediately AFTER you are saved. You might cry when you are saved, or
you might laugh, or you might thank God out loud. But it does not matter how you
feel as long as you believe. People are not saved by feeling something, they are
saved by believing that Christ died for their sins.
Jesus told a story of
a boy who left home and ended up in a mess. He was still is the mess
when he decided to go back to his father's house, but he did not feel good. He
was without shoes, clothed in rags, hungry, and without any evidence that
his father would forgive him. But he left the hog pen and went home to his
father, not by how he felt, but by faith in his father, and his father received
him, like God the Father receives every sinner who will come to Him by believing
in Christ.
As the boy in this
story came near to his father's house, his father saw him from a long way off
and recognized him. He ran to the boy and hugged him and kissed him. And the boy
confessed that he was a sinner who did not deserve to be called his father's
son. But his father was not hard on him because of what he had done. Instead, he
told his servants to bring the best robe and put it on his son, and to put a
ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. He also told them to cook the
best beef in the house, and they all had a good time.
Jesus told this story
so we would know what God is like when a sinner comes to his senses and humbly
comes to Him. God hurries to embrace the sinner. He will not be hard on you
because of what you have done. He will cause others to help you help you and/or
He will help you Himself. If not at the moment you are saved, sooner or later,
good feelings will come. So don't worry about how you feel, just believe the
good news.
After you are saved,
you will also experience peace and joy when you are baptized, reading His
Word, telling others the good news, and doing all you can to please Him. You
need to go to the Lord again and again day by day for the joy of a Christian
life. But, thank God, that salvation is settled once and for all when you simply
depend on Christ as your Savior.
And every person who is
saved ought to publicly confess Christ. To claim Christ as your Savior is more
evidence that you trust Him. So please do not make this a difficult matter.
There is one simple step between you and Jesus. The moment you trust Him
you will receive Him whether you feel like you did or not. Jut take the answer
in Acts 16:31 at face value: "BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THOU SHALT
BE SAVED".
In dozens of
Scriptures, all through the Bible, salvation is promised to those who believe.
Read the following Scriptures carefully and see that this is
true.
"But as many as
received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that
BELIEVE on his name."—John 1:12.
"And as Moses lifted up
the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That
whosoever BELIEVETH in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 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."—John 3:14-16
"He that BELIEVETH on
him is not condemned: but he that BELIEVETH not is condemned already, because he
hath not BELIEVED in the name of the only begotten Son of God."—John
3:18.
"He that BELIEVETH on
the Son hath everlasting life: and he that BELIEVETH not the Son shall not see
life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."—John 3:36.
"Verily, verily, I say
unto you, He that heareth my word, and BELIEVETH on him that sent me, hath
everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death
unto life."—John 5:24.
"And this is the will
of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and BELIEVETH on him,
may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day."—John
6:40.
"Verily, verily, I say
unto you, He that BELIEVETH on me hath everlasting life."—John
6:47.
"To him give all the
prophets witness, that through his name whosoever BELIEVETH in him shall receive
remission of sins."—Acts 10:43.
"And by him all that
BELIEVE are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by
the law of Moses."—Acts 13:39.
Now read again the
Scripture we started with:
"What must I do to be
saved?" "BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."—Acts 16:30,
31.
If you were sick and
about to die, and there was some good doctor whom you could trust, would you not
risk him to take your case, give you the necessary treatment and, with God's
help, get you well? Then just like that, trust in Christ, depend on Him for your
salvation today.
With the same kind of
faith that you call in a doctor and place your body in care, you can call in the
Lord Jesus Christ and place your soul HIS care. Trust God to forgive your sins
if you believe in Him. Jesus said...
Jesus is the Great
Physician and will heal your soul instantly if you will trust Him. Just like you
would trust a doctor, and let him treat you, and depend on him for results, in
the same way trust Jesus today with your soul.
We all know that human
doctors fail many times, and their results are gradual, but this is still a good
example of trust. Plus the doctor can't work any miracles but Jesus can. And He
can save you immediately, instantly, without any effort on your part, when you
trust Him! Why not simply trust Jesus like you would trust a good doctor? Jesus
is better than any doctor, of course, and you do not have to pay Him a fee, and
He never fails.
If you committed a
crime and were thrown in jail, the first thing you would probably do would be to
call your lawyer (if you had one) because you have confidence in him. You
would trust him with the entire matter of your defense.
Well, in God's sight
you are a criminal who is already condemned. But He has provided somebody to
defend you before the bar of God's justice, and Jesus is that lawyer. The Bible
says...
"If any man sin, we
have an advocate [a lawyer] with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous"
(1John 2:1 KJV).
Jesus will not only be
your lawyer to defend your case, He has already paid the penalty and you may
safely trust Him to have you immediately pardoned and declared not guilty. Why
not simply trust Jesus like you would trust a good lawyer? Jesus is better than
any lawyer, of course, and you do not have to pay Him a fee, and He never
fails.
The way is plain and
you can be saved this moment if you will. It has become plain to you that it is
your own fault if you are guilty in the sight of God. Do you hate Jesus Christ?
Will you hold on to your unbelief and go to Hell because of your stubbornness?
Nothing in the world could show your wickedness like postponing this matter. You
can be saved right now, this very moment. I am pleading with you to do it now.
Turn from your unbelief and trust in Christ.
Choose Heaven instead
of Hell, choose Christ instead of Satan. Don't let the Devil deceive you any
longer. If you don't trust Christ right now, it might result in your heart being
hardened completely. You might waste your life and end up Hell, (Watch:
"Alcoholic" Atheist Doctor Who Died and
Went to Hell.
Watch: Atheist Psychiatrist Who Died and Went
to Hell).
And if you are not
saved, after God has made the way so plain and Christ has paid the price for
your sins, then you will have no one to blame but yourself. So please trust
Jesus Christ today and be saved. The Bible says...
"Boast not thyself of
to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." (Proverbs 27:1 KJV).
In other words, you
might not live to see another day. It also says...
God is keeping you
alive in order to trust Christ, but there is no promise that He will continue to
do so. So please do it right now. Claim Christ as your Savior. You are saved
when you trust Christ.
Then claim Him publicly
and don't be ashamed (Mark 8:38 KJV). It is God's plan that after
trusting Christ you should be baptized and join in with His people. I hope you
will join a Bible-believing church and let yourself be known
publicly, from this time forth, as a child of God.
