How to Know God and the Forgiveness of Sin
Everyone needs to know God and God deeply desires for EVERYONE to know Him personally and to know Him as their Heavenly Father. Many are actively seeking and looking for God; many more are not. Yet God, by the work of His Holy Spirit, is seeking and calling ALL to Himself.
Many are looking for the meaning of life in success, pleasure, entertainment, religion, adventure, or education to name just a few endeavors. Many are looking for satisfaction, acceptance, healing, rest, and fulfillment. All of these pursuits are the search for life, peace, and meaning which only God can provide. Our souls desperately need peace with God and temporal substitutes will never satisfy the need. The peace we need is found in believing what God has said in His Word and through His Son Jesus. To know God, is to truly know peace, forgiveness, everlasting life, and our purpose for living.
It is our prayer that whether you are feeling pretty good about your life but sense something is missing, whether you are in a time of pain and sadness, perhaps anxious, maybe fearful, angry, confused, or dealing with a sense of guilt; you will see the need to know God and the amazing hope of the gospel. Whether you are actively seeking God or just looking for truth, it is our prayer that you will come to know God personally, His Son Jesus, and why He came to the earth as you read on below.
Jesus said in His earthly ministry and recorded for us in John 14:6 “I AM the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
So to KNOW GOD first requires hearing and believing the witness and testimony of His Son Jesus (Yeshua). There are many religions, many humanly devised options, many gods that you can choose to serve and follow but only Jesus Christ provides the entryway to God the Father, a home in Heaven, and the forgiveness of our sins by His death and resurrection. To make no choice at all is still a choice to reject the grace and mercy of God and to deny the perfection of Christ. Sadly, such a choice has tragic consequences. Yet God emphatically desires that ALL receive His grace.
Below details what Jesus Himself proclaimed and the Scriptures verify, both before and after His coming to the Earth. These truths are made clear in both the Hebrew Scriptures (or The Old Testament) and the New Testament (written after the resurrection of Jesus).
It has been well said that the good news (the gospel) only makes sense when the unpleasant news (our condition) is first understood. The scriptures also make clear that genuine love shares or explains the truth. Jesus came in love but He came to warn and He came to save. In other words, God loves the world enough to expose any false sense of security, and He did this by sending His Son and giving us the Word of God (the Scriptures).
Everyone is a sinner; meaning that all are born in sin and have committed sin (i.e. violation of God's perfect and Holy standard). When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, sin passed to all mankind. Isaiah 64:6 But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness's are like filthy rags. Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
The punishment for our sin is the physical death of our bodies and eternity in Hell separated from God. Psalm 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell... Revelation 20:14-15 Then Death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
The punishment for our sin is both deserved and unavoidable UNLESS God intervenes (and thankfully He has). Isaiah 13:11 I will punish the world for its evil; and the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud... Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death...
God will judge the world according to the Ten Commandments (found in the Torah or Old Testament Law). Psalm 98:9 For He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity. Hebrews 9:27 As it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.
Everyone's soul will live forever; the question is whether it will be in heaven or in hell. Our decision to turn to God or turn away from God determines our eternal home. Daniel 12:2 ...those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Isaiah 55:3 Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you...
God proclaims that although man is guilty, there is the opportunity to turn from sin and look to God for mercy. Ezekiel 33:11 Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
God not only tells us to look to Him for mercy but He sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world to be the sacrifice (or offering) for sins and to take the punishment that we ourselves deserve. Isaiah 53:6 ...And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son the whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.
The scriptures tell us that it is impossible to work our way to heaven or to do enough good works to receive salvation; only faith in Jesus Christ provides forgiveness and eternal peace with God. Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.
God will forgive, welcome, and adopt ALL that come to Him by faith, believing in Jesus, humbling their hearts, and turning from sin. Isaiah 66:2 ...But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word... John 6:37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
So how does one turn to God and put their faith and trust in Jesus? Simply REPENT (turn from sin and look to Jesus) and allow Christ to change you:
REPENTANCE (Means of Salvation): 1) Confess your sins and guilt to God and tell Him you are sorry for the things you have done in life 2) Turn from anything else you were trusting in (i.e. other religions, yourself) 3) Ask Jesus to forgive you of all your sins, to cleanse you, and prepare for you a place in heaven 4) Ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior and to place His Holy Spirit within you 5) Ask Jesus to help you to now live for Him every day (pray these scriptural commands of repentance to the Lord in your own words).
GROWTH (Means of Maturing in Christ): 1) Begin to read the bible and pray daily that you will grow in your faith 2) Remove things in your life that are contrary to the scriptures and dishonoring to God 3) Find a church that teaches God's Word and begin gathering with other believers in Jesus 4) Rejoice in your salvation and continually worship God through His Son 5) Tell other people about Jesus and what He has done for you in forgiving your sins and providing a home in Heaven.
Did you confess your sins and ask Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior? If so, praise the Lord! Please let us know with a quick note so we can both rejoice and pray for you. Send the note to: