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Many people wonder why
they would ever need God.

If life seems to be going OK,
why bother?
You probably already know
the Bible says God sent His Son Jesus
to die on the cross...

But why did He have to die,
and what does that have
to do with you?
Because of God's great love for us, He sent
Jesus to die on the cross to pay the
penalty for our sins.

"For all have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God."

We have all broken God's laws and
stand guilty before a holy God.

Just as a human judge must enforce
justice and punish evildoers, God, who is
completely just, holy and righteous,
must also punish sin.

Sin is anything we do in disobedience to God.

A quick look at even a few of the
Ten Commandments
shows us our own sinfulness
and guilt before God.

We have all committed idolatry,
that is, putting anything before God...
money, sex, power, possessions, anything.

We have all used God's name in vain.

We have all dishonored our parents
in our words, attitudes and actions.
We have all hated another person,
and because God judges the heart,
He considers hatred as evil as murder.

We have all committed adultery or
fornication, if not in deed, in thought.
Again, God judges even the thoughts
and intents of our heart.

We have all stolen something in our
lifetime. Whether small or great, it is
still an offense before God.

We have all lied and deceived
others countless times.

We have all coveted another's
possessions, or wealth, or even
their husband or wife.

The Bible tells us our sin has
separated us from God.

We have violated God's laws,

and His Word says,
"He will by no means clear the guilty."

Only an unjust judge could let sin go unpunished. To top it off, the Bible says that
if we have broken God's law
in even one point,
we are guilty of all.

Like holding on to ten links of a chain,
if you break one, then down you go.

Since Adam & Eve first sinned in the Garden of Eden, every
human being (except one) been born with a sinful nature.
God gave each of us a free will to choose right from
wrong, and each of us has chosen to sin...

When this life is over, we will each stand
before God on Judgment Day
and give an account for our life.

No matter how good we tried to be,
how involved we were in church, or
how much we helped others...

our best efforts will all be as
"filthy rags" in God's sight, that is,
if the sin separating us from God has not been removed.

Just like attempting to jump across the
Grand Canyon would only end in disaster
no matter how far we could jump,

our "good works" will never meet
God's standard of perfection,
no matter how hard we try.

The simple truth is that just one sin is enough to keep
us out of Heaven. For God's holiness cannot allow it.

"For the wages of sin is death."
The Bible speaks clearly of a literal place called
Hell, where all those who have chosen not to
accept God's offer of redemption will be punished.

Some interpret the Bible as teaching that this Lake of Fire will burn forever.
Others believe Hell will consume its inhabitants, as God's justice destroys them.
Still others understand Hell to be an abyss of misery, yet without literal burning.

Regardless of how it is defined, Hell is a horrible place of suffering originally created for the
devil and his angels. It is however, the only alternative to God's plan of salvation and the
grandeur of Heaven which awaits those who love Him and accept His sacrifice on their behalf.

In order for us to be reunited in relationship to God and to
escape the punishment of Hell, God's righteous judgment
must be satisfied and the penalty for our sins must be paid.

God, who is holy and just,
and therefore must punish sin, is also
loving and merciful
and does not want to punish us.

To solve this problem, God sent His only Son
Jesus Christ
as God incarnate, fully God and fully man,
to pay our sin debt for us. He lived a sinless life, then
gave His life on the cross
and rose again on the third day
to pay the penalty for our sins,
to reconcile us to God, and to
purchase a place for us in Heaven.

With the sentence of death upon us, 2,000 years ago, God came in the
flesh, stepped into our courtroom, and paid our sin debt Himself. Like a
compassionate judge giving his own life to save the guilty, Jesus Christ
took upon Himself the sins of the world - the just dying for the unjust.

"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."

"For the wages of sin is death, but
the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord."

This GIFT is absolutely FREE.
Like any other true gift, it is not
earned or deserved.

The gift of eternal life
is received by faith.

Realizing that we cannot save ourselves,
and that we deserve God's judgment
for our sins, we come to Him by faith.

With a heart willing to obey God, fully
dependent upon Him, we place our faith
and trust in Jesus Christ alone for the
forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

"For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.
It is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one can boast."

You can receive the gift of
eternal life right now.

If you have a desire to turn your life over to the Lord...
Simply ask God in your own words to forgive you of
your sins and give you the gift of eternal life, as you
place your faith and trust in His Son Jesus Christ.

If you'd like to receive Christ and begin a relationship
with God that will last forever, you can talk to Him
right now. Here's a prayer you can use if you like...

"Dear God, I know I am a sinner. I know I deserve Your
judgment, but I thank You for Your mercy and grace. I ask You
to forgive my sins and give me eternal life. Wash me clean and
give me a new heart. Right now, I place my faith and trust in Your
Son Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, and I give You my life.

Lord Jesus, I believe that You are God's only Son, that You
died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins and rose again
on the third day. Trusting You as my Lord and Savior, I know
that when I die, I will spend eternity with You in Heaven.

Thank You for dying on the cross to pay for my sins. Thank You
for Your forgiveness and for Your gift of eternal life. I humbly
submit myself to Your will in every area of my life, and I ask You to
make me into the person You want me to be. Fill me with Your
Holy Spirit and guide me through Your Word. Help me to trust
You daily for all my needs and to rely on Your Holy Spirit to lead
me as I seek to live in obedience to You.

I ask you to convict me of whatever sin is in my life, that I
might confess it to You as it comes to mind each day, knowing
that You have already forgiven me, and that You will never leave
me or forsake me. From this day forward, I will live with the
peace and assurance that I am Your child. I renounce the
works of Satan, and I desire to walk in the light as You are in
the light. Give me wisdom and discernment that I may know
good from evil, and help me to follow after You with all my
heart all the days of my life. I am Your servant, and I accept
You as my Master. Make my life a living sacrifice, holy and
acceptable unto You.

Right now, Lord, I pray that You will show me Your will. Help
me to grow in my faith. Lead me to others who can help me to
grow, and lead me to a church where I can be taught in Your
Word. Show me how my life can be a blessing to others, and give
me the courage to tell others about Your saving grace. I ask You
Lord that my entire family will come to know You as Lord and
Savior. I pray that Your Holy Spirit will convict their hearts and
draw them to You, and that You will remove the blinders of
Satan from their eyes. Give me the words to speak as I share
with them how I came to know You and how they too can begin
a personal relationship with You and spend forever in Your
presence. Help me to live the life You have called me to live,
and to be a holy example for all the world to see, that they
too may believe.

Heavenly Father, I love You! Thank You for saving me and
receiving me as Your child. Lord Jesus, I love you! Thank You
for dying on the cross to pay for my sins and for giving me eternal
life. Holy Spirit, I love You! Thank You for showing me my need
for a Savior and for Your indwelling presence in my life. Amen."

If you have trusted in Christ, WELCOME to the family
of God! We love you and want God's very best for
your life! May God bless you and your family, and
may He use YOU to light your world!

We'd recommend that your next step be to find a local Bible-believing church and
ask a pastor or church leader to baptize you as Christ commanded all believers.

God loves you more than you know! If you are trusting in Christ as Lord and Savior, again,
welcome to God's forever family! You are His child, and He is your Father. He promises
never to leave you or forsake you. We love you and pray for God's blessing in your life!

Are you confused or offended by this message?
If so, please scroll down to continue reading.

Have Questions?
Are you confused or offended?

            If this message troubled you, please let us know exactly what about the message you didn't
     like. We'd be happy to discuss it with you. But please don't become angry with God or with us
     for sharing His message.  He gave His only Son so that you could have eternal life. He wants to
     forgive you for everything you've ever done, and embrace you as His child. None of us are
     perfect, even after we accept Christ and begin to follow Him. We all struggle in many ways, and
     until we reach Heaven, we will never measure up to God's perfect standards. The difference for
     Christians is that we are forgiven and have the Holy Spirit living on the inside empowering us to
     live the life of obedience that God calls us to. Yet we still fail often. Please don't be overwhelmed
     or angered by this message, feeling that God hates you because you're a sinner and that you
     could never be as good as He expects. NONE of us can! When we as Christians sin, we simply
     acknowledge to God that we have failed, and accept His forgiveness. Doing wrong has natural
     consequences in life, which forgiveness does not erase, but in God's eyes, we are justified
     because His Son paid the penalty for our sins - once and for all!

            If you are from another religious background and you are angered that Christians or that the
     God of the Bible could claim that the only way to Heaven is through Jesus Christ, please know
     that we sympathize with you.  We understand how troubling it would be to believe something
     sincerely your entire life, and then have someone say that everything you believe is not true
     and will not get you any closer to God or to Heaven. Many people think of Christians as arrogant
     and self-righteous because we proclaim the message of Christ. If there were any other way
     to Heaven, why would God send His only Son to be mocked and tortured and nailed to a cross?
     God's righteous judgment had to be satisfied. God does not want to send anyone to Hell.  In fact,
     that horrible place was created for the devil and his angels, the demons. God is willing that none
     should perish, but that all should come to repentance and faith in Him. When a person chooses
     to reject the greatest sacrifice that God could ever make, God who is holy and righteous, must
     pass judgment. As the creator of the universe and the ultimate judge, He stepped into our court-
     room, having found us guilty, and paid the penalty Himself for our sin.

            No matter what other religion you may believe in, it does not provide for the forgiveness
     of sins, nor does it allow you to have a relationship with a living God. Only the God of the Bible
     can promise these things. Also please consider that even in science and mathematics, there
     are laws of mutual exclusives, meaning that if one answer is correct then all other answers
     must naturally be incorrect. In religion, we like to believe that all religions lead to the same
     destination, and that as long as we sincerely believe and are generally going in the right
     direction, we will probably be okay. In all other areas of life, there is no special grace given for
     being sincere but wrong.  If you are wrong, being sincere has absolutely nothing to do with it.
     The same is true for religion. If there is one "correct" way to God, then all other ways must
     therefore be incorrect. If Heaven is real, it must have a creator. If Heaven has a creator, then
     we must have a creator. For God would not create a Heaven for beings He did not create. If
     God is the creator of Heaven and earth and all that is within it, He would certainly have the right
     to make the rules and to hold us as His creation accountable for how we live, not to mention
     how we could enter Heaven. According to God's inspired Word, the Bible, the only entrance
     requirement for Heaven is perfection. God is perfect and holy and nothing that enters Heaven
     will be imperfect or unholy. According to Scripture, only Christ's righteousness applied to us
     as sinners will make us fit for Heaven. He gives us His righteousness and washes away all the
     sin that would normally prevent us from entering Heaven, when we place our faith and trust in
     God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

            Do you see how rejecting the only way God has prepared for us to receive forgiveness and
     eternal life must inevitably condemn us to judgment? If someone on death row were granted a
     pardon, but chose to reject it, he would receive the due penalty for his actions and would be put
     to death. If we reject God's pardon, and choose not to place our faith and trust in His Son the
     Lord Jesus Christ, we bring judgment on ourselves and will face the horrific consequences for
     our sin without mercy. Scripture instructs us to flee from the wrath to come by turning to God's
     only Son, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. "For there is no other name under Heaven by which
     men [mankind] can be saved." Regardless of what you may have believed until now, no matter
     what your own intellect might tell you, please consider this message an urgent plea, begging
     you to examine the truth of God's Word, and the error of all other beliefs about God. Either
     God's Word is true and the only way to Heaven is through Jesus Christ, or God is a liar, and no
     matter what a person believes, it won't really matter in the end anyway. You have to make that
     decision. If God's Word is true, no matter what you choose to believe in this life, a time will
     come when, "Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the
     glory of God the Father." Those who believe in this life will enter the presence of God and
     spend eternity in Heaven. Those who do not believe in this life will bow and confess that Jesus
     Christ is Lord on Judgment Day only to be cast into the Lake of Fire.

            What if it's true? Where will you spend eternity? If you haven't already trusted in Christ,
     please release your anger and your pride, and humbly bow before God in Heaven and confess
     that you are a sinner in need of a Savior; that you believe in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, who
     came to this earth as God in the flesh; that He died for you and rose again on the third day, and
     that you are trusting in Him for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. He will receive you today,
     right now, and will write your name in the Lamb's Book of Life. On Judgment Day, "When the
     Books are opened," your name will be found and you will receive your eternal reward, "Where
     eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has any mind conceived what God has prepared for them
     that love Him." On that Day, you will see Jesus face to face and experience joy unspeakable.
     With all my heart, I hope to see you there. Eternity hangs in the balance.

            When it comes right down to it, you really only have three choices regarding what you
     believe about Jesus Christ. Either He was a liar because He claimed to be the Son of God and the
     only way to the Father, or He was a lunatic, deceiving people out of His own insanity, or He is
     Lord, the Son of God, and everything He said is true. One cannot honestly say, "He was a good
     person who tried to help people, but was not the Son of God." For this cannot be true, since He
     would have been lying about Himself or would have been insane to make the claims He made. If
     He is Lord, as Scripture proclaims and as hundreds of prophecies revealed when Christ fulfilled
     them - so perfectly that the chances of any one human being fulfilling so many prophecies has
     the same odds as a person pulling one marked silver dollar out from among millions of others
     stacked two feet deep across the entire state of Texas - if He is Lord, then let us prepare
     ourselves now for that great and final day when we will see Jesus face to face in all His glory
     and majesty!  Eternity is way too long to be wrong.

            Consider this. If a sparrow could pick up a grain of sand and fly it from here to the moon,
     and could make this trip back and forth until every grain of sand on every beach on earth had
     been carried away, eternity would have only just begun. Please trust Him now. For any one of
     us, tomorrow may be too late.

                                       May God bless you and build your faith!

            S e e   b e l o w   f o r   a n s w e r s   t o   m o r e   q u e s t i o n s .

"Trust in the Lord with all thine Heart and lean not unto
thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge
Him, and He shall direct thy paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6

Is it possible that the unsaved will simply be annihilated and pass out of existence?

There have arisen some among evangelical Christians who argue that these traditional views are founded on early Greek philosophy and that the biblical texts are capable of an alternative interpretation.

There are two texts of Scripture that suggest to me that Hell involves everlasting punishment. Matthew 25:46 sums up the judgment on the "sheep and goats" with the words. "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." The same word aionion (eternal) is used to describe the punishment of the wicked and the blessing of the righteous. Whatever we say about the duration of "eternal" life for believers must be said about "eternal" punishment for unbelievers. Since "life" for believers is everlasting (John 10:28), so must be the punishment for unbelievers.

In a second text, Revelation 20:10, John describes those in the "lake of fire" being "tormented day and night forever and ever." The expression day and night is used in Revelation to express the concept of "forever." The lake of fire is described in Revelation 19:20 as a place that "burns with brimstone." In the saddest verse in the Bible, John declares that anyone whose name is not written in the book of life is "thrown into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:15).

The doctrine of eternal punishment for those who have rejected Christ appears to be thoroughly biblical. This is not an easy teaching or one that brings us joy. But the unpleasantness of a doctrine should not cause us to deny biblical truth.