How can I be forgiven of my sin and gain Christ as my Saviour?

God formed a perfect world and placed Adam and Eve in the midst of it.
- After the days of creation, God said, “God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” Genesis 1:31
God created a beautiful Garden for Adam and Eve to live in called, “the Garden of Eden”. God only gave them one commandment to obey, everything else was there’s to enjoy.
- “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: (17) But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17
Adam and Even only had one commandment to keep, and the devil talked them into breaking it, and sinning against God.
- Genesis 3:1-11, “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (2) And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: (3) But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. (4) And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: (5) For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (6) And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. (7) And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. (8) And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. (9) And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? (10) And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. (11) And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?”
This account in Genesis details how sin entered our world.
- Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
  - Because of what happened in the Garden of Eden, we are now all born sinners and in need of a Saviour.
    - Romans 3:10-19, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: (11) There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. (12) They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (13) Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: (14) Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: (15) Their feet are swift to shed blood: (16) Destruction and misery are in their ways: (17) And the way of peace have they not known: (18) There is no fear of God before their eyes. (19) Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”
  - The first step to becoming a Christian, is agreeing with God that you are a sinner, in need of salvation.
    - Many people don’t like to think about themselves as sinners, but the reality is that it is a blessing to know of our sinful condition, so that we can go to the next step in path to becoming a Christian.
      - Imagine that you have cancer, but you don’t know it. Just because you don’t know it, doesn’t change the fact that you have cancer. The same is true about sin. Whether you agree with God’s Word or not, there is no escaping the fact that you and I are sinners, in need of a Saviour.
    - Why is sin such a big deal to God?
      - Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death;…”
        
        When Adam and Eve sinned, they died.
        
        They did not die physically at that time, but they did die spiritually.
        
        Death = separation from the living
        
        When they sinned, they were separated from God, who was alive in every sense of the word.
        
        As sinners, we are separated from God.
        
        This condition must be reconciled before we die, else we have to go to the place of separation, hell.
        
        To be reconciled to God, you must agree with God that you are a sinner, deserving to hell.
        
        1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
        
        Proverbs 28:13, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
        
        After you agree with God concerning your condition as a sinner, you must then see Jesus as the Saviour, the only one able to reconcile you to God.
        
        1 Timothy 2:4-5, “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. (5) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”
        
        John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
        
        Acts 4:12, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
        
        Jesus did the work necessary to reconcile you, on the cross of Calvary. The Bible calls what Jesus did, the gospel message.
        
        1 Corinthians 15:1-4, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; (2) By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. (3) For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (4) And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”
        
        Jesus lived a perfect life! He never sinned one time! In His sinless condition, He died on the cross, willingly giving up His life, as a sacrifice for you and me.
        
        Hebrews 9:22, “… without shedding of blood is no remission (of sin).”
        
        Jesus is referred to as the “Lamb of God”.
        
        John 1:29, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
        
        Jesus, as God’s lamb, was sacrificed, so that His blood could be sprinkled on God’s mercy seat, to pay for our sin.
        
        Jesus has done all the work necessary for you to be saved. All you must do is repent, and believe the gospel message, by faith.
        
        Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
        
        Mark 1:15, “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
        
        Acts 16:30-31, “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? (31) And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,…”
        
        Romans 10:9-13, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (11) For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. (12) For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
        
        If you believe that you are a sinner, and that Jesus died on the cross for you, you believe enough to be saved.
        
        As God convicts you of your lost condition and the reality that you are guilty before Him, beseech God for mercy today, as you repent of your sin and all other attempts to save yourself some other way, and call out to God today, trusting Jesus alone for your soul’s salvation!
        
        John 1:12, “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:”

If you asked Christ to save you today, or if you would like to know more about salvation, please contact us immediately, or come to church this Wednesday or Sunday.