The Bible on Salvation from Sin

Sacred Literature Ministries

Let this green bar represent your life of growth here on earth. You grow in size, knowledge and experience, but your life has a definite beginning, and though some live longer than others, we can be certain that every life on earth will have an end. That would be sad, if it were not for the fact that God talks about eternal life in His written Word, the Bible. He talks about eternal life with Him in heaven.

Let this yellow color remind you of the city of heaven, which is said in the Bible to have streets of gold, "And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass." (Revelation 21:21) God says heaven will have no sickness, no sadness, and no dying. "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." (Revelation 21:4) There will be no selfishness or rebellion. Everything in heaven will be perfect. God will make it that way because He is perfect Himself.

Now that brings us to a problem. WE are not perfect, are we? God knows that. "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." (John 3:19) We have all disobeyed God’s rules for living, and this disobedience is what the Bible calls "sin." "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Even one sin in a whole lifetime is an imperfection that cannot be allowed in heaven. "For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." (James 2:10)

Imagine that a drunk driver causes the death of another person, and the drunk driver is put in prison for one year. Does the dead person come back to life after one year? After five years? No. Nothing can change what the drunk driver did. It is the same with our sin. Even being punished forever would not erase it. God says in the Bible that there is a distance between us and heaven that is too great to cross. Jesus told of a man who looked from heaven to earth and spoke to a man on earth. He said, "And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence." (Luke 16:26)

If there is nothing a sinner can do to erase his sin, then it would take someone other than a sinner to provide a solution. Such a person could only come from God Himself. This sinless person is Jesus, the promised Messiah, God’s own Son. He was sent from God to live a perfect, sinless life on earth. He had no penalty to pay for His Own sin, for He was without sin. So He could give Himself as a sacrifice for OUR sin, to die in our place. That’s just what He did. He "gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father." (Galatians 1:4) He shed His blood when He was crucified on a cross.

That brings us to the best part of all. God tells us that Jesus’ blood (represented by the red color) - and His blood alone - CAN COVER our sins. Jesus’ blood paid the penalty for OUR sins. "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." (Romans 5:9) But that’s not all He did. Being sinless, sin and death had no power over Him, so Jesus rose from the dead. "Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him." (Romans 6:9) God asks us to believe and accept what Jesus did for us. "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." (Romans 10:9)

The white color represents a new righteous condition before God. "And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:14)

So you see, there IS a way to have eternal life in heaven. The sinless Son of God made a bridge on which sinners may cross into heaven. Jesus arose from the dead and lives in heaven today. "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2) Just as He said two thousand years ago, He says today, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11 :28)

Revelation 3:20 says, "Behold, I stand a the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." God, in His mercy, has given you this time to accept His sacrifice for your sin - the sacrifice of His Own Son, Jesus Christ. He will hear your prayer today. Won't you pray and ask Him to be your Saviour from sin?