There is a lot of talk about peace these days, but much of it is just talk. The primary problem with the peace this world offers is that it is only external. In spite of the talk, wars and fighting continue. Of course, peace between nations and neighbors is highly desirable.

Even with external peace, the soul is often in a condition of unrest – because of sin and doubtfulness about the eternal future. When the Lord Jesus gives peace, it eliminates the fear of eternal judgment, because He promises and gives eternal life. It also eliminates the feeling of guilt of past sin, because He takes it away – never to be seen by God again.

Some religions offer some type of peace – but it is a deception. What good is it if your mind is at a temporal peace but you still go to Hell because your sins are not forgiven? That kind of peace may offer a temporary salve of the conscience – but sin is not erased. Consider this verse: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts. 3:19). This verse promises that if you will turn from sin in your heart to God and ask Him to save and forgive you because of what Jesus did for you on the Cross, He will blot out (erase) your sins. This can give you peace with God.

Once the sin issue has been taken care of, then the promise of the above verse in John can apply to you. You will be able to have peace beyond anything this world offers – even being calm in difficult situations. This kind of peace is the peace of God.

Do you have this kind of peace today?

There are many today claiming to be or have the way to God. Because of spiritual darkness in the world, most people are confused and uncertain about their future – but there is no need for it.

You see, there is only One Who came down from Heaven to save mankind. His claim was verified by His powerful miracles, His words, and by those who were closest to Him.

The Bible prophesied His coming centuries before and declared that He would fulfill many detailed prophecies. They were so detailed that it would be impossible to predict them or even to deliberately fulfill them.

All religions teach that man must earn his way to Heaven. Because Jesus came to die for our sins, and He could only do this if He had no sin. He even invited others to point out His sins if they could – and there were no takers – not even from the religious leaders who hated Him! (John 8:46 “Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?”)

Because His life backed up His words, and so did His miracles, He proved that He was indeed “the way, the truth, and the life.” This was not just a declaration of a wish – it is the truth – that all must heed if they want to see Heaven (“No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”)

What does He require for salvation? He wants you to turn from sin and, in faith, ask Jesus to be your only Savior. He said: “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.”

Have you asked Him to be your Savior? If not, why not do it today?

In the above verses, there are several things that can be seen that must be considered to answer the above question. They are:

1. Jesus had earlier asked the disciples if they had swords. They declared that they had two.

Here, after Peter cut off a servant’s ear, Jesus tells him to put the sword away. This indicates that they could have fought, and with miraculous power – could have resisted this mob. But Jesus was not interested in their resistance for His sake – or anyone else’s.

Jesus did not say this because He was a pacifist. No, later He will come and take vengeance on those gathered against Him at Armageddon and then remove all unbelievers!

2. Jesus challenges them with a thought: “Don’t you know that I could even now call 12 legions of angels to protect Me and destroy My enemies?”

This was more than wishful thinking. The wording makes it clear that even at this moment He could have called them – and they would have come. It must be remembered that in Hezekiah’s day, one angel killed 185,000 soldiers in a single night! He refused to call them that He might go to the Cross as planned!

3. Jesus neither encouraged a riot against those arresting Him, nor did He call any angels. Why? Because He came to die for the sins of the world. He came to save men, not to destroy them.

Because He loved the world and was not willing that any should go to Hell (John 3:16), He made salvation easy. He simply wants people to turn from their sins (disobedience to God as given in the Bible), and trust on Christ to save them when they ask Him to: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). 

I have the privilege of talking to many people about spiritual matters. It is amazing to me, with Bibles in most homes, how few people there are who have actually read it through.

God has given to man a supernatural Book, one that reveals the truth about our existence, God, our future, and most important, how we can have eternal life and live with God forever. Many churches proclaim the passages every week to help people understand it. Also, many churches even encourage their people to bring their Bibles with them because they want the people to see that what they are teaching is really in God’s Book.

In the above verses, Jesus was talking to people who had the Scriptures and had memorized much of it. Yet, they were unwilling to believe what the Book plainly told them.

Many people are like that still today. Some even read the Bible but fail to accept its simple truth about salvation.

The great truth is that salvation cannot be earned. This is plainly stated in Ephesians 2:8,9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Note that salvation is the gift of God. Gifts are free.

The gift that God gave to give us salvation is the gift of His Son. John 3:16 says it very well: “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.” Thank God, His Son Jesus, paid the full price for what we owe.

If you are not yet a believer, call on God in prayer now, asking Him to forgive you and save you – because Jesus paid your full price. Read the verse again in the paragraph right above this one.

Now that Easter is past, some may wonder whether the resurrection is all that important. The truth is that all the teachings of the Bible are meaningless unless Christ rose from the dead.

God declared two very significant things in the Bible that affect our salvation. The first is that sin separates us from God – eternally. The Bible declares in Romans 6:23 that the “wages” [pricetag] “of sin is death” in Hell.

The second very significant thing that every person on earth must know is that only blood (death) can atone for our sin. God demonstrated this to Adam and Eve in the Garden when He provided them with skins – to cover them after they sinned and their own efforts to please God with leaves had failed. The Bible clearly declares this fact in Hebrews 9:22: “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

These two Biblical principles mean that if people are ever to be accepted by God and allowed to enter His holy Heaven, then Someone must take our place and die for us. Only by a substitution could the sinner ever be allowed to go unpunished.

Jesus Christ became the willing Substitute for all mankind. Although sinless, He came to die for “the sins of the world” (John 1:29). He had to die if we were to go free. But if He never came back, it would be impossible to know that our sins were forgiven by God.

Jesus’ resurrection proved that God was satisfied with His death for us. Otherwise, He would have remained in the grave – and in Hell continuing to pay for our sins.

Isaiah 53:11 – written centuries before Christ, predicted that God would be “satisfied” with what Christ did on the Cross for us. The verse says: “He” [God the Father] “shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.”

Because Jesus Christ paid the full price of what we owe, all that is left is for us to receive His gift of forgiveness and eternal life. John 3:16 states it very clearly: “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.”

Have you called on Jesus to forgive and save you yet? Will you believe today before it is too late?

In this little booklet, you will find real answers about who can be saved, see key salvation verses, and get a clear overview of salvation from the Bible. You really can know for sure – from the Bible – if you are going to Heaven or not!

If you are not sure, this booklet will show you how to get saved and on your way to Heaven. Jesus Christ is the Door and He wants to save you today. Find out how from this free book!

I have put together a little PDF to help explain God’s way of salvation in plain English. It is free and you do not even have to give me an email address.

Follow this link to read a copy of “How to Be Sure of Your Salvation” – or download it!

Paul first encourages believers to be a “living sacrifice” to God, and then he tells them why. He calls it a “reasonable service.”

Many reasons could be given as to why it is “reasonable.” They certainly would start with the fact that we do not deserve it; and secondly, God did not have to put His Son on a Cross for us.

God could have let all of us simply go to Hell and pay the price we deserve for our sins. After all, we are told that “the wages of sin is death” (Ro. 6:23).

In love, God sent His Son to redeem us by dying on the Cross for us. Then, He made salvation as a gift through faith (Eph. 2:8,9) and did not make us earn it. In fact, He rejects all attempts to make us pay for it – or even part of it. Once faith is put in Christ for salvation, all our sins are forgiven and erased.

We should also consider being a “living sacrifice” because He put us into His family and made us joint-heirs with His Son, Jesus Christ (“And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ,” Ro. 8:17).

God’s redemption of us also includes eternal life with Him, the removal of sin from our natures when we see Him in glory, and a perfect and sinless world in the future. What more could He have done to make His gift of salvation wonderful?

Considering all these things and more – it certainly is reasonable! He will not make you make that decision, but it should also be mentioned that He adds “abundant life” and blessing to those who make that choice!

Many Christians are living a nearly joyless Christian life because they believe that their salvation depends on their enduring to the end. They may be working hard to resist some sins but also know that other ones may be present.

Their lives could be changed by understanding that we are saved by faith in what Jesus Christ did for us on the Cross. It is not based on what we have done or do now. He died for us because we could not pay the price for our sin and still escape the fires of Hell. What a wonderful gift of salvation we have received.

What Jesus did on the Cross puts the believer into the family of God. When Jesus cried from the Cross: “It is finished,” He meant that everything necessary to give us a full and complete salvation was accomplished.

As Christians, we could not begin to merit anything from God – nor can we ever keep ourselves saved. Sin is still present with us. Jesus one-time death on the Cross and resurrection is forever sufficient for any need you or I will ever have. He not only saves us, but our text verse shows that He also keeps us.

We cannot consistently hold onto Him, so He holds onto us – and we cannot escape out of His hands – or His Father’s (John 10:28,29). Because of His power to hold us in salvation and give us eternal security – we can have joy and sleep well at night. Praise His Name!

There is a lot of confusion in the world about Jesus Christ. The biggest question of all is Who is Jesus Christ?

Sadly, even among professing believers there are considerable answers to this question. The biggest reason for this ignorance is a lack of understanding the Bible.

Paul makes the argument in the verses above that the Gospel – that which can save the soul from Hell – is hid from those who need it. The Gospel consists of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for sinners, which is how He paid for our sins and can save the soul. Paul also explains who needs it – “the lost.” That is, those who do not know Christ as their Savior yet.

The “god of this world” is the evil one – Satan. He and his evil cohorts are constantly busy seeking to prevent people from understanding the Gospel, as well as making it so that they never hear it. One of the ways he does this is by keeping people too busy to think about their eternity.

In these two verses, the Apostle also explains that Jesus is God and He wants to give them “light” – which means truth and understanding of the truth.

Have you believed on Jesus Christ yet to be your personal Savior? Or, are you one of the ones that the wicked one has blinded, making you think you have another day – when you may not?

Years ago, early on this Easter morning, the women arrived first at the tomb, thinking that they would have to get someone to help them move the stone away. The stone served as both a covering for the tomb and a seal.

There was also a guard of Roman soldiers at the tomb and they were ordered to keep it secure. A “guard” would normally consist of 24 Roman soldiers, which would take part in shifts. The unexpected appearance of the angel whose face was “like lightning” (vs. 4) had them terrified and frozen with fear. He moved the stone away – not to let Christ out, but to let others in to see that He was already gone.

While none of the 11 remaining Apostles, or any other disciples, were expecting a resurrection despite Jesus repeatedly telling them about it, the heavenly messenger delivered the shocking news to these women. The message was short and simple. He told them: “he is risen from the dead.”

If Jesus had stayed in the grave, we would never have known if God had forgiven our sins or not. He would have had to pay for them in Hell. His resurrection proves that all that Jesus said about salvation and eternal life is true. In Him is life, and simply trusting in Him to save us will result in a real pardon from God with eternal life in Heaven – all at the expense of Christ for us.

Since He arose from the dead – and He is the only religious leader to have done so – we can be certain of Who He was (the Son of God) and that His words truly are from God. In John 5:24, He said: “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.”

He is risen indeed!, and all who truly know Him know very well that He is alive – with power!