God's Simple Plan of Salvation

Below is a simple summary of the Bible's plan of salvation.

In John 3, when Nicodemus came to Jesus and asked him questions, Jesus told him "Ye must be born again" (vs. 7). He explained that this was not a second physical birth, but a spiritual birth. Toward the end of this discussion Jesus gave what is perhaps the most well-known verse in the entire Bible, John 3:16:

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.

Why does each of us need to be born again?

In Romans 3, we learn that all men are sinners, from verses 10 and 23:

10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

We were all born sinners, and every day of our lives has provided evidence that we are neither perfect nor holy in our flesh. What are the consequences of being sinners? They are not pleasant, according to Romans 6:23:

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

That "death" in the first part of the verse is not only a reference to physical death, but also a reference to "spiritual death"—which we see in other verses is a literal, eternal, lake of fire—a place we call Hell. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that this is a real place, where those who reject God's offer of salvation will spend eternity.

But the latter part of Romans 6:23 provides us with hope: There is a gift! It is something every person on earth can receive by following what Jesus Christ Himself said in Mark 1:15:

The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

It is as simple as that: Every one of us must repent of our sins, and believe that Jesus Christ can save us from the just consequence of our sins, and will take us to Heaven to be with Him eternally. Romans 10:9-10 elaborates,

9 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.

Romans 10:13 also points out that the opportunity is open to all:

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Have you done this? Have you asked Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sins and placed your faith in Jesus Christ to do just that? There is no way that anyone else can do this for you; neither your church, your family, nor your friends can procure your eternity in Heaven.

If you would like to know more or have questions, please leave a comment to this post; please leave an e-mail address. Comments intended for private correspondence will not be publicly posted. It would be a joy to share with you the way of salvation through Jesus Christ.