IT ALL STARTS WITH GOD
Genesis 1:27-28
27 God created man in His own image, in the image of
God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them;
and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue
it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over
every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 3:1-7
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field
which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said,
‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the
serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from
the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You
shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said
to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 For God knows that in the day
you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing
good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and
that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one
wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with
her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they
knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made
themselves loin coverings.
Genesis 3:20-21
20 Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she
was the mother of all the living. 21 The Lord God made garments of skin
for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.
Ezekiel 33:18
18 When the righteous turns from his righteousness and
commits iniquity, then he shall die in it.
Isaiah 5:16
But the Lord of hosts will be exalted in judgment, And the
holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness.
Psalm 5:4
For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No
evil dwells with You.
ADAM AND EVE AND THE STORY
OF US
Isaiah 53:6
“All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has
turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
to fall on Him.”
Romans 3:9-12
9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already
charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10 as it is written,
“There is none righteous, not even one; 11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God; 12 All have turned aside, together they
have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”
Romans 3:23-24
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption
which is in Christ Jesus;
Isaiah 59:2
But your iniquities have made a separation between you and
your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
Romans 6:23
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of
God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:10
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of
Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body,
according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
FAITH AND REPENTANCE
Isaiah 53:7
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open
His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is
silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.
John 1:29
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:12-13
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the
right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the
will of man, but of God.
John 3:16
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal
life.”
John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and
the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
Romans 5:8-9
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having
now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God
through Him.
Romans 10:9-11
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord,
and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and
with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture
says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
Romans 10:13
“for whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be
saved.”
Ephesians 2:8-10
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and
that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works,
so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in
them.
Acts 2:37-39
37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the
heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we
do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the
name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and your children
and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
Acts 4:12
12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is
no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be
saved.”
Luke 24:46-47
46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the
Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, 47 and
that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all
the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
Acts 10:38-43
38 You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him
with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and
healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. 39 We
are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in
Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. 40 God
raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, 41 not
to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is,
to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. 42 And He
ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the
One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.
43 Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who
believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”
Acts 16:30-31
30 and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what
must I do to be saved?” 31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you
will be saved, you and your household.”
Acts 17:29-31
29 Being then the children of God, we ought not to
think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed
by the art and thought of man. 30 Therefore having overlooked the times of
ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should
repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in
righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to
all men by raising Him from the dead.”
Matthew 28:19-20
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with
you always, even to the end of the age.”
2 Corinthians 4:3-4, “3 And even if our gospel
is veiled, it is veiled to those who are
perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world
has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see
the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image
of God.”
2 Corinthians 5:21, “He made Him who knew no sin to
be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of
God in Him.”
MY PRAYER
“Dear God, I admit I have made myself a victim of my own
morality and blamed You for my problems.[1] Instead of calling
You Lord, I called You sadistic and cruel. I blamed You for being indifferent.
You are holy, and my sin has separated me from You.[2]
I know the wages of sin is death.[3]
I have rejected Your love and sacrificial death[4]
of Your Son to give me life. I know Your free gift is eternal life through Your
Son Jesus Christ. I repent[5]
of my sins[6]
and believe that in the name of Jesus,[7] I receive
forgiveness of my sins.[8]
Lord Jesus, I believe I am saved by grace through faith. It’s
not of myself;[9] it is the
gift of Your Father, and I can’t work for it or brag about it.[10]
I confess You are my Lord, and believe in my heart God raised You from the dead
for me.[11]
I receive You[12]
into my heart[13]
and believe that in You I have eternal life.[14] Thank you
for hearing my prayer,[15]
making me Your child, and giving me eternal life.[16] I now follow
You.[17]
In Your name. Amen.”
[1] James 1:13-16, “13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am
being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He
Himself does not tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is
carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15 Then when lust has
conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it
brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved
brethren.”
[2] Romans 3:23-24, “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption
which is in Christ Jesus.” Isaiah 59:2,
“But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your
sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.”
[3] Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of
God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
[4] John 1:29, “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
[5] Mark 1:14-15, “14 Now after John had been taken into
custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of
God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of
God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
[6] Acts 2:37-39, “37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the
heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we
do?” 38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be
baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you
will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For
the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many
as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” Acts
3:19-21, “19 Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may
be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the
presence of the Lord; 20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ
appointed for you, 21 whom heaven must receive
until the period of restoration of all things about
which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.” Acts
17:30-31, “30 Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance,
God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should
repent,31 because He has fixed a day in which He will
judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He
has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him
from the dead.”
[7] Luke 24:46-47, “46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ
would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be
proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” Acts 10:38-43, “38 You know of
Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power,
and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by
the devil, for God was with Him. 39 We
are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in
Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. 40 God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become
visible, 41 not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen
beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He
arose from the dead. 42 And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to
testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the
living and the dead. 43 Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name
everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”
[8] Ephesians 1:7-8a, “7 In Him we
have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our
trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished
on us.” Acts 10:38-43, see above.
[9] Titus 3:4-7, “4 But when the kindness of God our
Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5 He saved
us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness,
but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration
and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out upon
us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being
justified by His grace we would be made heirs according
to the hope of eternal life.”
[10] Ephesians 2:8-9, “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not
of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not
as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
[11] Romans 10:9-10, “9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and
believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in
righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
[12] John 1:12-13, “12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to
become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor
of the will of man, but of God.”
[13] John 14:20, “In that day you will know that I am in My Father,
and you in Me, and I in you.”
[14] John 3:16, “For God so loved
the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John
14:6, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the
life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
[15] Romans 10:13, “for whoever will call on the name of the Lord will
be saved.”
[16] John 1:12, “12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to
become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.”
[17] Luke 9:23, “And He was saying to them all, “If anyone
wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily
and follow Me.”
If you can find someone besides Jesus Christ
who has a more pure love, a more intelligent social ethic,
more humility and courage, willing to die to fix what is broken
inside your heart, and then take away the barrier between you and God at no cost to you… follow them (see Joshua 24:15)
