God authored the Bible using forty holy men to actually do the writing as they were moved by the Holy Spirt so that each and every word and punctuation mark in the Bible is just as God intended it to be. God doesn’t do fluff or filler in his writing. Take what God says in the Bible literally unless it’s obvious God is using symbolism, spiritualism or imagery like in the book of Revelation for instance. If God puts something in the Bible he has a good reason. It’s there for our edification. Believers should hang on every word from the mouth of God because the Bible is God’s wisdom. A good rule of thumb when reading the Bible is if it makes sense to you then seek no other sense. God isn’t trying to trick you. God wrote the Bible over a period of roughly 1500 years, from about 1400 BC when Moses wrote the book of Genesis to around 95 AD when the Apostle John wrote the book of Revelation. There are 66 books in the Bible; 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. The entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, contains the history of God’s dealings with man and the revelation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In Genesis God created the world and in Revelation God brings 6,000 years of human history to a close with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ our Lord to save Israel from destruction. At that time Jesus will judge the nations for their sins against God. Jesus Christ our Lord will then establish his millennial kingdom and rule the world from Jerusalem for a thousand years before the new Jerusalem appears.

Genesis 2:7 – And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Psalm 8:3-4 – When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?

Deuteronomy 7:9 – Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.

Psalm 62:1-2 – Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved.

The Old Testament is Jesus prophesied and the New Testament is Jesus fulfilled. God gave us his word so that we might know him and accept his gracious gift of salvation unto eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The truth and wisdom of the Bible is self-evident. Evil men have been trying for 2000 years to disprove the Bible but all have failed to find any errors in it. As believers we are commanded by God to pray to God daily and to read the Bible daily because by praying we talk to God and reading our Bible is how God talks to us. We need this two-way communication between God and man to maintain a strong fellowship with the God who made us and loves us. When we read the Bible it keeps God at the forefront of our minds and when we study God’s word it keeps Jesus before our eyes. I’ve found that when I abide in God’s word daily it causes me to sin less and it helps me to keep Satan at arm’s length. As believers we’re to not only read the Bible, we’re to study it for knowledge, understanding and wisdom. The Bible contains 129 direct commandments from God that believers are to follow, although quite a few of them are redundant. You cannot obey God if you don’t know what God has commanded we do. You cannot please God without being in obedience to the commands in his word. Entry into heaven is gained by faith in Jesus but rewards from God are based on our obedience.

Deuteronomy 17:19 – And it (God’s law) shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes.

Deuteronomy 4:2 – You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

Deuteronomy 8:3 – Man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.

Psalm 119:97-99 – Oh, how I ove Your law! It is my meditation all the day. You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation.

Let me share with you my experience studying God’s word. When I made the decision to read the entire Bible I started with the book of Genesis and read straight through to the book of Revelation. Looking back, I wouldn’t recommend that method to anyone else just starting out. While the entire Bible is important and should be read in its entirety, it’s also important to read with purpose and intent because some parts of the Bible are more important than others. Read the more important books of the Bible first and more often, especially for new believers just starting out on their walk with God. The Old Testament is good for learning about God’s wisdom, God’s dealings with man and as a historical reference point. Currently we live in the New Testament times under the blood covenant of Jesus Christ so our study of God’s word should start and end with the New Testament. We should spend roughly two thirds of our time studying the New Testament and one third of our time studying Old Testament scriptures. I recommend all believers read the entire Bible at least once a year and more often if time permits.

Psalm 19:7 – The law of the Lord is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

Psalm 18:30 – As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

Psalm 33:11 – The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations.

Proverbs 23:12 – Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge.

Make sure you place a priority on reading the New Testament before reading the Old Testament. If you start with the Old Testament you might get bored and lose interest before you get the really good part of the Bible, which is the New Testament. I have to admit I cheat a little bit on my Old Testament reading. I love Genesis and Exodus but when I get to Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy they tend to be bit more dry and those books are laborious reading for me. I usually just read a summary of those books from my Bible handbook and Bible commentary at least every other year. Some Bible books are less important to me than others, although I realize every word in the Bible is important to God and there’s a message in every Bible story. On the other hand, I make it a point to read God’s books of wisdom literature from the Old Testament several times a year without fail (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job, Psalms and Song of Solomon). In fact, the book of Proverbs is the distilled wisdom of God which a believer would be wise to read every day. There are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs. If a believer read one chapter a day for a whole month and repeated that month after month and year after year can you imagine the wisdom of God that person would have gained over a period of years? Of course, it would take a lot of discipline. I’ve tried to do it but I haven’t been able to stick to it.

Psalm 1:1-2 – Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but delights in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.

Psalm 112:1 – Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments.

Proverbs 13:13 – He who despises the word will be destroyed, but he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.

Psalm 68:11 – The Lord gave the word; great was the company of those who proclaimed it.

Our focus should be on the New Testament because it’s the time in which we live. I break the 27 books of the New Testament into four categories for my reading. I break the New Testament into the following:

1. The four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John

2.The Acts of the Apostles

3.The 21 epistles, or letter, from the Apostles of Christ.

4.The book of Revelation

The gospels are the heart of all the scriptures and should be read as often as possible. You can make any division you want when it comes to studying the New Testament but my division works for me. The Synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke cover the life and times of Jesus and are very similar in the information they provide so I like to start with them but I also like to break them up by reading other New Testament books in between. This reinforces the gospel message of Christ in my mind as I read each of the four gospels. I always start my New Testament reading with the gospel of Matthew because God placed it first in the New Testament canon. After all, Jesus is the prophesied Messiah sent by God to save his people; the Jew first and then the Gentile. The Jewish authorities rejected Jesus so the Lord turned to the Gentiles to establish his church. However, the Jews remain God’s chosen people whom he will save on the last day. Matthew is a Jew writing his gospel to a Jewish audience to convict them of their sin of rejecting their Messiah, the Savior. It’s just common sense that the gospel of Matthew is the first book in the New Testament, even though it wasn’t the first gospel written. I’ll read Matthew first and then read the book of Acts to refresh my memory about the history of the early church. Then I’ll read the book of Mark, the first gospel written, and follow that up by reading the 21 epistles. Then I’ll read the gospels of Luke and John together because they are so different and they complement each other. The gospel of John doesn’t address the life of Jesus because it had already been covered in sufficient detail in the other three gospels. The gospel of John was written well after the other three gospels to point out the divinity and office of Jesus Christ.

Psalm 37:5-6 – Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass, He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday sun.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 – Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight, says the Lord.

1 Chronicles 22:19 – Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God.

Psalm 105:1 – Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples!

You might ask do we really need four gospels to share the “good news” of Jesus Christ coming from heaven to redeem man by his sacrificial death on the cross? The answer is yes we do. Each gospel writer saw the life of Jesus from slightly different perspectives and they all had different target audiences. Each gospel provided something unique not found in the other gospels so that when we view all the gospels together it gives us a more complete picture of the life and ministry of the man Jesus Christ who was both man and God. In ancient times there was no pen and paper available to the common man; no written documents of any kind to read. Only a very few wealthy people could read or write and the society in Israel at that time was generally poor, They depended on an oral tradition where everything was memorized and everything had to be proven by personal testimony. According to Jewish law, the truth of any matter required the testimony of two or three witnesses. In the gospels of Matthew, Mark and John God provided three Jewish witnesses to give their testimony that Jesus Christ was the prophesied Messiah, the Son of God, sent to save men from their sins. The truth of God was thereby established by the requirements of Jewish law. The Gentiles only needed one testimony to convince them that Jesus was God in the flesh so the gospel of Luke was sufficient for that purpose.

Psalm 119:2 – Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart!

Psalm 33:20 – Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.

Psalm 119:105 – Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Jeremiah 33:3 – Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.

God appointed the Apostle Paul to share the mysteries of God with the Gentiles so it’s no surprise Paul wrote the first 14 epistles of the New Testament (including Hebrews), which I refer to as the major epistles. Titus and Philemon are very short New Testament books written by Paul but I still consider them major epistles because Paul wrote them. The last seven letters in the New Testament I refer to as the minor epistles. It’s as though God is giving a cameo appearance to other apostles he loves. We have two epistles from two of Jesus’ brothers, James and Jude, bracketing two epistles from Peter and three from John; two Apostles from Jesus’ inner circle. Peter was the main apostle and John was the apostle whom God loved the most. The minor epistles are small books that usually stress a single theme believers should follow. The book of James encourages believers to live their faith by doing good works. The book of Jude encourages believers to fight for their faith and to study God’s word. In the book of 1st Peter believers are reminded they will be persecuted for their faith but they must continue to live in obedience to God, with humility, as they wait for heaven. Believers must continue to do good works (i.e., witness for Christ). 2nd Peter stresses believers should study God’s word so as to not be fooled by false teachers. 1st John says to love God and one another. 2nd John says to obey God’s commands and defend Jesus. 3rd John says to share the gospel with all nonbelievers.

Hebrews 4:12 – For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joint and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Titus 2:7 – In all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility.

2 Timothy 4:1-2 – I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

Revelation 1:3 – Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

I find the placement of the New Testament books perfect. Matthew was the only disciple who could read and write because he was a tax collector. Matthew was a Jew writing his gospel to a Jewish audience letting them know they had rejected the Messiah. Jesus Christ was and still is a Jewish rabbi sitting at the right hand of God the Father in heaven as our mediator. Jesus was rejected by Israel as the prophesied Messiah so it’s fitting that the New Testament start with Matthew, although it wasn’t the first gospel written. Mark’s gospel was the testimony of the Apostle Peter, who couldn’t read or write. As his disciple Mark often heard Peter preach the gospel in Rome and he wrote down Peter’s words. Mark gave his written testimony of what Peter preached as a record of what the apostle said. Likewise Luke was also was a disciple; but of the Apostle Paul. Luke was a great historian and a keen investigator. Luke was like the Sherlock Holmes of his day. Luke knew all of the apostles personally and the church fathers as well. Luke’s familiarity with the early church leaders allowed him to interview them all as part of his inquiries into the truth of God, which he used to compile his gospel.

Luke was a physician and a Gentile so his gospel was intended for a Gentile audience because Gentiles wouldn’t believe anything written by a Jew, and vice versa. As a third party observer, and a good historian to boot, it was only fitting that Luke also write the history of the early church which is the book of the Acts of the Apostles. Luke and Acts were actually one large continuous work that was broken up later to create two separate books. Luke and Acts are the two largest books of the New Testament. Since these works were written on scrolls it took up a whole scroll for Luke and also a whole scroll for Acts so their division was a natural break point in the scriptures and kept that way by the church fathers when the New Testament canon was finalized. Only Luke and Acts were written by a Gentile. All the other books of the New Testament were written by Jewish writers.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 – All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

1 Timothy 4:13 – Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

1 Thessalonians 1:5 – For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance.

Philippians 2:9-11 – Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on the earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Any believer worth their salt should be able to list the New Testament books in the order they occur and generally know why they are in that order. I know I can because I study the Bible for knowledge, understanding and wisdom. It’s my continual search for the truth of God while trying to maintain my fellowship with the Lord. Our knowledge of God isn’t just given to us. We have to make an effort to find God and know him and our search is never-ending. I find most people are just too lazy to learn about religion. They want to be spoon fed their faith and have God served up for them on a platter for easy consumption because it’s too much bother to do it themselves. It’s too much hard work. Your walk with God is personal and you must do it yourself. Nobody is going to carry you to heaven. I can point the way to God because of my study of God’s word but you must do the walking and the talking with the Lord yourself. We are in the end times so the soon return of Jesus is palpable. That’s why my favorite book in the New Testament is the book of Revelation, because it’s the only book that hasn’t been fulfilled yet but it will be very soon. Proverbs is my favorite Old Testament book because it’s God’s distilled wisdom which we all need. The book of Revelation is the culmination of God’s salvation plan for man and the end of the world as we know it. It’s the revelation of Jesus Christ at his Second Coming to the earth by settling his foot down on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. It’s where Jesus ascended to heaven and where he’ll return because he said he would and God cannot lie. Jesus is God in the flesh! Jesus will then save Israel from destruction and judge the nations for their sins against God. The whole world will be watching on cable TV as Jesus Christ descends from heaven with the shout of an archangel. Everyone will then bow before Jesus because he is the King of kings and Lord of lords. As believers we’re the adopted son and daughters of Almighty God

Galatians 3:28-29 – There is neither Jew nor Greek (Gentile), there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heir according to the promise.

Galatians 3:26 – For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

Romans 1:16 – For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also the Greek (Gentile).

2 Corinthians 13:1 – By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.

In every book of the Bible God speaks plainly and literally, with the exception of the book of Revelation where God uses symbolism, spiritualization and imagery to hide his truth from the nonbeliever while revealing himself to the believer who is spiritually aware of God and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The book of Revelation is the only book in the entire Bible where God promises a blessing for all who read it or hear it, whether it’s one verse or the entire book. Just imagine that! If you want a blessing from God every day just read from the book of Revelation every day. God does this to stress the importance of reading the book of Revelation so that believers know what’s coming and can prepare for it. You should be reading the book of Revelation more than any other book in the Bible to keep your eyes focused on the return of Jesus which will happen soon. Read the entire book of Revelation at least two to three times a year and even more often is better still. As believers we need to be able to read the signs of the end times which are upon us so we know what we must do. All believers must continue to witness for Christ while there is still time to save some for the kingdom of God because each soul that God has made is priceless in God’s eyes. We please God when we work his harvest field. We are to love what God loves and hate what God hates. If you do this you’ll be pleasing in God’s sight and your fellowship with the Lord will be strong. As believers most of us will have already been raptured to heaven because we will meet Jesus in the air seven years before his Second Coming. Believers will be with Jesus in heaven during the seven year tribulation period just before the Secon Coming. But at the Second Coming believers will accompany Jesus on his return to earth. We’ll be in our glorified bodies and from the air we’ll see the glorious Second Coming take place below us in Jerusalem. Praise God for his mercy and grace!

Colossians 1:16 – For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

Galatians 4:4-5 – But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 – But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:7 – In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.

There are approximately 2.5 billion people on earth that claim they’re Christians but in reality many of them aren’t Christians at all and they don’t even know it. Let me explain myself. Claiming you’re a Christian and being one are two different things. Just because you say you’re a Christian doesn’t make you one. Some people think that just because they’re a good person in their own eyes and they attend a Christian church once in a while it means they qualify as a Christian, that they’re saved, and therefore they’re going to heaven when they die. They are mistaken. Others think if they become a member of a Christian church then they’re automatically Christians bound for heaven. They are just fooling themselves. Quite a few people think that since they believe in both God and Jesus that automatically makes them a Christian. Wrong again!

John 11:25-26 – (Jesus speaking) – I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.

John 14:6 – (Jesus speaking) – I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

John 5:22 – (Jesus speaking) – For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son.

Let me tell you something. Satan and his fallen angels (demons) also believe in God and Jesus because they contend with the Lord for the souls of men every day. That doesn’t make them Christians and they certainly aren’t going to heaven. Just believing there is a benevolent God who controls everything gains you nothing by itself. You must believe in the right God, the only God, the true God of creation which is the Christian God Jehovah. The followers of all the fake religions and false gods in this world believe their god is the right one but they’re just deceiving themselves and they’ll go to hell for their mistake.

Exodus 20:3 – (God speaking) – You shall have no other gods before Me.

Matthew 4:10 – (Jesus speaking) – Away with you Satan! For it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.

John 14:0 – (Jesus speaking) – He who has seen Me has seen the Father.

Satan is the god of this world and this humanist world we live in will try to convince you there’s no God. Don’t be fooled by the lies. False prophets and false teachers abound, especially in these last days, and they’ll all try to convince you their path to God is the only one that is right. They’ll try to convince you that their god is the only god. Don’t believe it for a second. Nonbelievers don’t have a shred of evidence to prove what they’re saying. They are deluding themselves. The truth is we have overwhelming evidence that supports Christianity as the one true religion and that Jehovah is God.

John 15:5 – (Jesus speaking) – I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

John 8:32 – (Jesus speaking) – And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Luke 10:18 – (Jesus speaking) – I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

The problem people have seeing the truth of God is that Satan has put blinders over the eyes of nonbelievers so that they cannot see the truth of God. It is foolishness to them. They cannot see that the one true living God is Jehovah. Nonbelievers are blind to the truth of God. If you follow false prophets and false teachers it’ll be like the blind leading the blind. You will both fall into the ditch, as the Scriptures say, and you’ll wind up in hell for all eternity. So, the first step in becoming a Christian is knowing the God you worship is the real God and then by believing Jesus Christ is truly the son of God sent to die on the cross for the sins of man. The word Christian means “Christ’s men.” Those who believe the gospel message of Christ belong to Jesus because he is the author and finisher of the Christian faith and it is Jesus Christ who will judge both the living and the dead at his coming and his appearing.

Luke 6:39 – (Jesus speaking) – Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?

John 8:31 – (Jesus speaking) – If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.

Luke 10:2 – (Jesus speaking) – The harvest is truly great, but the workers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

After you first believe in God you must take a second step if you actually want to become a Christian and belong to Jesus Christ. You must accept God’s son, Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior. Those words mean something. You must believe that God stepped away from his throne in heaven and came to earth in the incarnation of the man Jesus Christ to live a human life and die on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins, before rising from the dead on the third day and returning back to heaven. This is the gospel message of Christ and by his death in our place Jesus “saves” us unto eternal life in heaven if we believe the gospel message of Jesus Christ dying so that our sins could be forgiven. That’s what being our “Savior” means to us. Jesus saves us “from” going to hell and then Jesus saves us “for” heaven. Once saved by faith in Jesus the Holy Spirit will indwell the believer; which is our proof and promise from God that we’re both saved and we’re a Christian bound for heaven. The Bible confirms everything I’m saying is true and God cannot lie.

Matthew 1:22-23 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

John 1:1, 14 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Matthew 7:11 – If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord it’s not just a bunch of meaningless words spoken just so we can get into heaven. We are giving our lives to Jesus. We are agreeing to obey his commandments for our lives and trying to live our lives to emulate the sinless life of Jesus. We belong to Jesus. It’s a master/slave relationship. Now you know what it means when you give a personal profession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. God is watching to see if you mean what you say. Without faith in their words a person is still a nonbeliever in God’s eyes. They’re not “saved” for heaven and they’re not Christians either because they don’t belong to Jesus. Christ has not claimed them as his own possession by coming to live inside them as their helper.

John 6:51 – (Jesus speaking) – I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.

John 3:36 – (Jesus speaking) – He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

Luke 24:46 – (Jesus speaking) – Thus it is written, and thus is was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise on the third day.

Part of the problem stems from the fact that most people who refer to themselves as Christians have very little spiritual understanding about the kingdom of God and how things work in heaven because they don’t read their Bible daily. They haven’t read their Bible in its entirety nor have they taken the time to study God’s word for knowledge, understanding and wisdom. They have no earthly idea what it takes to actually be saved and what qualifies someone to be called a Christian. So when someone tells you they’re saved and they’re a Christian take it with a grain of salt until you know more about their circumstances.

John 5:24 – (Jesus speaking) – Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

John 3:18 – (Jesus speaking) – He who believes in Him (the Son) is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Luke 1:47 – (Mary, the mother of Jesus speaking) – And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior (Jesus).

So what’s the big deal about being saved by faith in Jesus? The big deal is we’re all going to hell if we’re not saved. If we don’t repent of our sins before God and believe in the gospel message of Jesus Christ then our sins will not be forgiven. All men are sinners, not only in our actions and but also in our bodies we have received from Adam’s fall from grace in the Garden of Eden. Man cannot enter heaven as long as we abide in our sins because God doesn’t allow sin in heaven. Our sins stick to us like glue and only God can wash those sins away. Man also can’t enter heaven unless God calls him through the Holy Spirit. When the gospel message of Christ is preached to nonbelievers and their hearts are right to receive the message of redemption the Holy Spirit will commune with their spirit and testify that Jesus is God. Man cannot save himself. It’s only through the blood of Christ that man is saved unto eternal life in heaven.

John 6:40 – (Jesus speaking) – And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son of God and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Matthew 7:13-14 – (Jesus speaking) – Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Mark 16:15 – (Jesus speaking) – Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

When the Holy Spirit convicts someone of their sins two things will happen. That person comes to the realization they’re a sinner who cannot save themselves and they’re going straight to hell when they die. In the same instant, that person also knows in their spirit that only Jesus Christ, the son of God, can forgive them of their sins through faith in his death on the cross in their place. Jesus paid their sin debt to God by his substitutionary death. The wages of sin is death so a just God provided his son for that purpose so that our sins could be forgiven. Jesus Christ the man was the only person who could have died for us because he was without sin. At the instant we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior our sins are forgiven by God and we are saved unto eternal life in heaven in the presence of Jesus forever. The Holy Spirit writes our name in the book of life . See what love God has for us!

John14:23 – (Jesus speaking) – If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him (the Holy Spirit).

John 7:38 – (Jesus speaking) – He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

Matthew 7:22-23 – (Jesus speaking about Catholics) – Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And I will then declare to them, “I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”

Matthew 7:20 – (Jesus speaking) – Therefore by their fruits you will know them (believers).

How does someone actually go about accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? This is not a trick question. You see, there may 2.5 billion people on earth who loosely refer to themselves as Christians but when it comes right down to it the bulk of them actually don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus. For example, let’s look at Catholics. Most Catholics don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus because it’s frowned on by the church. There are 1.5 billion Catholics in the world, most of whom treat Jesus like a cookie during their eucharist and then they put Jesus back on the shelf and forget about him until needed at the next mass. Catholics are told to pray to Mary, a human being who can’t hear our prayers, instead of God as man was commanded to do in the Bible. Catholics claim their Pope and priests are also Christ who can forgive their sins when the Bible clearly says only God in heaven can forgive the sins of man. And lastly, Catholics are brainwashed into thinking the Pope can interpret Scripture better than God himself and only the Pope can save them unto eternal life in heaven. Oh yes, Catholics know a little bit about Jesus but most haven’t personally gone to God in prayer to repent of their sins, they haven’t asked for the forgiveness of their sins, and therefore they aren’t indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Instead, Catholics go into a box and ask a priest to forgive their sins and he can’t do it because he’s a sinner just like them and most likely a child molester to boot. Only God can forgive our sins.

John 4:36 – (Jesus speaking) – And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.

Matthew 9:37-38 – (Jesus speaking) – The harvest is truly plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

Matthew 15:14 – (Jesus speaking about the Pharisees) -Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.

Catholics also believe their salvation is secure because they follow church doctrines, traditions and dogma; and because the priests and the Pope of the Roman Catholic church say they’re saved. In reality most Catholics (but not all) haven’t repented of their sins before God in prayer and they haven’t acknowledged that Jesus Christ personally died for them on the cross. They haven’t asked Jesus to come into their heart as their personal Savior. They think being a member of the Catholic church and following church doctrines, traditions and dogma will save them. They haven’t dedicated their lives to emulating Jesus and obeying the commandments of God. Catholics don’t witness for Christ because the Catholic church doesn’t teach it or condone it. The Catholic church wants salvation to run exclusively through the church and not God. Anything else lessens their power and control over their flock. Most Catholics haven’t made the personal profession of faith to God in prayer we know as the “sinner’s prayer.” All Catholics think they’re saved because the church tells them they are because they’re members of the church. Catholics don’t see the need to personally go to Jesus in prayer if they’re already saved by the Pope, church membership, following the rules, etc. Many Catholics will be shocked on the last day to find out they aren’t saved because they were led away from the truth of God by the Roman Catholic clergy; evil men who were pawns of Satan.

Matthew 15:9 – (Jesus speaking) – And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

Mark 6:7 – (Jesus speaking) – This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

John 6:47 – (Jesus speaking) – Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.

Unfortunately, Christian terms are used very loosely by most of us and they mean different things to different people. Remember that when interacting with people. If someone tells you they’re a Christian that may or may not be true. If someone tells you they’re a believer or they’re saved that also may or may not be true. It’s not that they’re lying to you; they just don’t know themselves in many cases. What you believe and what is the truth doesn’t always match. Always dig a little deeper to see if their beliefs match yours. The problem is on the last day many people who think they’re Christians will find themselves at the Great White Throne judgement of God because they didn’t have the knowledge, understanding and wisdom of God’s word to guide them because they didn’t take the time to read it and study it. Through ignorance they failed to accept God’s free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus.

John 6:44 – (Jesus speaking) – No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Matthew 22:14 – (Jesus speaking) – For many are called, but few are chosen.

John 6:37 – (Jesus speaking) – All that My Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.

The professing Christians who don’t make any effort to stop sinning or try to obey God’s commandments have a faith that is lukewarm and God will spew them out of his mouth according to Scripture. They have no excuse on the last day. They are just fooling themselves into believing they’re saved. God knows his own. God cannot lie so read your Bible every day if you want the proof of what I’m telling you. Learn what God expects from you and then go do it. It’s just that simple. God doesn’t hide anything from us. God wants us to know exactly what he expects from us. It’s all there in the Bible in black and white so we have no excuse on the last day when we stand before Jesus for our judgment; some knowing they haven’t obeyed God. There are millions of people dying every day on the road to hell who think they’re Christians but they really aren’t. There are also millions of people who are going to hell every day because they believe in a false god. It’s so sad! It doesn’t have to be this way! I pray every day that the eyes of the nonbeliever will be opened to the truth of God before it’s too late. I do the work of God to the best of my ability. I provide the gospel message of Christ in written form (passive witnessing) through my Christian blog site and my Christian tract ministry. I also distribute to nonbelievers Bibles, Christian books and gospel comics. Come help me spread the gospel seed!

Matthew 7:7 – (Jesus speaking) – Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Luke 13:3,5 – (Jesus speaking) – Unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

Matthew 16:27 – (Jesus speaking) – For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

I have a ministry of reconciliation given to me by the Holy Spirit. I pledge to work God’s harvest field witnessing for Christ in the hope of saving one more soul for the kingdom of God. My daily mantra is, “one more for Jesus.” My heart bleeds for those individuals on the last day who think they’re saved but find out God has condemned them instead. They’ll still be in a state of shock when an angel of the Lord picks them up bodily and hurls them into the lake of fire where they’ll be in pain and anguish for all eternity. Please take stock of your personal situation and don’t let that happen to you! You’re either sure of your salvation or you’re not. I’m sure of my salvation. Are you sure you’re saved? If you’re not totally sure you’re saved then get on your knees right now and recite the sinner’s prayer before God, with faith. You won’t regret it. God will save you because he has promised to do it. God will forgive your sins, whatever they are, because God is good, kind, and merciful. God cannot lie! As a believer you’re saved unto eternal life in heaven through faith in Jesus Christ but you’re not truly a disciple of Christ until you do the work of God. In John 8:31 God is telling us we must obey his commandment to witness for Christ, and save at least one lost soul for the kingdom of God in order to be worthy of the name “disciple.” The question is, are you going to please God by being obedient or are you going to grieve the God who made you by your disobedience? Your answer will determine your rewards in heaven. There’s no such thing as being unworthy of salvation. God created each of us with the same small amount of faith on the inside of us so that any man can choose to serve God.

Isaiah 42:8 – I am the Lord, that is my name; and My glory I will not give to another.

Isaiah 43:25 – I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.

Isaiah 43:11 – I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no Savior.

It may not be politically correct to slag down the Catholic church like I have but I must be true to my God and speak truth to power. The truth is, the early church was corrupted by Satan so that by the time of the papacy of Gregory the Great in 595 AD Satan owned the Catholic church, and probably well before then. That’s why every single church doctrine and tradition is 180 degrees away from what Gods says believers must do. However, there are many members of the Catholic church who are saved but they weren’t saved by the Catholic church, but in spite of it, because many Catholics choose to personally go to God in prayer for their salvation against the teachings of the church. The Catholic church is really just another Christian cult and well over half of all Catholics will not see heaven because they don’t know Jesus personally. Jesus is the only path to heaven so where does that leave most Catholics? The answer is “lost.” It’s insane! We’re talking about possibly a billion Catholics who think they’re saved who will find out on the last day that they’re not. Other Christian cults are in the same boat. The Mormon church is another Christian cult that may look good to the casual observer but their seventeen million followers are going straight to hell. Same thing for the nine million followers of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Hebrews 10:31 – It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

2 Corinthians 5:11 – Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.

Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Scripture says the path to heaven is through the narrow gate and there are few who find it. Make sure you’re one of the ones who are “sure” of your salvation by going in through the narrow gate. The Bible will show you how. If you’re one of the two billion Muslims in the world who worship the false god Allah get ready to take a swim with Satan in the lake of fire forever when you die. If I don’t speak the truth who will? If you’re one of the millions of Hindu followers who worships many gods (or no god) get ready for the smoking furnace for all eternity. Same thing for all you practicing Buddhists who say there is no God. Into the frying pan you go for a billion trillion years. That’s one day in eternity. If you’re one of the nonbelievers I’ve just mentioned you must read and understand Hebrews 10:31, or face the terror of the Lord. Even though God is loving he is also just. If a nonbeliever fails to accept God’s saving grace before they die the Lord will have no choice but to sentence that person to the lake of fire (eternal death). Look, all men are sinners and one of the spiritual truths of heaven is, “the wages of sin is death.” If you cannot, by faith, accept that Jesus Christ has paid your sin debt to God then you must pay for your sins yourself. That’s as clear as I can make it. As a disciple of Christ I know this to be true. You have my testimony. God’s word will confirm what I’m saying. True wisdom is found only in the Holy Bible so go read it. It’s imperative you know what’s coming so you can prepare for it. Take action now before it’s too late! I challenge anyone to prove me wrong about anything I’ve said in this blog.

Isaiah 45:22 – Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

Ephesians 2:8,9 – For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Ephesians 1:13 – In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.