All of us are sinners (Rom. 3:23). The penalty for our sin is death, which will be followed by God's judgment (Rom. 6:23a; Heb. 9:27). Of course, even born again believers die, but the Scripture is not speaking about physical death. The penalty for sin is a spiritual death, which is also known as the "second death" (Rev. 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8).
The good news is, God has offered us a means to escape, to be saved from the sentence of spiritual death (Rom. 5:8; 6:23b). Jesus offered us salvation by allowing Himself to be crucified and to be buried, knowing that His Father would raise Him from the dead (Ps. 16:10; Acts 2:27; 13:35; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; etc.)! One need only to pray for God to save him by simply calling upon the Lord Jesus, and believing that God, as evidenced in His raising Jesus from the dead, is willing to accept His sacrifice on our behalf (Rom. 10:9-13).
Salvation is a gift from God, period! The Apostle Paul wrote: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Eph. 2:8). When we believe the message that God loved us and sent His Son to die in our place; when we trust Him; when we take Him at His Word, we are saved (Jn. 3:14-18)!
Religionists cannot fathom this simple truth. They believe it is possible to earn God's good favor. The problem is, the Bible does not call us to be religious. It calls us to believe and trust in God! We are called to trust God 134 times in the Bible! God calls us to believe in Him 131 times in the Scriptures! Religion is mentioned in three places in the Word of God, and all three reveal its inability to save one's soul (Acts 26:5; Gal. 1:13-14; Jam. 1:26-27).
Faith that saves, is the result of believing and trusting in God!
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