“YOU TELL ME TO ‘BELIEVE’ IN ORDER TO BE BORN AGAIN, BUT WHAT MUST I BELIEVE?t

Act 16:30 -31 Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ……“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved..”

To begin with It’s not just believing and trembling like satan, James 2:19 “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” Nor is it just believing that Jesus was a teacher come from God. That’s not enough to save you! John3:2. Nicodemus came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”

So how are you born again, saved and how do you escape hell and enter heaven.

Believe!! Believe what?

*Believe that you’re a sinner, believe you’re in a desperate situation, you’re desperately alienated from God and must truly repent and turn from your sin.

*Believe that you have no hope of reconciliation and you will in this life live godlessly and in the next life you will suffer eternal torment.

*Believe that you are “condemned already” and need a pardon.

* Believe  that God sent His Son into the world in the form of a man to die as your substitute.

* Believe that Jesus took your place and that He took the full fury of the wrath of God upon Himself and He is waiting to pardon you.

*Believe that the affirmation that God’s justice was satisfied by the fact that God raised Jesus…from the dead. And when God raised Him from the dead He was saying, “I am satisfied.” And then God exalted Jesus to His right hand where He sits at the right hand of God on the throne and God says when that was done, when He offered Himself and satisfied My justice, I gave Him…Philippians 2…a name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee in the universe must bow and every tongue must confess that Jesus is Lord. Romans 10:9 That’s what you believe. That’s the gospel.

And when you believe that by faith, simply believing that, God in His mercy takes the righteousness of Jesus Christ and credits it to you because your sins were credited to Christ when He died on the cross. The Father knew you were there when the Son died. Your name was written in the Lamb’s Book of Life before the foundation of the world and the atonement that Christ made was for you. And you come to believe and you receive the credited righteousness. And then you live in this life with God in your life and in eternity in the presence of God in absolute perfection.

That’s the gospel. That’s Christianity. That’s it. 2 Cor 5:21 For he (GOD) hath made him (JESUS) to be sin for (US) who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

The BENEFACTOR – is GOD – it’s all His plan, it comes out of His love.

The SUBSTITUTE – is JESUS CHRIST, who took your place, the perfect God/Man. He knew no sin, but was declared sinful with your sin.

The BENEFICIARIES – all of us for whom Christ died, those who will believe.

AND THE BENEFIT – you receive the righteousness of God credited to you as if you were equal to Jesus Christ in holiness. You are declared holy, and some day you when you receive a glorified body, will be made holy. But until then you’re covered with the righteousness of God in Christ. And it becomes yours through faith.  Believe, repent, put your faith in Jesus Christ.