Yes

Ok, first lets use this sentence from the Bible. It’s found in a letter written to a group of people, living in Rome Italy. You can find it in Romans 6:23, (the letter called Romans, chapter 6 and verse 23).

“For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in

Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

One way to illustrate what this sentence means is by drawing out a sketch of a deep canyon with two high cliffs. Let's write that sentence over the top of our canyon.

On the left side of this canyon

we'll write the word, "Wages...

and the word, "sin..."

and finally the word, "death...."

This all is beginning to look a little grim on this side. Wages are what we earn for something we've done. Sin is...well you know what sin is, and death is not the physical death we'll all face but it's a spiritual death, a separation. More specific, it's separation from God. The implication is that we're all going to die physically. We know that, but there's also going to be spiritual death. That's the bad news. Let's call this the Man-kind side of the canyon.

Next check out the word in the sentence.."but..."meaning that something has the possibility to change or be different. Let's write that word in the bottom of the canyon.

...that "but," word in the sentence is

talking about a "gift..." We'll write this on the

right side.

As we read on we find out who

this gift is from ..."of God..."

...and then finally, what the gift is...

"eternal life."

We'll call this right side the GOD side of the canyon. Things are sounding better on this side

of the canyon especially that eternal life part!

--- Stay with me here we're almost finished.---

We have a couple more words to add to our illustration. We can do this by drawing a symbol that's historically associated with an event during Roman times.

In fact right now, you may have this symbol on a chain around your neck or hanging from the mirror of your car.

Let's write the name "Jesus..." on the cross we drew to show that He is the bridge that we can cross over to get to God and to eternal life.

So how do we do this? We put our trust in Jesus that he is the bridge over the canyon to God. We put our faith in Jesus which means that even though you can't see or touch Jesus we have faith He is our only way to God.

One more box to go... Remember that sentence?

“For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is

eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

This is the meaning of Christmas...that a baby was born to die for you and me so that we would have eternal life.

This is the meaning of Easter...that Jesus died a physical death but He lives again to prove that He was the bridge to eternal life and that he is alive today.

This is the story behind the movie "The Passion." He endured the extreme pain for us to provide payment for our sins so we would be able to live forever if we trust Him.

So...in our last illustration to the right, there are two stick people. One is on the Man-kind side and one is on the God side. If you had to make a choice on which location you are at in your life right now, which one would it be?

LEFT SIDE

If you feel that after seeing this illustration you are on the Man-kind side or not sure, then there is Good News for you! You don't have to be stuck in the sin and death side of the canyon. You can ask Jesus into your heart right now and he will provide the way to God and eternal life.

The truth is that Jesus Loves You.

RIGHT SIDE

If you believe you are on the right side, the God side, and you have at one time in your life trusted Jesus to come into your heart and forgive you, then according to our sentence in Romans 6:23, you will live for eternity. You have a purpose in your life. Where-ever you are right now reading this on a computer screen or on a print out, there is a Christian church possibly close by with people who care. Get involved with them and read your Bible. Start with the letter titled JOHN.

How do I ask Jesus into my heart?

You start by praying a simple prayer from your heart, something like this,

"Dear God this is _____ . I understand that I'm a sinful person and that I want to change my life. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me. Please forgive my sins. I now ask Jesus into my heart to cleanse me and assure me that I will live forever. I don't understand how this happens but I trust right now in faith, that you will do this according to that sentence in the bible. Thank you for your promise. In Jesus. Amen"

If you prayed that prayer while at your computer or anywhere else, please call or email us. We're not interested in getting you to join Eastminster, but we do want to welcome you as a brother or sister in Jesus Christ and possibly send you some literature. If you live in our area of Indialantic, Florida USA, we would love to meet you and help you grow as a believer.