I believe that God exists.  You cannot "sort-of" believe God exists.  You have to believe one way or the other.  I believe He is active in our world today, and I believe He created the Universe and the world.  I also believe that God is perfect.  He exists outside of what we call time (the sun goes up, the sun goes down), and in fact, He exists at all points in time and in all locations (omnipresent).  I believe that He is a loving and merciful God, but also He is a just God.  If He sees wrong, then He will punish it.

    Now, because you believe God exists does not make you a "believer".  You are not an atheist if you believe God exists.  But, there are a large number of people who believe God exists.  Here is where my beliefs start to come in.

    Since God is perfect, he cannot exist with or be around imperfect things.  Have you ever lied?  Stolen?  Disobeyed your parents?  Exceeded the speed limit (ouch)?  You get the idea.  Ever since the creation of things, ever since the forbidden fruit incident, we ALL have been sinners (we have disobeyed God and his laws).  Ever heard the saying "Nobody is perfect?"  That applies to all human beings.  Since we are sinners, we (imperfect beings) cannot exist with or be near God (a perfect being).

    One particular religion (Mormonism) believes we can BECOME gods ourselves if we live a good moral life in the "example" that Jesus set.  Wrong.  We can't "become" gods.  We are far, FAR below God, the creator of the Universe.  Some other religions (Jehovah's Witnesses for instance) believe if we are "good" people and try to do many good works, then we can go to heaven when we die.  I ask you:  if you do a good deed now, does that change the fact that you have done bad/sinful things in the past?  No, it does not.  So, we have the same problem as before: imperfect things cannot exist with or be with a perfect God.  So what has happened to change that?

    God decided to reveal His laws and Himself to the Jewish People (ever seen the Ten Commandments?).  I will not go into a lot of detail (see the first five books of the Bible for that), but he set out his laws and also He commanded that blood sacrifices were necessary to cover sins, or infractions against His law.  For instance, if you did something against the law, you would go to the Temple and present a sacrifice to God to cover up that sin.  Notice, the sin is still there, but it is covered over by that sacrificed blood.  During this time, if the Jewish people had faith in God (believed in Him, believed He would take care of them, etc.), presented sacrifices as prescribed by the law, and followed all of the law, then they could be made "right" with God.

    A few issues.  Notice, it was for the Jewish people, not for others (called Gentiles; more than likely, you are a Gentile.  I am also a Gentile).  You had to become a Jew, one of God's chosen people.  Secondly, this law was very long and practically impossible to follow all of the time.  You would have to be perfect to do so.  We're imperfect.  Aye, there's the rub . . .

    But, there is hope.  Throughout the Bible, prophets spoke about a Redeemer, one who would come to lead Israel.  He would be from King David's line (a very God fearing King in Israel's history).  This person would be a "Savior" to the Jewish people.

    I believe that "Savior" came to Earth around the year 1 B.C.  His name is Jesus.

    If you believe Jesus existed, you are not a "believer."  There are plenty of historical documents (beyond the Bible; Roman historical things, etc.) that show that Jesus was an actual living person.  Most people believe Jesus existed.  What happens next is where people are divided into two groups: believers and non-believers.

    The Bible, God's way of revealing Himself to us, teaches that Jesus is that Savior.  He is the Son of God, God incarnate (God in the flesh).  He came to Earth being born of a virgin (that means God is his Father, not an earthly father).  He lived a life similar to how anyone of that time would live, except for one important thing: since He was God "clothed" in human skin, He lived a perfect life.  He did nothing wrong, ever.  Since he was God, he taught us about how to treat other people and how to know God's will more.  He healed the sick, turned water into wine, walked on water, and other miracles that only God (or someone working with God's authority) could do.  But, even that is not the most important part.  Many religions believe Jesus existed and was a prophet from God (Islamic people, Jewish people).  Finally, here is what separates believers from non-believers.

    Jesus was put to death.  Jesus taught (as did his disciples afterwards) that when He died on that cross (was crucified), he offered the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world.  Remember from before, perfect and imperfect things cannot co-exist?  Well, when Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice on that cross, He offered a PERFECT, once-and-for-all blood sacrifice for the sins of the world.  No one else could ever do something like that because no other human has been perfect and would be unworthy to be such a sacrifice.  Obviously no one animal could ever do such a thing or God would have written about it in his law.  Jesus was the only one who could do it.  It took God Himself, God in the flesh, to offer such a sacrifice.  And, to show to everyone that this was not some guy, some regular Joe trying to look really noble when he died, Jesus did something else: He arose from the dead after being in His tomb for three days.  Why does that matter?  Who else has ever risen from the dead?  That act shows His power over life and death.  God cannot die.  He is perfect, remember?  It also symbolized the future we could have: everlasting life:  being able to live with God after physical death.

    That last paragraph is where people are divided into believers and non-believers.  And here is the major question that does the dividing:  do you believe this?  Do you believe that Jesus came and died for your sins?  Do you believe He rose again?  Do you believe that you NEED saving?

    I believe all of these things.  I believe that I am a Sinner and was destined to always be separated from God (that is what Hell is: a real place where you are always separated from God).  I do believe (very important) that Jesus, God in the flesh, came and died for my sins  and rose again from the grave and is now waiting in Heaven as my intercessor, my link to the perfect and wonderful God, the creator who is, was, and always will be.  And, I prayed to God and told Him that I believed all of these things and wanted to be forgiven of my sins and wanted to let God control my life.  These BELIEFS are what make me a "believer".  I believe that Jesus died for my sins, and because I believe in Him and what He did for me, my sins are removed from me (not coverd over as before, but totally taken away and forgotten!!), allowing me to be in Heaven with God after I physically die.

    Now, after all of this, what did God command us to do if we want to be allowed to have eternal life with Him?  Do we have to go on a pilgrimage somewhere?  No.  Do we have to do a certain number of good acts or deeds for other people?  No.  Do we have to go to church every single time they meet?  No.  Probably the most famous verse in the Bible tells us what to do, as do many other verses throughout the New Testament.  In the book of John, in the 3rd chapter, down at the 16th verse, Jesus told a man named Nicodemus exactly what happened and what to do:  "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  Jesus is the only begotten Son, the only Son that God has.  Notice, whoever BELIEVETH (Believes) in him will have everlasting life.

    For you to become a "believer" you must believe, truly and deep down in your heart and soul, what Jesus did for you.  That is it.  You cannot do anything by yourself and get to God.  No matter what, you are still a sinner.  But, if you believe in what Jesus did, His blood from His sacrifice erases your sins in God's eyes, and you can have eternal life.

    If you do believe these things, then before I say anything else, you need to tell God about it.  Take a minute to humble yourself and recognize the Almighty God and to talk to Him (pray to Him).  Tell Him what you believe.  Remember: God knows all things and knows what you intend.  If you really believe, then you will be saved.  Just talk to God from your heart.  If you need some help, here is a prayer that you might say:

    If you did this, congratulations, you are a "believer" now.  Go and tell someone what you did.  Go tell some other believers what you did (I bet you know at least some people or some church you could go to).  Let everyone know (especially God) that you are not ashamed of what you believe and that you are a new person, because in essence, you are!!  If you don't mind, let me know.  I would love to be one of the first people you told.

    If you did not do this, then I will point out a couple of things.  First, you have now read and seen what we call the Gospel, or "Good News" about Jesus.  Every single person has to decide whether they believe in what Jesus did or not.  Currently, you are in the "not" category.  The Bible teaches that anyone who dies without believing this will die as an imperfect sinner and be separated from God in a place called Hell for eternity.  Remember, God is just.  He will punish sin, and if your sins are not removed by Jesus' sacrifice, then your only sentence can be separation from God, no probation.  God does not want to do this to you.  Remember, you don't have to pay money or travel far away or torture yourself to be near to God, you simply have to BELIEVE in Jesus.  God has made it easy.  I encourage you to reconsider your decision.

    If you have questions that I did not answer, then you can e-mail me.  Probably even better would be to visit a local church and talk to the pastor or one of the members face to face.  If you have a Bible and want to do some research on your own, here are a few passages to get you started:

    If you are skeptical because some of the passages I have chosen seem out of context, then I invite you to read through each of those books.  Most Christians will first learn passages from the New Testament because they give more direct instructions for salvation for all people (not only the Jewish people); however, the Old Testament gives a lot of instruction and insight that can be helpful as well.
    Remember, you cannot be in the middle.  You either believe or do not believe.  God knows which way you are.  And, in the end, when you physically die or when Jesus comes again to establish his kingdom (see Revelation), you have to give an account.  If you believe, then Jesus will intercede for you before God.  If not, then you have no protection and will be sentenced harshly.  I encourage you to do some research and make a decision.  No one is guaranteed another day on this Earth.  Make sure you face death with assurances from the one who is over life and death:  Jesus!!

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