God's Purpose

God's Wonderful Purpose for You

God loves us and has a purpose for our lives. The Bible states it this way, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16) God's purpose is that we have eternal life.

We receive eternal life as a free gift (Romans 6:23)

We can live a full and meaningful life right now (John 10:10)

We will spend eternity with Jesus in heaven (John 14:3)

Our Need

As we search for meaning in life, we discover our sinful nature keeps us from fulfilling God's purpose for our lives.

We are all sinners by nature and by choice (Romans 3:23)

We cannot save ourselves (Ephesians 2:9)

We deserve death and hell (Romans 6:23)

God's Provision

God is holy and just and must punish sin. Yet He loves us and provides forgiveness for our sin (John 14:6)

Jesus is God and became man (John 1:1,14)

Jesus died for us on the cross (1 Peter 3:18)

Jesus was resurrected from the dead (Romans 4:25)

Our Response

The only way Jesus can affect our lives is for us to receive Him. The Bible says "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12)

We must repent of our sin (Acts 3:19).

Repentance is not just feeling sorry for our sins (Acts 26:20), It is turning away from our sin and turning to God through Jesus.

We must place our faith in Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9-10). Surrendering to Jesus as Lord is not just saying we give our lives to Jesus. (Matthew 7:21) Surrendering to Jesus as Lord is giving Jesus control of our lives.

Commitment

As evidence of giving Jesus control we will want to identify with Him. The New Testament way to identify with Jesus is to confess Jesus publicly and follow Him in baptism and church membership. (Romans 10:13)

Prayer of Commitment

"Dear Lord Jesus.... I believe You are the Son of God... and died to forgive me of my sins... I know I have sinned. I ask You to forgive me. I turn from my sins and receive You as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me."