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Topics, Testimonies, and Live
Conference Calls Over the
Phone. See Schedules on
pages 12 and 13!
Suppose you saw Jesus sitting down and
talking with someone. Curious, you sneak
up and eavesdrop, and you are surprised
to hear them talking about you!
If this would happen, what do you think
Jesus would be saying about you? Would
He be praising you for your good works
and faithfulness? Would He be speaking
of your need to repent and turn from sin
or from dead works?
Many people think that getting right with
God is something you do over the span of
your lifetime. You go to church, get
baptized, say your prayers, confess your
sins, obey the commandments, live better
than the rest of the world, and hopefully
by the time you die you will be good
enough for God to accept you. If you are
spending your life like that, you cannot
and will not know until you die whether
or not you will make it into heaven.
However, some people want to know
before they die whether or not they are
forgiven. Is their desire unfounded? Is it
possible to know before death that we
have been forgiven?
Many young people hope when they get
baptized, they will experience a washing
away of their old life and a new
beginning with a new heart and a new
nature. They are usually disappointed. I
heard that one man fasted and prayed for
days seeking assurance of salvation.
Nothing happened. He, like most people,
has given up on finding something so
wonderful as the peace and joy that
comes through forgiveness and eternal
life. They have settled down to a life of
doing the best they can, hoping they will
make it in the end. But under such a
belief, there is as much a chance that they
will end up in hell as in heaven. How can
they have peace with God when they live
in fear and confusion every day,
wondering if they are being good enough
to please Him?
Years ago, I, too, went on a mission to
get God to save me. I had found a verse
that says we can know we have eternal
life:
“These things have I written unto
you that believe on the name of the
Son of God;
that ye may know that ye
have eternal life…”
(1 John 5:13).
I begged and prayed and confessed my
sins to get God’s attention, but as hard as
I tried, I could not get Him to give me the
assurance that He promised in in that
verse of scripture.
What about you? What do you think it
takes to get God to forgive you?
Did you know there is a conversation
recorded in the Bible in which Jesus talks
about us? He didn’t mention any names,
but He used the word Gentiles. That
would include us. In that conversation,
Jesus mentioned forgiveness of sins.
Before we see what He said it takes to get
Him to forgive us (if anything), let us put
everything on the table that we have been
taught: faith, repentance, prayers,
confessions, baptism, our works–
everything—and see if it lines up with the
conversation.
The conversation is recorded in Acts 26.
Go ahead and read it for yourself.
The man who spoke with
Jesus was Paul. They
Forgiveness: What Does it Take for God to Forgive You?
—By Moses Schrock
Continued
page 14