Greetings Everyone,

The purpose of the following article is to explain to our
echo visitors in a clear, precise way, the central tenet of
the Christian faith; that is, Salvation by Grace, through
Faith, in the atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who is the
only-begotten Son of God, who gave His life on the Cross for
the sins of the world.

While many different Christian-related topics are sure to be
discussed in this echo, the following article represents the
central message of this echo, of the Endtime Prophecy Net
online ministry, and of the Christian faith in general. If
you have any sincere questions after reading it, please feel
free to ask.

Jeff Snyder
EDGE_ONLINE Echo Moderator


MESSAGE TO THE WORLD : GOD'S PLAN REVEALED!

Published On : October 13, 1997

Last Updated : January 3, 2009

Message To The World explains God's wonderful plan of
Eternal Salvation for all humanity. This article is easily
understood by people of all ages; even by young children.



In the world today, there are so many different religions;
each one of which has their own churches, temples, mosques
or other places of worship. Because of this religious
diversity, many people often find themselves wondering which
one is the correct one to believe in and follow. They feel
overwhelmed, and completely lost amidst the multitude of
choices available to them. Perhaps you are one of such
people. What creates this confusion in the first place, is
the fact that each of these religions has a set of beliefs
which may differ with, and contradict what is being taught
by some of the others. The reasons why this is so are many,
but the end result is that many people don't know in which
direction to turn in order to find the truth.

One idea which is shared by Christianity, Judaism and Islam,
is the belief in one God, Who created the Earth and all life
on it; in fact, the entire universe; a Supreme Being. This
is why they are referred to as monotheistic religions. This
belief in one supreme God sets these three religions apart
from other belief systems, as some of the others do not
teach that there is one Supreme Being. Instead, they worship
many different gods, each with its own power and authority.
For example, such is the case with Hinduism, from which
different popular forms of meditation are derived. Other
religions worship the forces of nature, such as Wicca, or
dead relatives, such as Shintoism.

In the case of certain religions, an ordinary human being is
elevated to the status of a god, through the erection of
temples and statues in that person's honor, and through the
widespread teaching of his belief system. Such is the case
with Buddhism. Some belief systems go as far as to say that
we are gods. They rely upon the self-help technique, and
claim that all answers are to be found within oneself. They
teach that we have the power to control our own destinies
without any intervention from a Higher Power. And yet other
religions, such as the African-derived Santeria, bow down to
Satan and the wicked forces of darkness. In some developed
countries, people also worship power, money and materialism.
Of course, there are also those who claim that they do not
worship any god or spirit. In fact, they deny the existence
of the spiritual world altogether. This current life is all
there is, they claim. There is nothing else to follow they
insist.

Even between Christianity, Judaism and Islam, there are some
differences of which you should be aware. Just because a
religion promotes the belief in one Supreme Being does not
necessarily mean that it is safe to follow. What makes the
Christian faith different from all other religions, is the
fact that it is the only one which is honest enough to speak
of our need for a Saviour, Who offers us the free gift of
Eternal Life, in a new and better world where all suffering,
pain and sorrow will be removed. Other belief systems, such
as Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism, erroneously teach that we
can gain Eternal Life, and be a part of this wonderful new
world, even if we don't believe in the Saviour. According to
their doctrines, Salvation is based upon doing good things,
or perfecting ourselves by living many times, or keeping
many rules. In other words, they would have us to believe
that we can gain Eternal Life through our own good merits.
Even though it shares some common history with the Christian
faith, Judaism likewise rejects basic Christian beliefs.

Exactly what are these beliefs?

As I noted a moment ago, Christianity teaches that we cannot
save ourselves. We need some outside help. We need a Savior.
Why is this so? According to the Bible, we are all sinners;
we aren't perfect; we have all made mistakes; regardless of
how young or how old we may be. Our greatest mistake, or
sin, is that we don't love God or each other as much as we
should. That is why there are so many problems in the world
today. Many people simply do not act out of love for God, or
out of love for others, but only out of love for themselves.
They live self-centered lives, instead of God-centered
lives. "Me" must come first, and whatever is good for "Me",
is good for everyone else. It is this kind of sick attitude
which results in war, murder, rape, abortion, theft, the
oppression of the poor, and many other crimes.

This attitude also results in our being dishonest with
others, as well as with ourselves, because we are not
willing to face up to the truth regarding ourselves. Such
things are all motivated by pride, selfishness, and the evil
which lurks in our heart. Not only do such acts hurt others,
but they hurt God as well, and they keep us separated from
Him, just as parents are sometimes not too happy to see
their children when they have been disobedient. In fact,
because we do not obey God's Laws of Love as we should, and
because we rebel against His Will for our lives, it forces
Him to punish us; just as responsible parents will punish
their children when they too do something wrong. In this
case, the Biblical law is very clear regarding the penalty
for the sins of rebellion and unbelief. It states such
things as the following:

"For the wages of sin is death . . ."
Romans 6:23a, KJV

". . . he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but
the wrath of God abideth on him."
John 3:36b, KJV

"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to
kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy
both soul and body in hell."
Matthew 10:28, KJV

"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living
God . . . For our God is a consuming fire."
Hebrews 10:31, 12:29, KJV

"And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was
cast into the lake of fire."
Revelation 20:15, KJV

"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and
murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters,
and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which
burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
Revelation 21:8, KJV

That is a heavy price to pay, but we choose it through our
own continual stubbornness and unbelief. God does not choose
it for us, as some false accusers would have you to believe.
Moreover, we can have peace in our hearts, knowing that no
matter how bad we have been, or how rebellious we have been,
all is not lost. Just as most parents eventually embrace
their children in love once again, God too does not remain
mad at us forever; He does not cast us away forever; unless
that is what we truly want. He is mindful of the fact that
we are weak, human flesh; and so as King David wrote, He has
pity upon us:

"Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth
them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth
that we are dust."
Psalms 103:13-14, KJV

In His mercy, God, is willing to give us time to acknowledge
our errors, to ask for forgiveness, and to repent. That is
why in the midst of affliction, the Prophet Jeremiah wrote:

"It is of the LORDŐS mercies that we are not consumed,
because his compassions fail not. They are new every
morning: great is thy faithfulness."
Lamentations 3:22-23, KJV

So you see, God's love and mercy are renewed every single
morning; and because they are, He has purposely made a way
for our sins to be forgiven, so that our relationship with
Him can be restored.

The way that He did this, is by allowing His own Son, Jesus
Christ, to take our punishment for us. It is as if one of
our brothers or sisters or friends decided to take the blame
for something that we did, and be punished for it; even
though we really did it. This is true love; this is putting
others before self; and this is exactly what Jesus did for
us. The Bible tells us that He took upon Himself our sins:

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin;
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
2 Corinthians 5:21, KJV


Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23
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