HOW TO BECOME A BELIEVER? It was late one night when a prominent Jewish leader named Nicodemus approached Jesus asking questions about this subject. Jesus answered that no one would see the Kingdom of God unless they were "born again." So to be a believer, a person must be born again? We know about our first birth. It's how we got here as a member of Adam's family. But we have already learned that sin has separated all his relatives from God and heaven. But as Nicodemus discovered there is a second birth. It is only through this second birth that we can escape Adam's doomed lineage and become members of Jesus Christ's own family. In the birthing process, God passes His own life to us. The way to God then, is not through good deeds or religious activities. "You must be born again," the Bible says. Anything less fails to deal with the real problem -- the sin nature in the family tree. How can you be born again? The Bible says, "whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved." (born again) Acts 2:21. "....believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,and thou shalt be saved...." advises Acts 16:31. Here's the deal. You take your freedom of choice and you choose Jesus Christ as your Savior. He is the Way back to God and we must follow Him home. The very moment you make that choice, you will be born again! John 6:37 proclaims, "...him that comes to me I will in no way cast out!" As you choose Jesus, He responds by choosing you. |
TWO VIEWS OF LIFE: There are two basic views about life and the Universe. The words, chance and design best represent these opposing camps. The Universe being here entirely by chance is like expecting a car, a watch and a washing machine to result from an explosion in a steel mill. This takes more faith than most of us have. The other view is that a higher intelligence designed and made everything for a reason. The greatest scientist and intellect of our century, Albert Einstein, believed this. He once said, "God does not play dice." -- meaning that nothing is here by chance. THE ORIGINS OF MANKIND: Modern scientists through DNA research now know that all human beings originated from a common ancestor. This information left those holding to the Evolution Theory reeling. In July of 1997 the knockout blow was struck when a DNA analysis of Neanderthal Man (considered our evolutionary ancestor) showed no link to humankind. THE BEST WRITTEN AUTHORITY: The one written authority on the great questions of life, The Bible, has been clear about this all along. This ancient resource states that God created all we see and placed our common ancestors, Adam and Eve, here to manage it. Like any good parent, God wanted His children to return His love, obey His rules and accept His guidance. Sure, He could have forced them to comply by designing them as robots. But as you know, love must be freely given or it's not love at all, right? So God gave our common ancestors freedom of choice. If they loved Him and followed His plan for them, it would be strictly voluntary. It is also clear that God wanted them around for a long, long time -- like forever! So He gave them an eternal spirit and an immortal body. They were not made to die! So why did they die? And, as their descendants, why do we have to die? Keep reading. AN EVIL BEING: The Bible talks about another type of being, created by God who used his freedom of choice to rebel and war against Him. This person, called Satan, sought to defeat God, conquer humankind and take the Earth over which God had given us dominion. To do this, Satan approached our ancestors sowing doubt about God's instructions. His clever spin on God's words induced them to rebel against God's authority, to break His rules and to seek independence from Him. They became the first sinners. In fact, what they did amounts to a classic definition of sin. THE DEATH PENALTY: God told Adam and Eve up front what the penalty would be if they broke His law. He said, "The day you sin, you will surely die," and that's exactly what happened. There is nothing unusual about the death penalty being imposed for law breaking and rebellion. Most governments, in fact, require it. The gravity of rebellion against the Ultimate Authority, a Holy God, logically requires nothing less. One Bible writer, Paul, puts it this way, "For the wages (penalty) of sin is death...." (Romans 6:23) DID THEY REALLY DIE? But wait a minute. Did Adam and Eve really die? What the Bible says is that God drove them from His presence. This one statement is a clue to the meaning of death and what it involves. They certainly did die if you understand that the term "death" means separation. Again, when death occurs, a separation occurs. When God drove our ancestors from His presence, He separated them from Himself. Oh they still existed in their physical bodies, but they were cut off from (or dead to) God -- the Source of their life. This caused their bodies to lose their immortal characteristics. They began to grow old. Finally they were separated from their bodies which went back to dust. FREEDOM OF CHOICE: Their choice to live independent of God has been a catastrophe for you and me. That's because the sin nature became part of their genetic makeup and has been passed down to their descendants ever since -- even to you and me! In the Psalms, David sorrowfully acknowledges that he inherited the sin nature at conception. Paul writes that when Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race! (Romans 5:12) WHAT ABOUT US? So how are we affected by all of this? It simply means that everyone is a sinner without exceptions. It has nothing to do with whether we do good things or bad, or engage in religious activities or not. It's inherited! Not only did we inherit sin from Adam, we also inherited the death penalty that comes with it. This means that we are separated from God right now -- at this exact moment. The Bible calls it "being dead in trespasses and sins." If a storm knocks out the phone and a conversation is no longer possible, we say the line is dead. Likewise, we're separated from or are "dead" to God because sin has cut communications. So here we are, living in our temporary physical bodies going about our daily activities while actually being dead as far as God is concerned. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? Satan is clever. By one deception he caused man to sin and to pass that sin to all following generations. This meant that all of mankind was cut off from God -- forever. He knew that a Holy God would uphold His own law. There would be no pardons. The death penalty would be carried out against every single sinner. SATAN'S PLAN HAS A FLAW! Satan overlooked one thing -- God's love! The same God who as judge signed our death warrant, wanted, on the other hand, to die in our place to satisfy the demands of His law. GOD HAS HIS OWN PLAN! To defeat Satan and reverse our ancestor's fall, God conceived a plan to remove our sin and charge it to Jesus, His only Son. He, who had no sin of His own, would take ours upon Himself and suffer the consequences -- death in our place! MISSION POSSIBLE! To begin His mission, Jesus entered this world through the womb of a virgin girl in a town called Bethlehem in Israel. Satan tried to stop Him by causing King Herod to kill all the male babies in the area. This and other attempts on His life failed. Nothing could keep Jesus from finishing His assignment to restore fallen mankind. At age 33, Jesus found Himself in a garden outside Jerusalem. He knew that in a matter of hours the sin of the entire world would be hurled upon Him. Outside the city on a hill called Calvary, Jesus Christ suffered, bled and died for us! As the blood flowed from His bruised and battered body, God turned His back on His only Son. All communications between them ceased. The phone went down. Jesus was dead to God -- separated by our sins. He cried out in a loud voice, "My God, my God why have You forsaken me!" Then just before sundown, with His work finished, Jesus experienced the same physical death that we are so familiar with. He was separated from His broken body. A Roman soldier plunged a spear into His side just to make sure. The Bible says that after Jesus was crucified, He was buried in a tomb. However, on the third day, God raised Him from the dead by reuniting Him with His body. But it was a changed body! No longer defiled by our sin, it was fit for God's presence. HOW THIS BENEFITS US. The death of Jesus for our sin reverses the effects of Adam's fall. It turns what Satan thought was a victory into a defeat. Relations with God are now possible. The phone is working again. The separation that existed has ended! In addition, the ressurection of Jesus releases physical death's grip on us! When a believer dies, they can be sure that that God will raise them from the dead just like He did Jesus. What's more, their new body will be just like His! The Bible puts it this way, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive ... And as we have borne the image of the earthly (man), we shall also bear the image of the Heavenly (Man)." (1 Corinthians 15:22 & 49,50 *see entire 15th chapter for proof) A FACT OF HISTORY! It is a fact of history that Jesus Christ paid for the sin of the whole world on that particular day and that three days later He burst from the tomb alive! However, His great sacrifice is offered to individuals only -- one at a time -- as a free gift of love! The Bible makes this clear. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." |
The Meaning Of Life By Duron Davis |
Notice to Reader: This pamphlet has information that can bring meaning into your life. It also answers many of life's greatest questions. You will also learn things about your future that you didn't know before. When you finish, return to the counseling topic of your choice. |
TWO VIEWS OF LIFE: There are two basic views about life and the Universe. The words, chance and design best represent these opposing camps. The Universe being here entirely by chance is like expecting a car, a watch and a washing machine to result from an explosion in a steel mill. This takes more faith than most of us have. The other view is that a higher intelligence designed and made everything for a reason. The greatest scientist and intellect of our century, Albert Einstein, believed this. He once said, "God does not play dice." -- meaning that nothing is here by chance. THE ORIGINS OF MANKIND: Modern scientists through DNA research now know that all human beings originated from a common ancestor. This information left those holding to the Evolution Theory reeling. In July of 1997 the knockout blow was struck when a DNA analysis of Neanderthal Man (considered our evolutionary ancestor) showed no link to humankind. THE BEST WRITTEN AUTHORITY: The one written authority on the great questions of life, The Bible, has been clear about this all along. This ancient resource states that God created all we see and placed our common ancestors, Adam and Eve, here to manage it. Like any good parent, God wanted His children to return His love, obey His rules and accept His guidance. Sure, He could have forced them to comply by designing them as robots. But as you know, love must be freely given or it's not love at all, right? So God gave our common ancestors freedom of choice. If they loved Him and followed His plan for them, it would be strictly voluntary. It is also clear that God wanted them around for a long, long time -- like forever! So He gave them an eternal spirit and an immortal body. They were not made to die! So why did they die? And, as their descendants, why do we have to die? Keep reading. AN EVIL BEING: The Bible talks about another type of being, created by God who used his freedom of choice to rebel and war against Him. This person, called Satan, sought to defeat God, conquer humankind and take the Earth over which God had given us dominion. To do this, Satan approached our ancestors sowing doubt about God's instructions. His clever spin on God's words induced them to rebel against God's authority, to break His rules and to seek independence from Him. They became the first sinners. In fact, what they did amounts to a classic definition of sin. THE DEATH PENALTY: God told Adam and Eve up front what the penalty would be if they broke His law. He said, "The day you sin, you will surely die," and that's exactly what happened. There is nothing unusual about the death penalty being imposed for law breaking and rebellion. Most governments, in fact, require it. The gravity of rebellion against the Ultimate Authority, a Holy God, logically requires nothing less. One Bible writer, Paul, puts it this way, "For the wages (penalty) of sin is death...." (Romans 6:23) DID THEY REALLY DIE? But wait a minute. Did Adam and Eve really die? What the Bible says is that God drove them from His presence. This one statement is a clue to the meaning of death and what it involves. They certainly did die if you understand that the term "death" means separation. Again, when death occurs, a separation occurs. When God drove our ancestors from His presence, He separated them from Himself. Oh they still existed in their physical bodies, but they were cut off from (or dead to) God -- the Source of their life. This caused their bodies to lose their immortal characteristics. They began to grow old. Finally they were separated from their bodies which went back to dust. FREEDOM OF CHOICE: Their choice to live independent of God has been a catastrophe for you and me. That's because the sin nature became part of their genetic makeup and has been passed down to their descendants ever since -- even to you and me! In the Psalms, David sorrowfully acknowledges that he inherited the sin nature at conception. Paul writes that when Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race! (Romans 5:12) WHAT ABOUT US? So how are we affected by all of this? It simply means that everyone is a sinner without exceptions. It has nothing to do with whether we do good things or bad, or engage in religious activities or not. It's inherited! Not only did we inherit sin from Adam, we also inherited the death penalty that comes with it. This means that we are separated from God right now -- at this exact moment. The Bible calls it "being dead in trespasses and sins." If a storm knocks out the phone and a conversation is no longer possible, we say the line is dead. Likewise, we're separated from or are "dead" to God because sin has cut communications. So here we are, living in our temporary physical bodies going about our daily activities while actually being dead as far as God is concerned. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? Satan is clever. By one deception he caused man to sin and to pass that sin to all following generations. This meant that all of mankind was cut off from God -- forever. He knew that a Holy God would uphold His own law. There would be no pardons. The death penalty would be carried out against every single sinner. SATAN'S PLAN HAS A FLAW! Satan overlooked one thing -- God's love! The same God who as judge signed our death warrant, wanted, on the other hand, to die in our place to satisfy the demands of His law. GOD HAS HIS OWN PLAN! To defeat Satan and reverse our ancestor's fall, God conceived a plan to remove our sin and charge it to Jesus, His only Son. He, who had no sin of His own, would take ours upon Himself and suffer the consequences -- death in our place! MISSION POSSIBLE! To begin His mission, Jesus entered this world through the womb of a virgin girl in a town called Bethlehem in Israel. Satan tried to stop Him by causing King Herod to kill all the male babies in the area. This and other attempts on His life failed. Nothing could keep Jesus from finishing His assignment to restore fallen mankind. At age 33, Jesus found Himself in a garden outside Jerusalem. He knew that in a matter of hours the sin of the entire world would be hurled upon Him. Outside the city on a hill called Calvary, Jesus Christ suffered, bled and died for us! As the blood flowed from His bruised and battered body, God turned His back on His only Son. All communications between them ceased. The phone went down. Jesus was dead to God -- separated by our sins. He cried out in a loud voice, "My God, my God why have You forsaken me!" Then just before sundown, with His work finished, Jesus experienced the same physical death that we are so familiar with. He was separated from His broken body. A Roman soldier plunged a spear into His side just to make sure. The Bible says that after Jesus was crucified, He was buried in a tomb. However, on the third day, God raised Him from the dead by reuniting Him with His body. But it was a changed body! No longer defiled by our sin, it was fit for God's presence. HOW THIS BENEFITS US. The death of Jesus for our sin reverses the effects of Adam's fall. It turns what Satan thought was a victory into a defeat. Relations with God are now possible. The phone is working again. The separation that existed has ended! In addition, the ressurection of Jesus releases physical death's grip on us! When a believer dies, they can be sure that that God will raise them from the dead just like He did Jesus. What's more, their new body will be just like His! The Bible puts it this way, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive ... And as we have borne the image of the earthly (man), we shall also bear the image of the Heavenly (Man)." (1 Corinthians 15:22 & 49,50 *see entire 15th chapter for proof) A FACT OF HISTORY! It is a fact of history that Jesus Christ paid for the sin of the whole world on that particular day and that three days later He burst from the tomb alive! However, His great sacrifice is offered to individuals only -- one at a time -- as a free gift of love! The Bible makes this clear. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." |
HOW TO BECOME A BELIEVER? It was late one night when a prominent Jewish leader named Nicodemus approached Jesus asking questions about this subject. Jesus answered that no one would see the Kingdom of God unless they were "born again." So to be a believer, a person must be born again? We know about our first birth. It's how we got here as a member of Adam's family. But we have already learned that sin has separated all his relatives from God and heaven. But as Nicodemus discovered there is a second birth. It is only through this second birth that we can escape Adam's doomed lineage and become members of Jesus Christ's own family. In the birthing process, God passes His own life to us. The way to God then, is not through good deeds or religious activities. "You must be born again," the Bible says. Anything less fails to deal with the real problem -- the sin nature in the family tree. How can you be born again? The Bible says, "whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved." (born again) Acts 2:21. "....believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,and thou shalt be saved...." advises Acts 16:31. Here's the deal. You take your freedom of choice and you choose Jesus Christ as your Savior. He is the Way back to God and we must follow Him home. The very moment you make that choice, you will be born again! John 6:37 proclaims, "...him that comes to me I will in no way cast out!" As you choose Jesus, He responds by choosing you. |
"I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE" --- Jesus Why not pause and think about what you have read. Then do as the Bible requests, "If you hear His voice, harden not your heart..." Is God drawing you at this moment, as the old hymn says -- "to His bleeding side?" Then this is the appointed time to renounce your sin and come to Him for this new birth. Now you can't physically come to Jesus, can you? Obviously not. It is with the heart that men believe unto salvation the Bible says. The word "believe" means to entrust your life, your future to God -- to His management -- His authority. You live independent of God no longer. Believing is not hard to do either. Simply approach God as a little child would a loving parent and put your faith and trust in Him. JOIN MILLIONS! Millions before you have found a little prayer like the one below a simple way to accept God's invitation to join His family. Why not make it your own personal response to Him. |
"Dear God, I come before You a sinner asking for forgiveness and mercy. I realize that Jesus Christ suffered, bled and died and was resurrected for me. I come as would a child, taking You at your word. Come into my heart. Change me from the inside out. Make me a member of your own family. I yield to your authority and trust You to manage my life from this day forward. Thank You for receiving me as I have received You right now. In Jesus Name I pray ..... Amen." |
IT'S UP TO GOD NOW. By God's unimaginable power He has "birthed" you into His Royal Household and has given you a life that will outlast the stars. In fact, the Bible says that no power exists that can separate you from His love! He has washed away all of your sin. It's all gone never to be held against you again -- no matter what you have done. THE MEANING OF LIFE. Let's get back to our subject,The Meaning of Life. How can we call the short, troubled time we spend here, "life"? That's the point! Real life is perminent -- it never ends. We're quarantined here on Earth for the purpose of choosing or rejecting a personal offer from God. Our destiny (destination), our future is decided by the choice we make. Believers choose Jesus Christ and are born again. They "get a life!" A nonbeliever lives as if this life is permanent. Their destiny (destination) is also decided by choices made here. By opting to stay in the doomed family of Adam, they remain dead to God. In their day to day existence they're on their own, without help, guidance or communication from above. Even in death there is no relief. Their separation from God continues. By rejecting Jesus as payment for their sin -- they pay the death penalty themselves! They, in fact, lose their own life. SOME UNPLEASANT STUFF. The last chapters of the Bible describe a place of separation called the Lake of Fire. Clearly it was created to separate Satan and his rebellious angels from God. Yet men and women choose to go there, trampling under foot the precious Blood of Jesus. The Bible warns, "How can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" How indeed! The better, more rational choice is Jesus Christ. He is the Way to God. Follow Him! copyright 2000 |
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