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Eternity… Non-Smoking

NOTE: Scriptures marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible; those marked NLT are from the New Living Translation.


God loves you—and wants you to have eternal life. (John 3:16-18)

"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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (KJV)

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God." (NLT)

God offers salvation as a free gift. He says in Romans 6:23:

"…the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (KJV)

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." (NLT)

However, you must receive His great gift! Jesus said in John 1:12:

"But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in His name." (KJV)

"But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God." (NLT)


Now, how can you accept and receive this free gift of eternal salvation? The answer is found in the following steps:

Realize you are a sinner. (Romans 3:23)

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (KJV)

"For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard." (NLT)

Understand that your penalty for sin is death. (Romans 6:23)

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (KJV)

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." (NLT)

Believe that Christ paid your penalty. (Romans 5:8-10)

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." (KJV)

"But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God's judgment. For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by his life." (NLT)

You must repent. (Acts 3:19-20)

"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you" (KJV)

"Now turn from your sins and turn to God, so you can be cleansed of your sins. Then wonderful times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will send Jesus your Messiah to you again." (NLT)

You must accept Christ by faith. (Ephesians 2:8)

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." (KJV)

"God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God." (NLT)

You must confess Him as Lord. (Romans 10:9-10, 13)

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (KJV)

"For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved."

"For 'Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" (NLT)


Are you ready to receive God's free gift?

If you are, you need to call on Him in prayer. You may pray your own prayer. Or, if you need help in praying, you may use the following "sinner's prayer" if you truly make it your own confession:

Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and need your forgiveness. I know you died on the cross for me. I now turn from my sins and ask you to forgive me. I now invite you into my heart and life. I now trust you as Savior and follow you as Lord. Thank you for saving me. Amen.

Did you ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins?

Did you ask Him to save you?

Did you give Jesus complete control of your life?

If so, welcome to God's family!

Why not pause for a moment and thank Him for saving you…


What does Jesus want you to do now?

First, He wants you to have assurance of your salvation. You can be certain you have eternal life…

Because you have been born again, and birth is a one-time experience. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (KJV)

"What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!" (NLT)

Because of your commitment. You did what the Bible told you to do. (Romans 10:13)

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (KJV)

"For 'Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" (NLT)

Because of God's record. (1 John 5:11-13)

"And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not 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, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." (KJV)

"And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. So whoever has God's Son has life; whoever does not have his Son does not have life. I write this to you who believe in the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life." (NLT)

Because of God's promise. (John 5:24)

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." (KJV)

"And I assure you that the time is coming, in fact it is here, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live." (NLT)


Second, as evidence of giving Jesus control of your life, He wants you to publicly confess Him and follow Him in baptism and church membership.

The Bible says in Acts 2:41-47…

"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common;And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." (KJV)

"Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church—about three thousand in all. They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord's Supper and in prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved." (NLT)


Third, Jesus wants you to grow into a strong, faithful disciple.

The Bible says in 1 Peter 2:2-3…

"As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious." (KJV)

"You must crave pure spiritual milk so that you can grow into the fullness of your salvation. Cry out for this nourishment as a baby cries for milk, now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness." (NLT)

There are four absolutes in growth:

  1. Food. Spiritual food is God's Word (the Bible). You should read it, study it, memorize it, practice it, and hear it taught and preached. You can find several translations of the Bible online, along with a search feature and many other helpful Bible study tools at: Bible Gateway. If you're new to Bible reading, a very easy-to-understand edition, including an online search, can be found at: New Living Translation.

  2. Breathing. Spiritual breathing is prayer. Spend time every day talking to God about everything you do; about your needs and problems; about family and friends; and tell Him how much you love Him and how grateful you are.

  3. Exercise. Spiritual exercise means helping others, witnessing, giving time and energy to God's work, and being a living testimony to the world you live in.

  4. Rest. Spiritual rest means worship—both public and private worship. Rest means being still and waiting on God. It means physical and spiritual renewal.

Fourth, Jesus wants you to experience victory over sin in your daily life.

The Bible says in 1 John 5:4…

"Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." (KJV)

"For every child of God defeats this evil world by trusting Christ to give the victory." (NLT)

The Christian life is difficult, but victory is assured. (1 John 4:4)

"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." (KJV)

"But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won your fight with these false prophets, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world." (NLT)

Even with victory assured, there will be acts of disobedience and failures because of your human nature. However, God has provided a means by which you can be cleansed of daily sins. His word says in 1 John 1:9…

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (KJV)

"But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong." (NLT)

So, when you sin, don't try to deny it or excuse it. Rather, name your sin to God, and rest in His promise of forgiveness.


Don't put it off another day!!! The biggest lie of the devil is that you have "plenty of time" to make this decision! The Lord even led Jacki and her brother, Marc, to write an original song about this very subject since so many people think they have all the time in the world! To hear the song, click on the following link:

"Time is Running Out"


Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
  · 08-08-2017
The info here is like a revival series to me
I give it 5 stars.
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