The Cure for Death
Sooner or later, we all face dealing with death.
Maybe it is someone you know. Maybe it is a friend, or relative. Maybe it is an
immediate family member.
Or maybe it is your own death that is in view. Death
is the most traumatic and devastating of all life’s events.
Everyone experiences it, and one day, we all must
die. Death is the one thing that we all have in common. It has been said that
there is no doctor who can save you.
Doctors do not “save lives”. They only postpone death
to another day.
But there is a way out of death. There is a way to be
saved from death. There is a way to live forever. There is way that you don’t
have to despair when a loved one dies.
There is a way that you, yourself, do not have to
fear death.
It is possible. And it is real.
Only through Jesus Christ can this be
accomplished.
If no one has ever taken the time to explain this to
you, then this page will sum it up
“in a nutshell” for you. This is the most valuable
piece of information you will ever
receive.
Remember youth as
you pass by
As you are now so
once was I
As I am now so you
must be
Prepare for death
and follow
me
Where you
will one day be…
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life,
and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
John 1:3-5
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might
destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were
held in slavery by their fear of death.
Hebrews 2:14-15
ETERNAL LIFE
God’s plan of salvation as revealed in the Bible
Since
Mankind
has existed on earth, there has never been a more highly valued possession than
one thing—Eternal Life. In fact, eternal life seems so lofty an idea and
“unattainable” that many people do not even believe such a thing is possible.
So they therefore put their hope in riches--in money and wealth and material
possessions. Yet, God’s Word-- the Bible, tells us eternal life is very
possible indeed. And it is something God wants all people everywhere to have.
God wants us to have eternal life so much that He gave His only Son, Jesus
Christ, to suffer and die for our sins on a cross. And after Jesus died in
our place, God raised Him from the dead to prove to all people, everywhere that
eternal life comes only through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Although God’s gift of life
is a free gift, it is a gift—like any gift-- that must be accepted
in order to be possessed. When someone offers you a gift,
you must accept it from them in order for the gift to become yours. And so it is
with God’s gift of eternal life. The Bible— God’s Word, tells us how
we are to accept this gift if we want it to be ours. The Bible is very specific
that there are some things we must do in order to have eternal life.
But
the Bible also teaches that there is something that stands between us and God
that prevents us from having eternal life. This obstacle that stands between us
and God is what the Bible calls sin.
“Sin”
means “to miss the mark”. Simply put, sin is wrongdoing. The Bible defines sin
in many passages. See Galatians 5:19-21, Colossians 3:5-10, Romans 1:18-32,
Mark 7:20-22, Revelation 21:7-8, James 4:17.
The
Bible also teaches we are ALL guilty of sin. See Isaiah 64:5-6, Romans
3:10-12,23. And the penalty for our sin is spiritual death, and separation from
God. See Isaiah 59:1-2, Romans 6:23.
But
because of God’s great love for us, He has provided mankind a way out. He has
provided us a plan of salvation through Christ so that we
would not have to pay the penalty of the spiritual death we deserve.
The
Bible teaches that after we die, we will
face judgment or, if Christ returns while we are still alive, the final
judgment will then commence.
To
escape the condemnation of this judgment and to be saved, we must:
1.) Hear the “good
news” of Jesus Christ (Romans 10:14)
2.) Believe (Hebrews 11:6; Acts 8:37; Mark 16:16; John
8:24)
3.) Repent of our
sins (Luke 13:3,5; Acts 2:38; Acts 17:30; Mark
10:15, Galatians 5:19-21, Colossians 3:5-10)
4.) Confess faith
in Jesus Christ (Acts 8:36-37; Romans 10:9)
5.) BE BAPTIZED (immersed) in water for the purpose of
having our sins forgiven and washed away (being reborn). (Acts 2:37-41;
1Peter 3:21; John 3:3-5; Acts 22:16; Romans 6:3-8; Colossians 2:12; Galatians
3:26-27; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 8:34-39; Ephesians 4:5) In baptism, we become
clothed with Christ, receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and are added to his
body—the church. See also Ephesians 1:22-23; 1Corinthians 12:13.
6.) Remain
faithful for the rest of our lives and carry our cross daily We must
continue to hold to Christ’s teachings and walk with Him in His ways until the
end (Revelation 2:10; Matthew 24:13; Luke 9:23; Hebrews 10:25: John 8:31)
We become saved (conversion occurs) and we come into
contact with the blood of Christ (or enter into Christ), at baptism,
after steps 1-4 have been fulfilled.
The work of the cross is God’s offer
of life…baptism is our acceptance
Romans 6:3-6
Being baptized “into Christ”
If
you would like to accept and obey the Gospel of Jesus Christ by uniting
yourself with the Lord in His death, burial, and resurrection through the water
of baptism, please let us know how we can help you make this happen.
To find the nearest
If you follow God’s
plan of salvation you will possess eternal life. We pray we may be a
help to you on this most important journey.
“Therefore every Christian has enough in baptism to learn and to practice all his life; for he has always
enough to
do to believe firmly what it promises and brings: victory over death and the
devil, forgiveness
of sin,
the grace of God, the entire Christ, and the Holy Ghost with His gifts. In
short, it is so
transcendent
that if timid nature could realize it, it might well doubt whether it could be
true. For
consider,
if there were somewhere a physician who understood the art of saving men from
dying, or,
even
though they died, of restoring them speedily to life, so that they would
thereafter live forever,
how the
world would pour in money like snow and rain, so that because of the throng of
the rich no
one could
find access! But here in Baptism there is brought free to every one's door such
a treasure
and
medicine as utterly destroys death and preserves all men alive. Thus we must
regard Baptism
and make
it profitable to ourselves…”
--Martin
Luther
1483-1546
For a more in-depth study on the subject of baptism and salvation visit
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