In His love when God first created us, He gave us a choice. He didn’t create us as robots or puppets on a string. In His love, God gave us the ability to obey Him or disobey Him. And we chose to disobey Him. The Bible calls this sin.

Sin is anything that we say, do, or think that is contrary to God and His ways. The moment when man chose to sin against God, everything in the world changed. Like an uncontrollable virus, the infection of sin spread to everyone, everywhere!

Romans 3:23 (ESV) says,
²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

All of us are guilty of sinning against the Lord. And the consequences of our sin follow us everywhere we go. Why? Because sin is within!

 Jesus said in Mark 7:21-23 (ESV),

²¹ For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
²² coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.
²³ All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

However, the worst part about sin isn’t the devastating consequences we face while living on earth. It’s the devastating consequences we face for eternity!

Romans 6:23 (ESV) says,
²³ For the wages of sin is death,

Not only is physical death a consequence of sin, but so is spiritual death. The Bible teaches that God is holy, righteous, and good. He’s perfect, which means He cannot allow sin in His presence. And since all of us have the infection of sin within us, when we die, if left in this sinful state, we will be sent to a place of eternal separation from God. The Bible calls this place hell.

There are many people who mistakenly believe that if their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds, then they will go to Heaven when they die. However, here’s the question you must grapple with, “How good is good enough?" And are you willing to bet your entire eternity on your own standards of goodness?

God has His own standards of righteousness. And it’s by His standards that we will be judged. 

James 2:10 (ESV) says,
¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.

God’s standard is perfection. And none of us has lived up to God’s perfect standard. It doesn’t matter how much penance we pay or how much self-improvement that we do. The prophet Isaiah tells us that even our “finest efforts are like filthy rags”… (Isaiah 64:6)

The bad news is that our sin creates a spiritual barrier between us and God. And there’s nothing that we can do about it. However, the good news, the Gospel, is that there is something that God can do about it. In fact, He’s already done it!

Billy Graham said, “You’re born. You suffer. You die. Fortunately, there’s a loophole!”

Romans 5:8 (ESV) says, 
⁸ but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus, the Son of God, became one of us, lived a perfect life, and died on a cross for our sins. Every evil thought that you’ve ever had, and every evil deed that you’ve ever committed, was placed on Him as He hung on the cross. Jesus, the sinless, perfect Son of God, became guilty of your sins. He absorbed hell itself, so you wouldn’t have to!

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV) says,
²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Now, not only did Jesus take your unrighteousness upon Himself, but He offers to give you His righteousness in exchange. Jesus offers to empty the sin out of your spiritual bank account, and replace it with His perfect righteousness!

For those who accept Christ’s offer, God no longer sees their sin. He only sees Christ’s sinlessness! Simply put, the reason why Jesus is called the “Savior”, is because His death, burial, and resurrection makes it possible for you to be forgiven of your sins, saved from the pit of hell, and go to Heaven when you die!

Colossians 2:13-14 (NLT) says,

¹³ You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.
¹⁴ He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.

God loves you more than you can ever know. He doesn’t want you to perish. He doesn’t want you to spend eternity apart from Him. He doesn’t want you to be enslaved to sin and walk down the path of destruction. Instead, He wants to adopt you into His family and give you the gift of eternal life!

This, of course, begs the question, “What must I do to have the eternal life that Christ offers?"

John 3:16 (ESV) says,  
¹⁶  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

The gift of eternal life is not something you can earn. It’s not something you can work for. It’s not something you can achieve by your own merits. It’s something that you must receive by faith!

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB) says,
⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

To receive eternal life, you have to believe that you are a sinner in need of a Savior, that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross in your place for your sins, that He rose again, and you are trusting in Him alone for your salvation. 

You can pray this prayer right now to receive forgiveness for your sins and the eternal life that Jesus offers.

"Dear God, I know I am a sinner, and I ask your forgiveness. I believe Jesus Christ is your Son. I believe that He died for my sin and that you raised Him to life. I want to trust Him as my Savior and follow His as Lord from this day forward. Guide my life and help me to do your will. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen"