Christ is risen indeed!

                But have you ever thought about what that means for us?  Did you know that Christ's resurrection will affect your eternal destiny?  Have you read in the Bible how His crucifixion and resurrection can bring you forgiveness of all your sins and guarantee you eternal life with God in heaven as His free gift to you?

                Before raising Lazarus from the dead, the Lord Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies."  (Jn 11:25)  Jesus proved Himself the Son of God who has all power over life, death, and resurrection, by raising Himself from the dead, which we celebrate on Easter.  And as "the resurrection and the life," he raised Lazarus from the grave, proving that He also has power over our death and power to give us eternal life.  He promised that all who trust in Him will inherit eternal life by our faith. 

                So what do we need to believe in order to receive Christ's offer of eternal life?  1) First, we must believe that He is the only way.  As the only Son of God and the only one to conquer death, He said this is so.  He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me." (Jn. 14:6)  So, church, religious rituals, fasting, and doing good works are not the way to get to heaven.  Trusting in Jesus alone is the only way to heaven.  It is not because of who we are or what we do that we can go to heaven; it is only by trusting in Who He is and what He did that we can go there.  The Lord Jesus Christ said so, and we must believe Him if we want to go to heaven, no matter what others--even religious leaders--tell us about obtaining eternal life.

                2) Second, we must believe in what the Bible says Jesus did to purchase eternal life for us:  "that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." (1 Cor. 15:3-4)   Before Christ came, God promised in the Old Testament that He would come, that He would die for our sins, and that He would rise again to give us new life.  Then Jesus came and did all those things as promised.  What does it mean that "Christ died for our sins"?  It means that our sins deserve God's punishment.  We deserve death and eternal separation from God in hell.  But because of God's love for us, He allowed His Son to die in our place and absorb all of the punishment we deserve on the cross.

                Right this moment, if you believe these things, and make a decision to trust only in what Christ did by dying for you in your place on the cross, by that trust you will receive eternal life with Christ.  Not because you earned it, but because Jesus earned it for you, and offers it to you today.  Start by telling God that you believe you have sinned against Him and that you are unworthy of heaven, just as His word says.  Then tell Him you believe that Jesus died in your place and took all of the punishment for your sins, just like the Bible says.  Then tell Him you are trusting Him to give you eternal life in heaven, because you believe Jesus loves you and died for you and rose again.  God, who cannot lie, promised you this free gift.  He will keep His promise, hear your prayer, and give you life in heaven.