We want to help you understand what God has written in the Bible concerning how you can be forgiven for your sin. In the Bible, God recorded how one can be forgiven for sin and have a restored relationship with Him. For any of this to make sense to you, you must first accept these two truths:
There is one true God, the God of the Bible.
The Bible is 100% true from beginning to end.
These truths are important because God gave the world the Bible to know Him and His plan for His most loved creation, mankind! To understand how you can be forgiven by God for your sins and how you can have a restored relationship with Him, read the sections below.
God created mankind in His image for the purpose of fellowship with God.
God created man in His own image for His pleasure.
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Genesis 1:26-27
When God created the first man Adam, He created him to live forever.
“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7
God and Adam walked in fellowship in a perfect garden created by God.
“And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.” Genesis 2:8
God placed Adam and Eve in this garden and commanded that they could eat of every tree except one.
“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17
2. Mankind disobeyed God, so they could no longer have fellowship with God.
Adam and Eve went against God’s command. They were deceived by Satan and took fruit from the forbidden tree.
“Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Genesis 3:1-6
Adam and Eve took of the forbidden fruit and sinned against God. Man, from that point in history was separated from God. Because God is holy and just, He will not allow sin in His presence. Since that time, all people have been separated from God, unable to reach God’s presence by their own way. Sin was passed down from Adam to the whole world, which means we are born sinners, separated from God. We are not sinners because of what we do; we are sinners because of who we are, sinful people.
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Romans 5:12
Remember that in the beginning God created perfect people to live forever in fellowship with Him. However, the Bible says that when Adam sinned he was separated from God and began to die. Just like Adam, we all sin, and the penalty for sin is death in hell, being separated from God.
“For the wages of sin is death…” Romans 6:23a
Death does not mean you simply cease to exist without a consciousness of your existence. When you die you will either be separated from God in a place of eternal darkness and torment, or you will live in the presence of God forever.
(Jesus Said) “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” Acts 26:18
God created you and loves you! He provided a perfect sacrifice to pay your sin penalty. Something had to cover your sinfulness so that you and anyone who believes can, upon death from this life, be in the presence of our HOLY Creator, GOD. So, what did God do because of His great love for the world?
3. Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for your sins, and then He rose from the dead so that you can be reconciled to God.
God the Father sent Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, to earth over two thousand years ago to pay for the sins of the world.
(Jesus Said) “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.” John 3:16
It is important for you to know that this eternal gift of salvation is a free gift from God paid for by the shed blood and death of Jesus Christ. Jesus took our place and died.
“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Hebrews 9:28
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;” 1 Corinthians 15:3
Because Jesus is God, He conquered death and the grave, rising to life three days later.
“And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures!” Corinthians 15:4
Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection satisfied God's righteous demand for sin to be judged. This means you and all who believe can accept what Jesus did and receive forgiveness of sins and have eternal life where you will spend eternity with God.
4. Place your trust in Jesus because of His death on the cross for your sins and receive Him as your Savior.
There is nothing you can do to receive forgiveness of sins from God. God has already provided the way to Him through Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross. To have forgiveness of sins, you must place your trust in what Jesus did on the cross, dying for your sins, and believing that He rose from the dead. If you truly believe that, faith is often expressed in our asking God to forgive us of our sins and to restore our relationship with Him through Jesus.
Tell God you repent and are in agreement with Him that you are a sinner. Confess with your mouth that you accept and believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and rose from the dead to give you forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Pray and tell Jesus that you are trusting in His sacrifice so that you can be forgiven of your sins and to have your relationship with God restored.
“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" Romans 10:9, 10
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” John 1:12
If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins, you now have a new heart, a new life, and new mind in Christ Jesus; you are a Christian.