Q. I am young yet, and likely to live for a long time. Why should I think of eternal things now?
God says: "Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth" and "What is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away" (Proverbs 27:1; James 4:14).
Q. When I do die, won't that be the end of me?
"The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes" (Luke 16:22,23).
Q. Must we not wait until the judgment day to see who goes to hell?
"He who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:18).
Q. I have lived a fairly good life; am I condemned?
God says: "There is none righteous, no, not one ... There is none who does good, no, not one ... all the world [is] guilty before God" (Romans 3:10,12,19).
Q. God is a loving, merciful God. Won't He pass over my sins?
"The Lord God ... by no means clearing the guilty" (Exodus 34:6,7). "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). "It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).
Q. But I say my prayers, and have given money to the church. Won't that count in my favor?
"Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not ... done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness'" (Matthew 7:22,23).
Q. Why would God judge me the same as somebody who is grossly immoral, or a murderer?
"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "All we like sheep have gone astray" (Isaiah 53:6). "Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all" (James 2:10).
Q. If that be the case, I must plead guilty. I have sinned. What must I do to be saved?
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household" (Acts 16:31).
Q. Tell me exactly what I need to believe.
"The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6). "The Son of God ... loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). "Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18).
Q. But must I do nothing to gain salvation?
"A man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ" (Galatians 2:16). "By grace you have been saved through faith ... not of works" (Ephesians 2:8,9).
Q. To be saved just by believing seems too simple.
"If the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean'?" (2 Kings 5:13). Jesus says, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life" (John 6:47).
Q. Did God really love me before I was saved?
"God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
Q. I often think I am too great a sinner to be saved.
"'Come now, and let us reason together,' says the Lord, 'though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool'" (Isaiah 1:18). "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28).
Q. Won't my life change if I become a Christian?
"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
