The God revealed in the Bible is very real. He is also very Holy. We live as His enemies since we have not, nor can we, fulfil His requirements for perfect living. All the good deeds in the world are mere dirty rags when seen from the perspective of His holiness and righteousness. Heaven and hell are very real places. We deserve hell. This is often an affront to human pride. But human pride is an affront to God.

However, God has not left us without hope since, whilst He is a God of wrath and justice, He is also a God of mercy. God's justice was satisfied by God Himself, in the human form of Jesus Christ, taking the penalty for our sins and not only dying physically on the cross but taking on spiritually the full wrath of God the Father. The good news of the Gospel message is that God will credit the righteousness of Christ to the account of anybody who believes and trusts in this action of Christ on the cross. When we believe, God looks at us and sees the blood of Christ, the penalty for our sins paid, and His wrath is removed.

People are not saved by doing good things, by going to church or even by believing in God and Jesus. They are saved solely through believing and trusting that Jesus died for them. A person without the Holy Spirit, with mere human wisdom, cannot understand this faith. No intellectual persuasions can bring people into a living relationship with Christ. Because we have a sinful nature, people think they are capable of 'doing something' to meet the righteousness demanded of God, or that they can 'bring themselves to believe'. This is folly and the essence of pride. God calls people to Himself. He gives faith. If you come to believe the message it will be because God has already been working in your heart. The gospel message is, according to human wisdom, foolishness. There lies the power of God since who could believe such a thing otherwise!

If you are reading this message, then God is calling you to believe the gospel.  Ask Him to help your unbelief! When you simply say you believe to God, in prayer, that you believe Christ died for you and that you want to know Him and that you are sorry for your sins, then the spirit of Christ comes to live with you. You are no longer an enemy of God, but rather a child of God and He will help you always. He doesn't promise a problem-free life without sorrows. He promises that in eternity but while we are here he promises to be with us in all our trials and sufferings. He keeps His promises. Any true child of God will testify to the power of God in changing their lives. Don't just read things on the internet-seek out those who know the truth of the gospel. Use the links below to find a church. Make contact. Speak to the pastor. Speak to other christians.  (remember that church means not the building but a group of people who know Christ)

Christians are not perfect. They are simply saved sinners. They are not what they should be. But they are no longer what they were. They have nothing to boast in except the cross of Christ which revealed the mercy and grace of God to them. Lives and minds change and a new life begins. You are spiritually born again.

Unless God opens your eyes you are blinded to His reality and the message of the gospel remains foolishness. You might become religious but you will still go to hell. An affront again to human pride and all sense of 'fairness'. Again, these feelings emerge because you do not truly know His holiness or Christ. To know this is to know that we do deserve only hell, anything else is undeserved. Thus, it is by grace only that we are saved. There is nothing in any Christian that led them to somehow deserve salvation. My rapist deserves hell. So did I. By grace I was saved from that and now have a living relationship with Jesus Christ and through Him, God the Father. He is my best friend. He guides, rebukes and loves me. He gives me peace amidst the storms of life and the assurance that my faith is not foolishness but grounded in historical and contemporary reality.