That is why he says: “Because you are precious in my sight [and] esteemed, and because I love you, I will give people for you and nations for your life.” Isaiah 43:4 “I have loved you with an everlasting love;” Jeremiah 31:3

Answer: God's infinite love for you and me is far beyond our comprehension. He loves you as if you were the only lost soul in the universe. He would have given his life for you or me even if there was no other sinner to save. Never forget this fact! You are precious in his eyes. He loves you.

“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 “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we should live through him. In this is love - not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:9.10

Answer: Out of infinite love for us, God was more willing to let his Son suffer and die than to be separated from you forever. We are not able to comprehend this, but he did it - especially for you, especially for me!

“But God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

Answer: Certainly not because I deserve it. None of us deserves anything other than the wages of sin - death (Romans 6:23). But God's love is unconditional. He loves thieves, adulterers and murderers. He also loves the selfish, the hypocrite and the blasphemer. But most marvellous of all - he loves me! And because he knows that my sins only bring me misery and death, he wants to free me from my sins. For this reason, he was prepared to die.

Answer: Christ died to pay my debt, which would have brought me the death penalty. He was born as a man so that he could suffer the death I deserved. Then he offered me his merits. In other words, his sinless life is credited to me so that I may stand justified. His death has been accepted by God as full payment for all my past sins. By accepting this gift, I am adopted into God's family as a child. That leaves us speechless!

Think about the following facts for a moment:

• Because of my sins, I am condemned to death.
• I cannot pay the penalty without losing eternal life, because if I were to die because of my sins, I would not be able to resurrect myself. I would be dead forever.
• I owe something that I can't pay! But then a friend comes in the person of Jesus and says: “I will pay for you. I will die in your place and that shall be credited to you. You don't have to die for your sins.
• I have to accept the offer! Simple, isn't it? I recognise his death and accept Jesus' sacrifice for my sins. The moment I do this, I become a son or daughter of God!

Recognise three things:

1. I am a sinner. “for all have sinned.” Romans 3:23

2. I am condemned to die. “For the wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23

3. I cannot save myself. “for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

And then you believe three things:

1. He died for me. “He was to taste death for all.” Hebrews 2:9

2. He forgives me. “But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

3. He saves me. “He who believes in me has eternal life.” John 6:47

Answer: By asking for it, believing in it and accepting the great gift of God, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Answer: The only thing I can do is accept the gift. My works of obedience are not of the slightest use to me to be justified. All who ask for salvation in faith will receive it. The worst sinner will find acceptance on the same basis as the morally sound. The past does not count. Let us not forget, God loves everyone exactly the same and forgiveness is granted to those who ask for it. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8.9

“Therefore, 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

Answer: When I have received Christ in my heart, he destroys the old, sinful me and makes a new, spiritual creature out of me. The old life of sin now repels me and no longer attracts me. For the first time, I experience a glorious freedom from guilt and condemnation. I begin to realise how empty my life was without Christ. Instead of feeding on the crumbs that have fallen under the table, I now fill up and rejoice at the King's banquet table. A single minute with God means more happiness than a whole life in the service of the devil. What an exchange! Why did I wait so long to accept this?

Jesus said: “I have spoken these things to you so that ... your joy may be complete.” John 15:11 “If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:36 “I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

Answer: Many people have the impression that the Christian life cannot be happy because of the restrictions imposed and the self-denial required. The exact opposite is the case! If you accept the love of Jesus, an exuberant joy will break out within you. Unimaginable joy and a deep peace will then flow through your life. This cannot be compared to the old life of selfishness and failure! The painful past fades like a bad dream and instead you experience a life “in abundance” - just as God originally intended.

“But now I have died to the law through the law in order to live for God. I have been crucified with Christ; and now I live, yet no longer I [myself], but Christ lives in me.” Galatians 2:19.20 “I can do all things through him who strengthens me, even Christ.” Philippians 4:13

Answer: This is where the greatest miracle in the Christian life is revealed. There is no compulsion to be good. Your actions as a Christian are the spontaneous entry of the life of another person who lives in you. Obedience is a natural reaction that springs from love. Whoever is born of God and becomes a new creature has the desire to obey him because his life has become part of yours. Living to please someone you love is not a burden, but a pleasure. “I desire to do your will, my God, and your law is in my heart.” Psalms 40:9

“If you love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15 “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” 1 John 5:3 “But whoever keeps his word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected.” 1 John 2:5

Answer: The Bible always links obedience with a relationship of love. For born-again Christians, keeping the Ten Commandments is not an uphill struggle. Because all my past sins are covered by Jesus“ atoning death, my present and future obedience is anchored in his victorious life that is in me. Because Jesus has changed my life and I love him so much, I go beyond the demands of the Ten Commandments. Daily, I search the Bible to better discern His will and find new ways to express my love for Him. ”and whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what is pleasing in his sight." 1 John 3:22

“Here is the patience of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12 “And they (the believers) overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, not loving their lives even unto death.” Revelation 12:11

Answer: Do not confuse obedience with legalism! Legalism is the attempt to earn salvation through works. Believers are identified in the Bible by four characteristics:

1. you keep the commandments.

2. they trust in the blood of the lamb.

3. they share their faith with others.

4. they are prepared to die rather than sin.

These are the true characteristics of a person who loves Christ, has given his life to him and has vowed to follow him.

“Therefore we are buried with him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life.” “...that the body of sin may be destroyed, so that we will not serve sin.” Romans 6:4.6 “...For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy; ...that I may present a pure virgin to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:2

Answer: Baptism symbolises three decisive events in the life of the true believer:

1. to die to sin.

2. rebirth to a new life in Christ.

3. connection with Christ in eternity.

In the course of time, this spiritual union becomes stronger and stronger, as long as the love grows. The loss of love in marriage can turn a paradise into hell. When love fades, the home is only held together by mechanically fulfilling the duties of the marriage law. It is the same when Christians no longer love the Lord above all else. Then religion only means reluctantly following a list of rules.

“...search the scriptures,” John 5:39 “Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “As you have therefore received the Lord Jesus Christ, so live in him.” Colossians 2:6 “I die daily.” 1 Corinthians 15:31

Answer: No love relationship can flourish without communication. Prayer and Bible study are absolutely essential for this relationship to grow. God's Word is a love letter that I need to read daily to nourish my spiritual life. Talking to Him in prayer deepens my devotion and gives me a deeper understanding of His loving care. Every day I am surprised anew when I discover details of his care for my happiness.

God preserves our spiritual marriage

To seal our spiritual marriage for eternity, He has promised to never forsake me (Psalms 55:22, Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:5), to care for me in days of sickness and in days of health (Psalms 41:3, Isaiah 41:10) and to provide for every need I may face in my life (Matthew 6:25-34). Just as I have accepted him in faith and experienced that his promises are all-encompassing, I continue to trust him in all that the future will bring. He will never let me down.

Answer:

Romans 3:23 says that “all have sinned.” Because “death is the wages of sin” (Romans 6:26) and “all have sinned,” something “extraordinary” is required for everyone who is born. Only the life of the One who was equal to the life of all men could die for the sins of mankind. Because Jesus is the Creator of all life and He identifies with each individual, the giving of His life means the possibility for each person to live. Atonement not only had to be accomplished by one whose life was for all created beings, but he also had to have the power to resurrect from death. Why? In order to make the merits of the atonement available to all who accept it in faith. “Therefore he is able to save forever those who come to God through him, because he lives forever and prays for them.” Hebrews 7:25

We can trust God to forgive us again if we repent and confess our sins. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

Because Jesus Christ lived in the flesh and was “tempted like as we are” (Hebrews 4:15), we have a God who can understand us and wants to be merciful to us. Hebrews 4:16 says that we “may approach the mercy seat with joy, that we may receive mercy and find grace.” We can approach God directly through Jesus Christ, without mediation, and trust in his grace. We may approach him in the name of Jesus with “joy” (John 14:14). In 1 Timothy 2:5 we read: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

No. His plan is based entirely on grace (Romans 3:24; 4:5); it is “the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8 But it is also true that when God gives us grace through faith, he also gives us the desire and power to obey him. This leads to obedience to his law. And so this obedience is also a consequence of God's undeserved grace. Obedience - service out of love and faithfulness - is the hallmark of true discipleship and the natural fruit of faith in Jesus Christ.

Scripture says: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1 Christ paid the full price for our transgressions. Those who accept Jesus by faith owe no works of atonement for their cleansing, because they are already considered “washed clean” in the blood of the Lamb! Isaiah 43:25 contains a wonderful promise of forgiveness: “I will blot out your transgressions for my own sake and will not remember your sins.” Micah 7:18.19 shows the attitude of our Saviour God towards his people: “Where is such a God as you are, who forgives sin and remits iniquity to the remnant of his inheritance, who does not retain his wrath forever, for he is merciful? He will have mercy on us again, will restrain our iniquities, and will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”