The Five Facts of Life

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Copyright © 1994 James L. Melton
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You Are A Sinner

The first fact that you need to realize in life is that you are a natural-born sinner, a natural
transgressor against God:

“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23.

“As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:10.

"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." Psalm 51:5.

Most people have the false idea that we all LEARN to be sinners as we grow older and are
influenced by evil, but this isn't true. God's word declares that we are all sinners by nature. We
are all transgressors against God.

You Are Going To Die

Death isn't a very popular subject, but it is certainly a very REAL subject. Sooner or later, your
heart will beat for the last time, your loved ones will mourn over your passing, and your body will
be laid to rest in a grave. It's a fact of life. People die, and the Bible tells us WHY:

"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.
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord." Romans 6:23.

Why do people die? People die because people are SINNERS. Do you remember the story of
Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden? It wasn't until AFTER they had sinned that they were
subject unto death. God told them in Genesis 2:17 that they would "die" when they ate of the
forbidden fruit. Before man had sinned, he was ABOVE death, not subject unto it. Today,
however, we are all sinners, because we have all inheirted our sin nature from Adam. We must
all die, just as Adam died (Genesis 5:5).

You Will Be Judged

God is the All-powerful Creator, the Supreme Commander of the Universe. He is in complete
control of all people, places, and things, so no one should think it unreasonable that God
intends to judge all men. We must all give account to our Maker.

"For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be
good, or whether it be evil." Ecclesiastes 12:14.

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Hebrews 9:27.

It may be a terrifying thought, but it is still the truth: YOU will stand before God and you will be
judged by Him. Every sin that you have ever committed will be revealed--EVERY SECRET
SIN! You may have managed to hide many things from your fellow man, but you have hid
NOTHING from God. He knows all things, and He will hold you accountable. You WILL be
judged.

You Can't Save Yourself

When God judges this world, millions upon millions of people are going to be absolutely
SHOCKED to find out that NO ONE--ABSOLUTELY NO ONE--was able to earn their way into
Heaven. People have the false idea that they'll be permitted to enter Heaven as long as they
"do more good works than bad." The word of God tells us just the opposite:
“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.

"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is
counted for righteousness." Romans 4:5.

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and
we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." Isaiah
64:6.

The "good works" that you do are only good in YOUR eyes. In God's sight, you are a hopeless
sinner, and your works are totally unacceptable. If you are counting on your own righteousness
to save you, then you are setting yourself up for a very big disappointment.

"For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own
righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth." Romans 10:3-
4.

The Bible clearly states that we are all cursed with sin, and that we are all totally incapable of
earning our salvation by our own righteousness. Friend, unless your SINS are removed, God
will NOT accept you. You are hopeless.

Your Only Hope Is the Lord Jesus Christ

When you are ready to accept the fact that you are a lost and dying sinner and that your "good
works" are unacceptable to God, then you can begin to see your need for Jesus Christ. He
came into this world to lay down His sinless life for YOU--to pay for your sins, because you
couldn't. Jesus is your only hope for salvation. Only by receiving Him as your Savior can you
enter the gates of Heaven. There is no other way.

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the
Father but by me." John 14:6.
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12.

The Lord Jesus Christ has come and PAID for your sins by shedding His own Blood
on Calvary. By receiving Him as your Savior, you can be WASHED from all your sins in His
precious Blood (Rev. 1:5; Col. 1:14; Acts 20:28; I Pet. 1:18-19). Notice these important words
from Romans 5:8-9:

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath
through him."

Jesus PAID your way to Heaven for you! By receiving Him as your Savior, you will be receiving
God's ONLY means of Salvation for you. Are you willing to forsake YOUR righteousness and
receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, your ONLY HOPE for Salvation? Romans 10:13 says,
"Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:9
says, "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." Are you willing
to forsake your own righteousness, and ask Jesus Christ to save you? Why not pray right now
and ask the Lord to come into your heart and cleanse you from all sin. He will save you just as
He promised. That's a fact. Why not receive Him today? Tomorrow could be too late.

Seven Simple Things

You Should Know
about Salvation
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Copyright © 1994 James L. Melton
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"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your
minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." (2 Cor 11:3)

In the above portion of scripture the Apostle Paul expresses his concern about the fact that
Satan is in the business of confusing people about the simple salvation that is found in the Lord
Jesus Christ. The Bible makes it clear that God has a very simple plan of salvation for lost
sinners. Please keep reading...

Salvation Is Like Taking a Long Vacation

A vacation is a time when people QUIT WORKING and start resting. In Matthew 11:28-29, the
Lord Jesus Christ says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and ye shall find rest unto your souls."

Salvation cannot be obtained by human works. The lost are saved by grace through faith in
Christ, not by works (Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:5; Rom.4:5). No one can do enough works to be saved,
for our righteousness is no good (Isa. 64:6). We must STOP working for our salvation and
START RESTING in the finished work of Christ! Jesus said in John 19:30 that IT IS
FINISHED. There is no more salvation work to be done, for the Lord Jesus Christ has
completed it all! Friend, stop working and come to Jesus Christ to find rest for your soul.

Salvation Is Like Being Healed From A Disease

Jesus said in Matthew 9:12-13, "...They that be whole need not a physician, but they that
are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I
am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Then we read in places like
Romans 6:23, Romans 5:12, and James 1:15 that sin brings forth DEATH. So sin is a DEADLY
disease. In fact, it is the most deadly disease of all, for it affects
everyone. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of
God." Everyone has been plagued by the sin disease, and everyone needs to be cured by the
Great Physician, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Salvation Is Like Quenching Your Thirst

In John 4:14 the Lord Jesus said these words: "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I
shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well
of water springing up into everlasting life." Receiving Christ as your Savior is like taking a
refreshing drink of water when you are thirsty. You aren't satisfied until you've quenched your
thirst, and the longer you have to wait worse your condition becomes!

Proverbs 25:25 says, "As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far
country." The far country is Heaven, and the good news is that Jesus Christ has shed His
blood and died for your sins, was buried, and then rose again the third day for your justification
(I Cor. 15:1-4). Friend, the Lord Jesus Christ can QUENCH your spiritual thirst!

Salvation Is Like Taking A Bath

Revelation 1:5 says that Jesus has WASHED Christians in His own blood; so, in God's eyes, an
unsaved person is like a person who has NEVER HAD A BATH! On the outside you may look
all nice and clean, but God isn't looking on the outside. I Samuel 16:7 tells us that "...the
LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the
LORD looketh on the heart." Then Proverbs 30:12 says, "There is a generation that are
pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness." Friend, if you've never
been really born-again, then you are a SINNER and you need to be WASHED from your sins in
the blood of Jesus Christ.

Salvation Is Like Restoring a Relationship

We read in Colossians 1:21, "And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your
mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled." A Christian is a person who was once
God's enemy (James 4:4), but is now in good standing with God, for the relationship has been
restored.

Every person born since the fall of Adam in Genesis chapter three has been born into this evil
world with a fallen nature, a sin nature, which separates us from God and His heavenly
family. We are all natural-born sinners, so there is a need for us to be RECONCILED to God. 2
Cor. 5:17-21. Notice what the Apostle Paul says in Romans 5:8-10: "But God commendeth
his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then,
being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when
we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being
reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."
So being saved is like reconciling, or restoring a relationship.

Salvation Is Like Making A Fresh New Start

Have you ever made a real mess of things and wished you could just start all over? Salvation is
like that. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." To be saved is to be
BORN AGAIN, which starts a WHOLE NEW LIFE in Christ! Would you not like to throw away
all the sins of your life and start over with a fresh clean slate? Through the Blood of Jesus
Christ YOU CAN!

Salvation Is Like Getting Out Of Trouble

A sinner is not only an enemy of God, he is a CRIMINAL against God, and criminals must be
punished. Justice demands it. The God of the Bible is a God of JUSTICE. He always does the
right thing. This means that you, as a sinner, cannot go unpunished. The Bible says you will
spend eternity in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:15). In fact, John 3:18 says you are CONDEMNED
ALREADY, if you have never been born again! Like a criminal on death row, you are waiting for
your punishment. Your only hope is a PARDON, and you can only be pardoned by receiving
the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Friend, would you like to be saved? Romans 10:13 says, "For whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:9 says, "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." Why not turn from your sins and turn TO Jesus Christ and trust
Him to save you right now? Receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, then find a Bible-believing
church and speak with the Pastor about baptism and membership. Don't delay, for tomorrow
may be too late.
How I Know I’m Going
to Heaven
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Copyright © 1994 James L. Melton
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The Proclamation of God’s Word

"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye
may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of
God." (I Jn. 5:13)

". . . . I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I
have committed unto him against that day." (II Tim. 1:12)

Are you going to Heaven or Hell? Do you know the answer right now, or are you waiting to find
out after you die? Unfortunately, most people do NOT know the answer and are waiting to see
how things turn out. People are living as though the Bible had never been written. People are
living their lives in uncertainty, not considering the fact that God has spoken very clearly about
their eternal destiny. What about you? Are you going to ignore God's word, or are you willing to
take a few moments to see for yourself that God says it IS possible to KNOW your eternal
destiny?

The Power of God’s Preservation

"Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in
the last time." (I Pet. 1:5)
"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will
perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" (Philip. 1:6)

I know that I'm going to Heaven because GOD is preserving me. I'm not preserving my own
Salvation. I wasn't saved by my good works (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 4:5), so I do not STAY saved by
my good works. I am KEPT by the POWER OF GOD, not by my own power! God is able to
keep me from falling (Jude 24), because I'm HIS child and I'm in the palm of HIS hand
(Jn. 10:28-29). Ephesians 4:30 says that I have been SEALED by the Holy Spirit of God until
the day of redemption! I'm not worried about losing my Salvation. I KNOW I'm going to Heaven
because I'm being preserved by God's power.

The Promise of Eternal Security

"I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck
them out of my hand." (Jn. 10:28)

"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." (Jn. 3:16)

I know I'm going to Heaven because God has PROMISED eternal security to all who BELIEVE
on His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. To "believe" on Christ is to "receive" Christ, according to
John 1:12. During the spring of 1979, I repented of my sins and received Jesus Christ as my
Saviour. I had been lost in my sins, condemned to Hell forever (Jn. 3:18, 36). Then a man told
me how I could be saved from my sins and from Hell by RECEIVING the Lord Jesus Christ. I
received Christ, believing that HE ALONE could save me. I trusted in Him totally, for I knew that
He was my only hope. I called upon Him to save me and He did (Rom. 10:13, 9-10). He
brought me into God's family as a "son of God" (Jn. 1:12; I Jn. 3:2-3). I was a child of the devil,
a child of wrath (Jn. 8:44; Eph. 2:2-3), but now I'm eternally secure as a child of God.

If I sin as a child of God, then my Heavenly Father will rebuke and chasten me , just as any
good father would (Rev. 3:10; Heb. 12:4-8), but He will not condemn me with the world (I Cor.
11:32). God has promised His children ETERNAL SECURITY.

The Possession God Has Given His Saints

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent
me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from
death unto life." (Jn. 5:24)

"He that hath the Son hath life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I Jn. 5:12)

I know I'm going to Heaven because God has already given me ETERNAL LIFE . I'm not waiting
to receive eternal life-I ALREADY HAVE it as a present possession. Read the above verses
carefully and see for yourself that eternal life is IN Jesus Christ, and that you can receive eternal
life RIGHT NOW by receiving Christ right now!

When I received the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour, God placed His Eternal Spirit within me
and gave me Eternal Life. As a child of God, I'm still waiting to see Jesus, to enter Heaven, and
to receive my new glorified body, but I'm NOT waiting to be saved. My soul IS saved, and I
know I'm going to Heaven because God has given me Eternal Life.

The Perfection of God’s Saints

"For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." (Heb. 10:14)

"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is
counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man,
unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose
iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin." (Rom. 4:5-8)

Have you ever heard the expression "nobody's perfect"? That isn't true. In God's eyes, the
SOULS of all His saints ARE perfect, because they have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ for Salvation. Jesus shed His sinless blood to pay for my sins. He OFFERED Himself as
a PAYMENT for my sin. He paid my sin debt because I couldn't. By receiving Him as my
Saviour, I am also receiving the fact that He has PAID for my sins and that I can now REST in
His finished work, because my sins are GONE! My soul (not my flesh) has been made
PERFECT through the completed Blood Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I KNOW I'm
going to Heaven!
What about you? Why not forsake your own self-righteousness right now and receive the Lord
Jesus Christ as your Saviour? Why live a life of uncertainty when you can KNOW your eternal
destiny? Why not get it settled right now? Receive Christ today. Romans 10:9 says, "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." Why not call upon the Lord to
save you right now? You've seen the promises of scripture. Are you willing to CLAIM those
promises by receiving the Lord Jesus Christ today? Tomorrow may be too late.

Friend, if you’ve received Jesus Christ as your Saviour, start looking for a Bible-believing church
and speak with the Pastor about baptism, church membership, and how you can start serving
God.

The Unknown Soldier

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In Arlington National Cemetery rests the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This tomb stands as a
national memorial to the thousands of American soldiers who have died in war.

There are thousands of good men who have suffered and died in battle, only to be forgotten by
their fellow countrymen. Over 400,000 soldiers lost their lives in World War II, but how many
can you name? Over 33,000 men died in the Korean War, but how many can you
name? Vietnam brought about the death of some 58,000 American soldiers. Can you name
ten of them? Let’s face it: you can name more movie stars and sports figures than you can
American soldiers.

The sad fact is that we, as Americans, have taken our freedom for granted with very little
appreciation for those who have sacrificed so much, even their very lives, to ensure our
liberty. The many thousands of unknown soldiers in our nation’s history will, for the most part,
remain unknown. Life will go on, and most of the brave soldiers who have sacrificed for our
freedom will be forgotten by most Americans.

However, friend, there is one soldier whom you cannot afford to forget. There is one soldier
who suffered, bled, and died for you personally. That’s right. There is one soldier who spent
thirty-three years on a foreign battlefield and then died just for you. This good soldier obeyed
his orders, left his own home, completed his mission, and then laid down his honorable life just
so you could be free.

Who is he? He’s the beloved Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus left his glorious home
in heaven to come to this earth and die for your sins. He shed his blood and died to save you
from a burning hell. Will you show your appreciation by placing your trust in him, or will you
dishonor him by ignoring the great sacrifice that he made for you?

“Why,” you may ask, “did Jesus have to die for me?” He died for you because you are a
sinner: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23) You were
born with a sin nature, just as all men are, so Jesus Christ came to REDEEM you from your
fallen sinful condition. Satan is a thief who has led mankind into sin, death, and hell, but Jesus
Christ came to lead men back to heaven.

Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to
kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more
abundantly.” (John 10:10) Jesus bled and died so that YOU could have ETERNAL LIFE. He
was a good soldier indeed!

Now, please notice these inspired words from Romans 5:6-10: “For when we were yet without
strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will
one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God
commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through
him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,
much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” Read it again, please. Friend,
Jesus Christ was much more than a good soldier. A good soldier will die for other good men,
but Jesus Christ died for his EMEMIES! You, as a sinner in this world, are an enemy of God
(James 4:4; Col. 1:21), but Jesus still came and died for you! Jesus is a GREAT soldier! He’s
the greatest soldier to ever live.

In fact, God the Father in heaven was so pleased with Jesus Christ that he RAISED him from
the dead after three days in the tomb! The Bible says that “ . . . Christ died for our sins
according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day
according to the scriptures.” (I Cor. 15:3-4)

Many soldiers have died for their country, but none have ever walked out on death. Jesus
Christ came up from the grave - a victor over death - to offer eternal life to all who believe on
him. He is now the CAPTAIN of our salvation (Heb. 2:10)! Jesus said, “I am he that liveth,
and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and
of death.” (Rev. 1:18)

Do YOU want to walk out on death one day? Jesus Christ has the keys! Jesus is the WAY, the
TRUTH, and the LIFE (John 14:6). Why not confess that you are a lost sinner and that you
need a living Saviour today? Why not show your appreciation to the greatest Soldier to ever live
by joining his army today? Why not turn your back on the devil and fight the good fight for
Jesus Christ?

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “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.” You cannot
save yourself. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can wash your sins away: “Being justified freely
by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to
be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the
remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” (Rom. 3:24-25) Friend, if
you could earn your salvation, then Jesus came and died for NOTHING. If God wanted you to
“do good” and earn your salvation, then he would have never sent his Son to pay for your sins!

Friend, just as a military victory can establish national freedom for millions of people, Christ’s
victory over sin and death can establish SPIRITUAL freedom for you. Because of Jesus, your
sins can be washed away and forgiven FOREVER! “. . . Unto him that loved us, and washed
us from our sins in his own blood.” (Rev. 1:5)

Why not make Jesus Christ YOUR Captain right now? Romans 10:9-10 says, “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.” Why not bow
your head right now and ask the Lord Jesus Christ to come into your heart and wash your sins
away? You won’t find a better friend anywhere! He DIED for you, and he AROSE for you! Now
he invites you to be his very own.

Will you call upon him today, or will you let him fade into the past like an unknown soldier? “For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Rom. 10:13)
Get Baptized, Join the
Church,
Live a Good Moral
Life, and . . . You Will
Burn Forever
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