The Bible, in comparison to the religious writings of other ancient civilizations and cultures

Sometimes people raise the point that the writings of the other ancient civilizations and cultures of the world have much knowledge regarding various things e.g. astronomy, astrology, health and medical sciences, supernatural and metaphysical activities etc. so how does the Bible compare to them and the knowledge found in them? The Bible is not silent about these things and does mention God’s point-of-view regarding the aforementioned things in the ancient writings of other people or cultures or civilizations of any place of the world. The Bible does mention the Sun, Moon, and stars and constellations for seasons, God’s set purposes and to declare the glory of God (Genesis 1:14-18; Job 9:9; Job 38:31; Psalms 19:1-2; Psalms 104:19), and the use of stars to navigate (Matthew 2:2);  but it expressly forbids ascribing any divinity to or worshiping of the heavenly bodies (Deuteronomy 4:19; 2 Kings 23:4-5). The Bible speaks of quarantining and preventive measures for health and safety (Leviticus 7:19; Leviticus 11:24-39; Leviticus 13; Numbers 19:11-16); and denounces the practice of witchcraft, sorcery, indulging with spirits, divination and soothsaying (Leviticus 19:26, 31; Deuteronomy 18:10-12). But just because The Bible does not go into any great details, discourses or explanations about them and other such things, therefore this should not be construed as reason and evidence of those other writings being superior to The Bible.

This is because the theme of The Bible is entirely different and unique – it never was meant to be a book of knowledge regarding the temporal universe, which will one day perish and come to an end. Rather, the Bible is about reconciling mankind with God through coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, since mankind is separated from God because of their sins – and no extent of any temporal knowledge of any kind can deliver any person from the eternal and disastrous consequences of their sins. Give it a thought, despite having all the knowledge that they had about so many different things, could any of the ancient civilizations of any place in the world and their knowledgeable people ever deliver themselves or their people from the problem of sin and its disastrous consequences; could they provide the way to be delivered form sins and of salvation? No matter how much one may pride and glory in the status of knowledge – past or present, the stark sad fact remains that no temporal knowledge of any kind can deliver any one from their sins and its consequences; and the eternal future of any one dying in sin is very bleak, since they are destined to be in hell for all eternity, no matter what the state of their knowledge on earth may be. The knowledge of those ancient civilizations and cultures about temporal and worldly things can confuse a person through imaginary doctrines related to life, after-life, and death, but can never provide any lasting, practical, and provable solution to the problem of personal sin of a person.

The theme and content of the Bible, from the beginning to the end is the Lord Jesus Christ, and the deliverance from sins and the salvation that only He provides, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). This theme, i.e. the Lord Jesus, His life, His character and characteristics, His works and ministry, His salvation etc. are all indicated, taught, and exemplified through the various teachings, laws, events, happenings, lives and writings of certain historical people, God’s dealings with men in various circumstances, etc.  and have been recorded centuries before the birth of the Lord Jesus on earth in the Old Testament section of the Bible. The Lord Jesus Himself and other writers of The Bible testified of this repeatedly, as is apparent from some related references from the Bible, given below:

John 5:39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.

John 5:46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.

John 12:41 These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.

Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: 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.

Hebrews 10:7 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come-- In the volume of the book it is written of Me-- To do Your will, O God.'

The New Testament section of the Bible begins with four accounts of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus, and how He prepared and provided the way of salvation for the entire mankind, for the whole world. This salvation that He has made freely available is to be accepted voluntarily and made applicable in their lives personally by everyone, free of any cost, without any works or rituals: “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:1-9), and thereby the person is reconciled with God through the forgiveness of sins made available by the Lord Jesus: “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame." ”; “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Romans 10:9-11; Romans 5:10). The New Testament, after the biographical records of the Lord Jesus then goes on to provide the history, events, growth, practices and responsibilities of the disciples of the Lord Jesus, that collectively form His Church – the group of the called out ones, through the writings of some of the disciples of the Lord Jesus. And finally the Bible and New Testament culminate with the Book of Revelation – which is a prophetically given record, of the end of the world, of the end times – the times we are presently living in, as is evident from the various end-times prophecies being fulfilled before our eyes (Read an account in Matthew chpt. 24). The book of Revelation details the coming inevitable judgment of the whole world and of every person ever to inhabit it, and the eternal life to follow – with God in heaven, or without God in hell – as per the choice every person made while living on the earth, the decision they made when brought to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus and the salvation He freely offers to all, and lived with for their entire life on earth, despite all opportunities provided to them to correct their decision: “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:11-15).

Once their life on earth comes to an end, their individual decisions for their eternity immediately come in to effect and they now are irrevocable. Those who have accepted the Lord Jesus and His offer of forgiveness of sins, and accordingly have repented of their sins, having asked forgiveness of their sins from Him, have submitted their lives to Him, to live in obedience to Him and His Word – the Bible “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:37-42), they will, as the children of God “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13), go to be with their Father God in His abode – Heaven (please read Romans chpt. 5). Those who have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ and His offer of eternal life with Him in heaven, will, as per their choice and decision made on earth, be sent away for all eternity, from the presence of God into hell – the place of the devil and his angels: “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41 – see verses 31 to 46).

There is no escaping the fact that, as it claims to be, The Bible is the one and only Word of God, that has irrefutable ancient textual, even from non-Christian texts and records, historical accounts and archeological proofs to back its claims. The Bible too states this for itself:

2 Samuel 23:1-2 Now these are the last words of David. Thus says David the son of Jesse; Thus says the man raised up on high, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel: "The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue.

2 Timothy 3:15-17 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Peter 1:21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

The Bible is the one and only inerrant, infallible, eternal, irrevocable, absolute, Word of God, “The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever” (Psalms 119:160) that is settled in heaven for all times, “Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven” (Psalms 119:89) – therefore it can never ever be altered or destroyed by any one, through any means, no matter what any one might say or claim. The Bible is the written revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the theme and content of the Bible and therefore the Bible is also known as the ‘Living Word’: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:1-4). Lord Jesus is the one and only God who made Himself of no reputation and came to earth in the flesh, lived and suffered as any other common man of earth, all for the salvation of the whole of mankind: “but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:7-8); “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:12-14); “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4: 14-16). Since God can never change, never in any way be altered by any one, nor be falsified or made a liar, nor be destroyed, therefore neither can His written revelation the Bible ever be changed, be altered, falsified or made hypocritical, or be destroyed by anyone.

The Bible is unique, is different and incomparable in any manner to any religious writings of any people, anywhere in the world, ever; since it is not a book to be read for knowledge, rather it is the Living Word of God that reads and lays bare the life of the reader, through and through. It is not a book of religion, but of repentance from sins and faith in the Lord Jesus, of accepting and believing that He has provided once and for all the only possible way to eternal salvation. The Bible is not about the activities and behavior of a myriad of personalities to whom though divinity has been ascribed, but yet it is stated that they go around mutually having ego related and emotional issues, seeking and plotting superiority and power over each other, vying with each other for receiving human worship, being involved in the use of intoxicating and inebriating substances and drinks, and in lustful activities – i.e. all the things that human beings are asked not to be involved in so that they can be righteous and good, are found in them. And despite all the religious works, rites, rituals, penances etc. prescribed for humans by these divine personalities to attain holiness, they are not in the least ready to see that any human ever attains to their level and stature. If perchance anyone through their efforts comes anywhere near reaching near to them, conspiracies are hatched and executed to ensure their downfall into sin and mortal existence. Rather, The Bible is about the one true and perfectly Holy God that cannot even see evil “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours A person more righteous than he?” (Habakkuk 1:13), let alone live with it or compromise with it. But He loves the fallen humanity so much that He wants to redeem them and restore them into His image, the image that He had created them in, “Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."” (Genesis 1:26-28); “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord”; 2 Corinthians 3:18), and has provided the way for this to be done. It is the book that exhorts to go out into the whole world to spread the good news for the benefit of mankind at every place, rather than being possessive, secretive and exploitative about things beneficial for mankind.

The Bible is also incomparable to any other text or writing anywhere in the world since it not about:

·         the temporal and perishing gains that man accrues for himself, but about the eternal life and heavenly blessings that God in His love and grace has freely offered to mankind.

·         dividing and keeping the people apart by segregating them into classes and castes, but it is about uniting all people as one, as the equal, saved and Born Again children of God into God’s family.

·         establishing worldly kingdoms and dominating others, but about the heavenly kingdom of God and reaching out to help and serve others in humility and love like the Lord Jesus.

·         winning strifes and wars, but about winning hearts and establishing God’s throne in the hearts of people.

·         gaining and excelling in knowledge about temporal things, but about receiving salvation – being saved by the love and grace of God once and for all from sin and its consequences for all eternity;

·         the created things, but about the very Creator Lord God who became man to save mankind;

·         destroying the sinners, but about loving and saving them for eternity once and for all.

So, looking down upon the Bible through trying to compare it to any other writings of the world is like taking up a highly acclaimed textbook on Rocket Science and then rejecting it, putting it away, simply because it says nothing about learning the alphabets and nursery rhymes – there simply are no grounds, none whatsoever, for any such analysis, comparisons or for drawing any such conclusions related to the Bible.

No knowledge, no writing of earth can ever attain to it, since The Bible is the one and only Book of Heaven, given for the deliverance of people of the earth.

Salvation and Deliverance from Sins – What and How?

Salvation, or to be saved means to be saved or to be rescued from the deleterious effect of sin – eternal death, i.e. to be rescued from being separated from God forever, and, after this earthly life, from being cast away into hell fire forever, from where none can ever come back, “And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us” (Luke 16:26). To be saved means to be justified before God and for eternity to be reconciled with God through the Lord Jesus “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”; and “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life”” (Romans 5:1, 10). The added benefits of salvation or being saved are that we become God’s children “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13), and a co-heir with Christ Jesus “and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8:17).

Every person is born unrighteous with a natural tendency to sin, “What is man, that he could be pure? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?” (Job 15:14); and “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me” (Psalms 51:5).  Unrighteousness and sinfulness is our in-born hereditary tendency because of the effects of the sin of our fore-parents, Adam and Eve, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). Just as a drowning person cannot lift himself out of the water by catching hold of his hair and trying to pull himself out of water, similarly a person made unholy and defiled by sin cannot make himself holy and pure by any self-efforts of being righteous, “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6). Just as that drowning man needs help from someone outside, similarly a person drowning in sin needs the help of someone to be delivered from the sin, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7).

The Holy and Sinless God can never compromise or keep company with sin – this is contrary to His nature and character, “When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood “; “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear”; “Then they will cry to the Lord, But He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, Because they have been evil in their deeds” (Isaiah 1:15; 59:2; Micah 3:4). But He also loves His best creation, man, very much and wants to have fellowship with him – even though man has now fallen in sin. Not only is God a loving God, but He is also a just God. He cannot simply condone sin, God's justice demands that the sinner receive and bear the just and God determined punishment for his sin – death, i.e. to be separated from Him, “Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die”; “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (Ezekiel 18:4, 20). If man were to undergo this punishment then he would never be able to return to fellowship with God; but God, in His great love for us, does want to have fellowship with man.

It was God who provided the way out of this seemingly impossible imbroglio, so that His justice could be met, as well as He could have fellowship with men. God was born as a man on this earth, incarnated as the Lord Jesus Christ, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”; “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth”  (John 1:1, 14), and lived a sinless and spotless even though living as a common man, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin”; “For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens” (Hebrews 4:15; 7:26); “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth” (1 Peter 2:22); “And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). The Lord Jesus never committed any sin; all through His life, He knew no sin. Yet the Lord Jesus took upon Himself all the sins of everyone in the whole world, and by taking up the sins of every person of earth, on the Cross of Calvary He became sin for all the people of the world, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21), and He then bore the punishment for sin for the entire mankind, He suffered death, “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15) and separation from God in place of man. “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" ” (Matthew  27:46). He knowingly and voluntarily sacrificed Himself on the cross, “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father” (John 10:17-18). He died, He was buried, and by resurrecting from the dead on the third day He proved His divinity, “Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.”; “because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 2:23-24; 17:31).

Since it is only the Lord Jesus who has provided an everlasting and appropriate solution for the sin of mankind, therefore salvation for mankind is only through the Lord Jesus, no one else, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Now, the way of salvation by the work of the Lord Jesus on the Cross of Calvary is open for every person of the world, and is freely available for everyone, “But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life” (Romans 5:15-18).

Now to receive forgiveness from sins and salvation all that any person needs to do is to believe on the Lord Jesus, ask for His forgiveness for their sins from Him and surrender their life to Him; and nothing more, “So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household" ” (Acts 16:31). For everyone, irrespective of their religion (including those born in families professing the christian religion), caste, place, color, education, worldly status, or any other criteria, Salvation is only possible by repentance, i.e. by coming to a heartfelt realization of their sinful status and it's eternal consequences, by acknowledging their sins and voluntarily asking the forgiveness for them from the Lord Jesus and submitting their lives to Him, with a sincere heart, “Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38), otherwise not. To be saved is also known as to be Born Again – i.e. to be born out of the perishing worldly life into eternal spiritual life; and nobody can even see, let alone enter heaven, without being Born Again, “Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:3-5); “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." ” (1 Corinthians 15:50,53-54). This salvation or being Born Again or being saved is not something that is neither through living according to any religion, nor is it familial, neither is it inherited nor is it hereditary; nor is it possible by any kind of works oe efforts, nor through fulfilling any rituals, nor by observing and following any traditions or custom and manners, it is purely by the grace of God through faith and faith alone in Christ Jesus “even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:5-9).

Every person has to be personally Born Again for their own sins. Whosoever believes on the Lord Jesus voluntarily and sincerely, and asks forgiveness for their own sin from Him, surrenders their life to Him, becomes His disciple, and commits to living a life of obedience to Him, only such a person receives forgiveness from sins and is saved from the eternal deleterious consequences of their sin, i.e. is saved, and receives the honor of being a child of God, and of living with Him in heaven for eternity “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23)।

This is salvation, or being saved – being delivered from sin and from death i.e. from the terrible and unimaginable pain of eternally suffering in hell, being separated from God forever, simply by believing on the Lord Jesus and thereby entering the eternal life of bliss with God.

So to be saved, do not rely on any thing or anyone else, except the one true, infallible, inerrant, and irrevocable Word of God - the Bible, and take that step of faith outlined above to secure your eternal destiny. By doing so, you have nothing to loose except your sins and eternity in hell, rather, you have everything to gain, for all eternity in heaven. You can do it right now, at this very moment; you do not need the presence or help of any other person to do this. All you need to do to be saved or Born Again is to pray with a sincere heart a simple, honest, and straightforward prayer, something like: "Lord Jesus I believe in you and that you have paid for my sins on the Cross of Calvary. Please forgive my sins, and accept me. I wholly surrender my life to you. Please help me to live a life committed to you and according to your Word - the Bible." That is all, no rituals, no works of any kind, no obligation to any person in any manner, but just entering into a sincere and heartfelt relationship with the Lord Jesus, through simple faith.

Basis of Christian Faith in a Nutshell

The Bible is the one and only true, eternal, inerrant, infallible, unchanging and unchangeable Word of God: “The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever” (Psalms 119:160). It is forever established in Heaven: “Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven” (Psalms 119:89), and in Lord Jesus’ own words, at the end, we will be judged by the Word: “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him--The Word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day” (John 12:48).

The Bible is also known as the “Word” and is the written revelation of God Himself: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). The Lord Jesus is God incarnated in human form, the Living Word, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14), and He is also known by His title “Son of God” – which is just one of the ways the Lord Jesus was to be known by; it does not denote any familial relationship with God: “And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). The theme of the Bible is the Lord Jesus, and the Bible contains everything that we need to know about Him. During His life on earth Lord Jesus preached repentance from sins and the Kingdom of God: “…Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." ” (Mark 1:14-15); and He went about doing good to all “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38).

 In His own words, the Lord Jesus came into the world to save sinners: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Luke 5:32). He was came to save the world from the consequences of sins: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:16-18). To save us from our sins, although He lived a sinless life: “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth” (1 Peter 2:22), yet He took the sins of everyone of the whole world upon Himself, and paid their penalty by dying for them, and then as proof of His being God, He rose up from the dead on the third day: “who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” (Galatians 1:4); “…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” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Now, whosoever, irrespective of their nationality, caste, color, education, worldly status or any other consideration, on his own will sincerely and humbly accepts what the Lord Jesus has done for deliverance from sins, repents and asks forgiveness for sins from Him, and voluntarily submits his or her life into the Lord Jesus’ hands, is immediately saved from sins and becomes the child of God for eternity: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12, 13); by this one simple act of faith that involves no human works or rituals of any kind and no human mediation of any kind: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8, 9). Any one, at any time, at any place – even you, right now, can do it for yourself: “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10), by saying in sincere heartfelt faith a simple prayer: “Lord Jesus please forgive my sins and accept me. I submit my life into your hands. ” His offer of salvation is free and open to all, no matter what, or how severe, their sins may have been – His forgiveness is way above any human depravity and extent of sinfulness.

Lord Jesus is the only way to God, “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6); He is the only way to be saved from sins: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). His kingdom is not of this world: “Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here" ” (John 18:36). This world and all things and all the worldly minded people will perish: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17); therefore the Lord Jesus is preparing for His disciples to be with Him in Heaven forever: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3). Before ascending to heaven, the Lord Jesus gave His disciples the responsibility to go into the world to preach and teach not any religion or conversion from one religion to another, but this gospel (good news) of salvation from sins through faith in Him, because He has paid for the sins of the world and He asked them to make disciples from all nations of the earth: “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" Amen” (Matthew 28:18-20).

 Hence: I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live (Deuteronomy 30:19) – so make a wise choice for yourself.