Dear editor:
Donald Cunningham (who is a retired pastor) made an excellent point in his last letter (Sunday, Sept. 9). He said that the Bible does not teach that God has chosen ahead of time who will be saved and who will be condemned to hell.
No, God lets each one of us have the freedom to either accept or reject Jesus Christ as our Savior. God has given man a free will to make his own choices. He won't try to coerce anyone to turn to Him.
God declares that all men have sinned against Him, so all have offended Him. All of us are guilty before Him.
"Yes, all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious ideal" (Romans 3:23).
So we all need a Savior! We all need salvation. We need our sins to be forgiven.
Salvation is offered to everyone as a free gift. It must be a free gift because no man could ever earn his salvation by somehow doing enough good works. God says that would be impossible!
Man cannot work his way up to God and save himself. Only God can save a man.
Nothing else but the finished work of Jesus Christ's sacrificial death on the cross is sufficient for our salvation. That alone, and nothing else added to it, is all God requires.
The important part that a man plays in his salvation is coming to God so that God can save him. The Bible tells us that all may come who will come.
It is a matter of the will. Will you choose to come and received the free gift of salvation? Will you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?
God gives us the opportunity either to love Him or to reject Him without violating our freedom.
God will let you do the choosing, but remember that your choice will have profound eternal consequences! Your eternity will be spent either in heaven or hell!
Jesus Christ was God who came to earth in the form of a man. He died a horrible death on a wooden cross as a sacrifice for our sins.
This was the God-man who never sinned, who was willing, out of love, to take the punishment that we deserved.
In other words, this was God coming down to die for us so that we might live. Does that not impress you?
"In this act we see what real love is: it is not our love for God, but His love for us when He sent His Son to satisfy God's anger against our sins" (1 John 4:10).
God wants everyone to be saved, but unfortunately and tragically, not everyone will be, because they won't choose to believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior!
"Yet now God declares us 'not guilty' of offending Him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins" (Romans 3:24).
Are you ready for eternity? Have you been saved?
Remember -- eternity is only one heartbeat away!
Lloyd Hoffman
Hot Springs
Editorial on 09/16/2018