We are really happy that you have decided to follow Jesus! Congratulations and welcome to the family.

We want to give you some tools for your journey. This website has a whole lot of information to help explain to you what it means to be saved, forgiven and why Jesus can and will give you new life.

QUESTION 1: If you died tonight – are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven?

QUESTION 2: If you did get to heaven, and you were standing at the gate and God asked you “Why should I let you into my heaven?” What answer would you give?

Are you having trouble finding the answers?

The Bible is very clear – there is only one answer, and you can be sure that you’re saved and not be afraid of that question ever again. His name is Jesus.

WHY WOULD A LOVING GOD SEND ANYONE TO HELL?

Heaven was made as the place for people to spend eternity with God.

Hell was made to contain and judge all sin.

People were never meant to go to hell – they were intended for heaven.

The problem:  People Sin

So God was now faced with a new problem.  How could he separate people from their sin?  How could he still judge sin and contain it so that it didn’t enter heaven and eternity? But still have the people that he loves and created with Him in heaven, the wonderful place where He intended them to be with Him in eternity.

IF I’M REALLY GOOD CAN I GO TO HEAVEN?

NO.  Being really good has nothing to do with going to heaven.  No person can work their way into heaven by doing good things.

It’s not a scale in which God puts all your good things on one side and all your bad things on the other.   Sin became a part of you when you sinned.  

In the Garden of Eden, when God first created the world, there was a man and a woman named Adam and Eve.  They had a perfect relationship with God and talked and walked with Him every day.  There was only one thing that they were told not to do –“Don’t eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or you will surely die.” (Gen 2:17) Only one law – but they broke it.  They gave into temptation and ate the fruit, and then they were horrified to realise that there were consequences.  Suddenly they felt ashamed, they realised they were naked, and they hid themselves from God.  God was still looking for them and wanting to talk to them, but they could no longer be in His presence because they had the fruit of sin inside them now.  Each of us since then, have done exactly the same thing.  The bible says “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Rom 3:23) No man or woman has lived a perfect life – so none can go to heaven and all deserve eternal death.

WHAT IS THE CONSEQUENCE OF SIN?

Death.  Hell.  Separation from God.

The wages of sin is death. (Rom 6:23) When you work you earn money, When you sin you earn death.   Every person who has sinned (which is all of us) deserves death.

And so every person deserves to die to pay for their own sin.  It makes sense doesn’t it – if you die still attached to your sin then you have to go to the place where sin is dealt with.

GOD MADE THE RULES – WHY DOESN’T HE CHANGE THEM?

God is very good. He is a LOVING FATHER.

God is also very just.  He is a GOOD JUDGE.

But in this instance He has a dilemma.  Because this good and loving father has to sit on his seat as a judge, and pass judgement on the children that He loves so much.

How can He satisfy both His love and His justice?

THE ANSWER: JESUS

God satisfied His justice and acted in His love by sending Jesus to pay the price for us.

Imagine a law court, and you are put on trial for stealing 1 million dollars.  You have no possible way of paying the money back.  You feel used, and guilty, but without hope of being able to pay up.  You plead for help from the judge, but he says “The law says that you are guilty, the fine must be paid.  If you can’t pay it then you must go to jail until you’ve paid off your debt.  This will take the rest of your life.” The judge is about to slam down the hammer and the judgement would be set, but then a man stands up and says “I’ll pay the fine.”  And he pays the 1 million dollars for you and you go free.

This is what Jesus has done.

So what we all need is someone who is rich enough to pay our fine.  The problem with all people is that they have already sinned and have to pay for their own sins.

WHY COULD JESUS PAY FOR OUR SINS?

Jesus is the only man ever to have lived a PERFECT life.

Jesus is 100% Man and 100% God at the same time.

He wasn’t born into sin like we were, because His Father was God Himself.   So He didn’t inherit that natural tendency to sin.  He was like Adam and Eve, back in the garden, and given the choice to sin, but He never sinned.

The Bible says: “He was tempted in every way that is common to all people, but He never sinned.” (Heb 4:15)

Therefore he didn’t need to die for his own sins.

But instead He chose to die and he paid the penalty for the sins of all mankind when he died.

WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO GET THIS FORGIVENESS?

It’s as simple as accepting a gift.

Gifts are things that someone else buys for you.  You don’t pay for your own gift otherwise it wouldn’t be called a gift – but it would be called a purchase!

Well Jesus has purchased a new life for you and you get to receive it as a gift.

God’s heart is that of a loving father – He loves to give good gifts to people who don’t deserve it.  In fact, the bible says that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8) Jesus didn’t wait until we deserved it before He died for us, but He just went ahead and paid the price, before you were even born.   The gift from Father God to you is forgiveness.    And the only thing you need to do is recognise your need for this gift, and ask Jesus if He will give you the forgiveness that he already bought.

Imagine if someone had bought you a car, but you were too stubborn to talk to them, so you ignored them for years and years.  Perhaps you even complained to people that you were sick of walking and wished you had a car.  All the time, this car has been bought and paid for and is sitting outside your house, but you need to go and talk to the person who bought it for you and let Him give you the keys so that you can drive it.

THE GIFT = A WHOLE NEW LIFE

Jesus died on a Friday.

But…

He rose again on the Sunday!

When the disciples went looking for his body on the Sunday morning, they couldn’t find it.  All they found was the clothes he’d been wrapped in and an angel who told them that Jesus was alive again!

When you ask Jesus to save you from the consequences of your sinfulness – it’s like He takes you with Him into death.  All of that part of yourself that loved to sin, that wanted to do the wrong things and that had no ability to resist temptation – it dies with Him on that cross.  Your sinful life ends the minute you ask Jesus to save you.  Even if you do sinful things again in the future, you will not HAVE to sin ever again.  You used to be powerless when it came to sinning, but when you receive the free gift of new life from Jesus, you are no longer a slave to sin. You don’t have to do whatever sin commands you to do, but you get a NEW LIFE.   Just as Jesus died and rose again, you die in that sinful part of you and are raised into a BRAND NEW LIFE!

This NEW LIFE is exciting.

You were made to live this way.

Nothing is the same anymore.

It’s like you’ve been born all over again.

Heaven is now your home.

You have power not to sin (i.e. You CAN say “NO”, now)

You can pray for the sick and they’ll be healed.

You can cast out demons.

Everything you read about in the bible can be your experience because you are a NEW PERSON spiritually.

DO YOU WANT TO RECEIVE THE GIFT FROM JESUS?

YES?

Then pray this out loud to God.  He is everywhere all the time, and He will hear you as you honestly pray this to Him:

Dear God,

I have sinned and I recognise now that I need to be forgiven.  I believe that Jesus died on the cross and paid for my sins.  Please forgive me for my sins – they’ve kept me from you for so long and I never want to sin again.  I choose to receive forgiveness and new life as a free gift.  I invite Jesus to come and live in my heart from now on.  Thank you.  I give my life to you right now Jesus and I want to follow you forever.  Amen.

THOSE 2 QUESTIONS AGAIN:

QUESTION 1: If you died tonight – are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven?

Answer: YES!  The Bible says that, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom 10:9)

QUESTION 2: If you did get to heaven, and you were standing at the gate and God asked you “Why should I let you into my heaven?” What answer would you give?

Answer: Because of what Jesus has done I am able to enter heaven.

WHAT THIS MEANS:

Because you’ve been born all over again you can be sure that:
You are now a child of God. (John 1:12)
You are Jesus’ friend (John 15:15)
You have direct access to God (Eph 2:18)
You are deeply loved, totally accepted, 100% forgiven and complete in Christ!
You belong to a family of people (the church)
You no longer have to go through life alone
You’ve got destiny and purpose.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

So you’ve decided to follow Jesus?  Congratulations!  You may be asking “what does that mean” or “where do I go from here?”
 
1. Decide to follow Jesus!
 
2. Start reading your Bible.

The bible is God’s love letter to you, and reading it is a great way to grow in your relationship with Him. 

We encourage you to read the letter ‘1 John’ through once a day for the first week.   (1 John is near the end of the New Testament.)

After that check out the life of Jesus as recorded in the book of Mark (2nd Book of New Testament.) 

After Mark, read Acts. (5th Book in the New Testament).  This should give you a good start.

3. Talk to God.

Prayer is talking to God.  Talk to Him for 5 minutes at the beginning of every day.  Tell him what you are thinking, feeling and wondering about.  Ask Him for help for yourself or your friends and family.  He listens, He cares, and He will answer.

4. Join a church

HOW DO YOU FIND A CHURCH?

If you live in the Greater Toronto Area we would love to care for you here at TACF. Please call us at 416.674.8463  or email mail@tacf.org and one of our youth connection team will contact you and help you get connected.  We would love to get to know you and have the privilege of helping you to become a mature Christian, capable of leading many.

If you live outside the Greater Toronto Area then we would encourage you to find a church in your area.   If you have friends who go to church, they might be able to advise you on which one they think would suit you best.  Perhaps you could go to church with them and they can help you get connected.   If you don’t know anyone who can help you, then please contact us at mail@tacf.org and we’ll do our best to help you.