salvation

You may have come across this web page out of curiosity, for more information about Tony Cowan
Ministries, or just because you stumbled across it looking for something else. Whatever the reason, it
is important for us to share the good news of salvation with you. If you are already born again and
positive that if you died this minute you would go to Heaven, then we rejoice with you for your
testimony. If you are not confident that if you passed from this life to
eternity that you would be given access into Heaven, then take a few minutes and read further.

Is God real?
There are an increasing number of people in our society who deny the existence of God, Heaven, Hell,
and sin. Men have created very elaborate systems of philosophy such as the evolution theory which
deny the existence of a Creator. They believe that if they can somehow explain God away, then it will
make them feel better about their sin and guilt. The idea is that if God doesn’t exist, then they will
never have to stand in judgment for their actions. While this may ease the mind temporarily and
harden the hearts of people towards their sin and guilt, it really does nothing about liberating them
from the bondage to sin. God is real. Sin is real. The day of Judgment is real and will come. There is a
real Hell to shun and a real Heaven to gain. Denial will not do away with reality. The fact is that there is
a Judgment Day on the horizon. Will you stand in confidence on the Day, knowing that Jesus is your
Savior and your sins are washed away? Or will you stand there alone before God without a plea,
destined to spend eternity in a place of eternal damnation? Eternity is a long time – it is forever. There
is no reason for anyone to go there. Jesus has paid the
price for all of us. All you have to do is just receive this salvation by faith.

Why do I need to be saved?
So many people have the belief that they will not be denied access into Heaven because they are
basically good in their own eyes. After all, they are not that bad – they haven’t murdered anyone.
They believe that, in comparison to everybody else, they are as good as anyone else. Is being good
enough, or as good as the next person, a solid reason for escaping Hell and living for eternity in
Heaven? God set a standard for salvation, which is measured by the Law, not by an individual’s own
set of rules, or by comparison with someone else. The requirement is that we perfectly keep the Law.
The Law contains the Ten Commandments: You shall have no other gods before God Almighty; You
shall not make for yourself a carved image (idol); You shall not take the Name of the Lord your God in
vain; Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; Honor your father and mother; You shall not
murder; Your shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness against
your neighbor (you shall not lie); Your shall not covet what belongs to your neighbor. The Bible says
that whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all of it. If you have
perfectly kept all of those commandments without ever breaking one of them, then I guess you are
good enough to get into Heaven. However, if you are like the rest of us, and have sinned, then you are
in need of salvation. Sounds like a tall order doesn’t it?

The Good News
Even if you are like all of the rest of us who have sinned, there is still hope for you. God sent His own
Son, Jesus, to take our place as our substitute in paying the penalty for violating God’s Law. He was
conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, free from the contamination of sin and the sin nature
that was passed down from Adam. He perfectly kept the Law all of His life. At the cross, Jesus
identified with the sin of mankind – not because He committed sin of His own, but out of love for us.
He actually became what we were on the cross. All the sin, the curse, the sickness, poverty, and the
condemnation that we had, He bore for us on the cross. We could not pay the debt that we owed
ourselves, so Jesus paid the price in full for us. He died on the cross and suffered three days and nights
in the belly of the earth. After paying the price for our redemption in full, the place of condemnation
in Hell could no longer hold Him. On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead – justified and free from
sin and the resulting condemnation.

Jesus identified with us in our sin through the abundance of God’s love and grace. We can now identify
with Him by our response of faith. When Jesus laid down His life for us on the cross, God put all of
mankind’s sin and condemnation into His account. God, in essence, treated Jesus the same way He
would a sinner. The good news is that when you identify with Jesus in what He did for all mankind,
God will treat you like He does Jesus. God the Father will put into your account all the things that
Jesus did in the plan of redemption. The sin, condemnation and guilt will no longer be there. When
you are born again, righteousness (that is a big word meaning God is not mad at you), freedom, peace
and joy will now be a part of your life.

What about the good things I have done?
Some people say, “I’m a member of such-and-such church and have been baptized in water. Doesn’t
that mean that I am already a Christian?” These are all good things, but identifying with a church
organization will not save you, nor is merely performing an outward work. Jesus said you must be
born again. Nicodemus misunderstood what Jesus meant. He asked if he would need to enter into his
mother’s womb and be born again. However, Jesus wasn’t speaking naturally. He said, “That which is
born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit.” The spirit man is the real you.
Without Jesus, the spirit has the nature of sin and death in it. It will have to go through a nature
change. Outward works will not change the inside nature of a person.

There are two main things that God did in the plan of salvation. One, He forgave and cleansed all of the
acts of sin. Second, He did something about the sin nature that was causing all of those acts of sin. You
see, God never gave us the Law so that we could be saved by it. He knew there was no way that anyone
with a sin nature like ours could ever perfectly keep the Law. Then why did He give it to us? In order
to expose the sin nature. We would not have known that we were that bad, until we had something
perfectly good to measure ourselves by. For example, you might think that a 60 watt light bulb is
bright if that is the only light you were ever exposed to. However, one day someone introduced you to
the light of the sun. The light of the sun will overwhelm and nullify the 60 watt light bulb. The Law was
given to make us feel bad and guilty so that we would turn to God and accept His plan of salvation. We
would recognize our need for a Savior.

Don’t be blinded and deceived by your own goodness. Your goodness is not enough to save yourself.
To stand before God on that Judgment Day in your own goodness, will be like the 60 watt light bulb in
comparison to the sun. You need to let go of that weak substitute of your own goodness and receive
God’s goodness in the person of Jesus.

Maybe you have been doing a lot a good things trying to earn your way into Heaven. That is
commendable, but how much is enough? At what point do the balance scales tip in your favor? When
will you find out if you did enough good works to get into Heaven? What happens if you didn’t do
enough? These are all serious questions that shouldn’t be left for chance. Be sure of your salvation.
Receive Jesus today. Then you can enjoy the peace of God right now.

Being saved is easy!
Receiving Jesus and being born again is the easiest thing in the world. Romans 10:9-13 says, “…that if
you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God 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 there is no distinction between the Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all
who call upon Him. For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” Notice how many times
this passage uses the word “whoever.” Salvation is not just for the “do-gooders.” Jesus paid the price
for everyone’s sin. Maybe you have murdered someone. God’s grace is so great and abundant that He
made provision for everyone’s sins. Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever 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”. Salvation was God’s idea long before it was your idea. He demonstrated His love for us and
His willingness to save us by sending His only Son to die for us. He wants to save you more than you
want to be saved. He doesn’t want people dying in their sin and going to hell for eternity.

Why doesn’t God just save everybody then? Because He created man to have a free will. There cannot
be a true love relationship without a choice not to love. God created Adam and placed Him in the
Garden of Eden and gave him a choice. Again, God has provided a choice for mankind. We can choose
His way, or choose to go our own way. Salvation is an individual decision. It requires you to make a
choice. Salvation has been provided for all who will receive it. It is for all the “whoevers.”

It’s time to receive your salvation.
Now it is time to act on God’s instructions for receiving your personal salvation. I have included a
prayer below that you can follow, or you can say your own prayer. However you decide to do this,
make sure it follows what the Bible says, and make sure it comes from your heart.

“Dear God, I acknowledge that I am a sinner in need of salvation. I cannot personally meet the
requirements for salvation on my own. I am calling on You right now to be my personal Savior, Jesus.
You are the only One Who can save me from my sins. I believe that You became sin for me. I believe
that You died for me on the cross. I believe that You suffered three days and nights in the belly of the
earth. I believe that You paid the penalty for my sin in full, and that, on the third day, God raised You
from the dead. I ask You to forgive me and to cleanse me from all my sins, and cause me to be born
again. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is my Lord. Now, thank You, Heavenly Father, for receiving
me as Your own, making me Your very own child. I receive Your great love and grace now by faith. I
receive my forgiveness. I receive Your peace and joy in my life now. Thank You that I am on my way
to Heaven to live with You for all eternity. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

If you sincerely prayed that prayer, then you are now a born again, child of God. You are forgiven and
cleansed. You are on your way to Heaven. The Bible says that when a sinner turns to the Lord, the
angels rejoice in Heaven. There is a Heavenly party going on right now, and you are the cause of it!

We would love to hear from you. If you just received Jesus, please e-mail us, write us, or call us. The
contact information is on this website. When you contact us, we will send you, free of charge, a
salvation packet that will help you get started in your new life with the Lord. If you do not have a
Bible, let us know, and we will be glad to send you a free one with your packet. If you are in the Athens,
Georgia area, we would love for you to join us here. If you are not in the immediate area, we can help
you locate a church home in your area, if you would like. It is vitally important that you join yourself
to a local church somewhere.

From Here To Eternity (right click and save target as)

Tony Cowan Ministries

From Darkness
To Light
Acts 26:18

PO Box 6845 Athens, GA 30604 phone: 706-353-7303 t onycowanmin@bellsouth.net