Golf has rules — and penalties. So does life.

Golf has boundaries, rules, and rewards. Life does too — but the stakes are eternal. You may have strayed off course, but God offers mercy. You don’t get a mulligan in life, but you can be forgiven and made new through Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, “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). He is the only way back to God. Are you ready to stop playing for yourself and start living for what matters forever?

Just like going out of bounds on the course, sin takes us far from God. “All we like sheep have gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6a). We’ve all broken God's law. “For all have sinned” (Romans 3:23). And the result is eternal death: “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a).

God’s standard is clearly laid out for us:
• thou shalt have no other gods before me,
• thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain,
• honor thy father and thy mother,
• thou shalt not kill, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, or covet.

The problem is, we are sinners before a holy God and He will hold us accountable. The Bible tells us, “For the wages of sin is death;” and “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” The death spoken of here is eternal separation from God in hell, a place of everlasting torment. No amount of good deeds can cancel the guilt of sin. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a).

But God didn’t leave us in the rough. “The LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6b). Because God is also merciful and loving, He had a plan to restore our relationship with Him. He would send His Son Jesus Christ to take the penalty for our sin.

“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.” Romans 5:8-9

God’s plan is simple: His Son Jesus Christ came as a man to live a perfect, sinless life and die on the cross to take our punishment for sin. He lay dead in the tomb three days and then was raised back to life.

This is the good news: Jesus Christ the Son of God lived a perfect sinless life so that we can exchange our sinfulness for His righteousness. "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

The Bible calls you to repent: to turn from your sin and believe on Jesus Christ. “Repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15).

Because Jesus died for you, God can offer you forgiveness and eternal life not as a reward for good behavior, but as a gift purchased by Jesus: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23.

Your part is to admit that you are a sinner deserving punishment for your sins, repent of your sin and
turn to God placing your faith in Jesus, and ask Him to forgive you. Jesus said in Luke 13:3 “I tell you, Nay; but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

John 3:36 says “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

You won’t be saved by chance: only by choice. “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.  ” (Romans 10:9-10).

Will you turn from sin and to Christ today? You can call upon Him right now in prayer and trust Him alone to save you. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans
10:13).