How Do I Become a Christian?
How am I assured of never being alone again?
You were created by a loving God. You have great value. God loves you and wants to have a personal relationship with you.
God Created You.
Psalm 139:13-16. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know this full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
God knew you before you were born-even while you were in your mother's womb. He knew all about your family and your life until now. He wants to give you a brand new start and a new way of living. He can do that when you give him your life. Why would you do that? Because.......
God wants to have a personal relationship with you.
John 17:3. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
God is not some "force", an unspeaking or unseeing idol, or merely another name for your own self-esteem. Instead, God is a person, your Creator, who created you to be in relationship with him. Why? Because....
God Loves You.
John 3:16. 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.
You can turn your life over to God's control because he loves you and wants the very best for you. In fact, he loves you so much that he gave his Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for you. I'll explain more about that in a minute. I just want you to realize that when you trust God, you are actually trusting the One who created you. When you turn your life over to him, you are giving your life to the One who knows you inside out. Don't you think that's a good place to put your trust?
Your sin keeps you from having a personal relationship with God.
What is sin?
James 4:17. Anyone, then who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.
1 John 3:4. Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
Have you ever broken any of the ten commandments? Then by definition, you are a sinner. Have you ever lied, regardless of how "white" it was? Then you have broken a commandment, you are a sinner.
God is perfect and holy; people are sinful. You probably know that for yourself - if you tried to be perfect for a day, you'd quickly discover that you couldn't do it. Sin, by definition, means not understanding or even caring about what is "right". You defy God when you know what is right and then refuse to do it.
Who has sinned?
Romans 3:23. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
The Bible says "all have sinned." We simply cannot help it- we're human. When Adam sinned (in the Garden of Eden), sin entered the human race and sinfulness is part of our nature. You might be asking, "So what?"
What's so bad about sin?
Romans 6:24. The wages of sin is death.
Isaiah 59:2. Your iniquities have separated you from your God.
Sin leads to death. That's a big problem. Because God is perfect, he cannot have anything to do with us because we are sinners. He wants to have a personal relationship with us but he can't because of sin! So what did God do?
Only through Jesus Christ can you have a personal relationship with God.
It might seem difficult to understand the concept of having a "relationship" with a being you cannot see or touch. Yet it is a reality. That's why Jesus Christ came. He was a human being who lived on this earth so that we could understand what God is like.
Why Jesus Christ?
John 14:6. Jesus answered, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Remember how God can't have anything to do with us because of sin? Well, he decided to deal with our sin. The problem was, he had made it clear through the Old Testament (of the Bible) that sin leads to death. In the Old Testament, people sacrificed animals as a way to show sorrow for their sins. And that was only temporary. God's plan all along was to send his son, Jesus-a perfect human being-to be the final and ultimate sacrifice.
Why did Jesus have to die?
1 Peter 3:18. For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.
Jesus died to take the penalty our sins deserved. In essence, he took our punishment so that we wouldn't have to. Now, because of Jesus, the way is prepared for us to be able to have a personal relationship with a holy God. And....Jesus didn't stay dead. He rose from the dead, which is a promise to us that we will also rise from the dead and go to heaven to be with him. So what do you need to do next?
You must personally respond by trusting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
The fact of salvation means nothing unless a person accepts it for himself or herself. It doesn't matter how good you try to be. It doesn't matter how many times you've sat through church. It doesn't matter whether your parents went to church. It doesn't matter whether you were born in America. You cannot become a Christian unless you accept Jesus' sacrifice for your sins. Period. It also doesn't matter how "terrible" a life you may have lived before now either. There is nothing God doesn't already know about you and still desires a relationship with you. There is NO sin he can't forgive. Don't try to "clean up" your life before coming to Christ. Just give Him yours and he'll do the rest. There's nothing you can do anyway. He's your creator and knows how you need to function. God wants all people to come to him, regardless of how you view yourself. All people need to trust in Jesus in order to be saved.
So what do you need to do?
You respond with belief in Christ.
Romans 10:9. That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord", and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
You simply need to believe. That doesn't mean that you don't have any questions or that you understand everything. It simply means recognizing that you are indeed a sinner in need of a Savior. You recognize that you cannot be good enough for a perfect God on your own. And you understand that God loved you so much that he sent Jesus to save you. If you believe it, say so.
You respond by receiving Christ.
John 1:12. Yet to all who receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
"Recieving Christ" means acknowledging your belief in Christ, inviting him to come into your life, turning to God from your present way of living (repentance), and then beginning the adventrue of letting God direct your life. And the moment you ask, it's done. Jesus has come in.
Question: Would you like to accept Jesus as your Savior?
You can express belief and trust in Christ through prayer. Prayer is simply talking to God. He knows what a person means even when it is difficult to express. Below is an example prayer you can pray. You can use your own words:
Dear God, I know that my sin has separated me from you. Thank you that Jesus Christ died in my place. I ask Jesus to forgive my sin and to come into my life. Please begin to direct my life. Thank you for giving me eternal life. In Jesus' name, Amen.
That's it. If you've chosen to pray this prayer you are officially a member of Christ's family. Welcome. You are loved! You won't regret your decision.
Just as a baby is not born and then left to fend for himself, so a newborn believer in God's family needs some guidance. Find a Christian church to fellowship in. Seek out and pray God would place a solid Christian mentor in your life. Most importantly access a Bible and read it. Study your Bible daily, read what God's word says and know it. Memorize it and hold it close. You also need to start a prayer life. Start a prayer time during your day. A quiet time you can set aside to read your Bible and talk to God through prayer.
Luv u!
NIV BIBLE, Life Application Study Bible. Tyndale House Publishers. 2005. Pgs. 2179-2181
