DO YOU KNOW HIM?
Do you have a relationship with God and know that you will spend eternity in heaven with Him? This is the most important question you will ever answer in your life.
You cannot buy a spot in heaven. You cannot do enough good deeds in your life to earn your way into heaven. The only way you can be sure you will go to heaven is by having a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.
So what do you have to do to have this relationship with God?
The Bible tells us that no one is perfect. In Romans 3:23 we read “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
ALL of us have disobeyed God and have broken His commandments. God calls our disobedience sin. You might be what others call a good person, but you will never be good enough to get into heaven. Just one sin, one act of disobedience is enough to keep you out of heaven forever.
The problem is our sin separates us from God and there is nothing we can do to make up for our disobedience. But there is HOPE!
In Romans 6:23 we read, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
God knew that we could never do enough to make up for our disobedience toward Him. So He made a way for us to have a relationship with Him.
The Bible tells us in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
The Bible also tells us in Romans 5:8, “…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
God loves you and wants you to have a relationship with Him. To make this possible He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to give His life as the perfect and complete sacrifice for your sins on the cross.
When Jesus died on the cross He paid the penalty for your sins so that you could be forgiven, have a relationship with God, and have the confident assurance you will go to heaven.
But to be forgiven you must believe Jesus died on the cross for your sins, you must be willing to turn away from sin, and trust in Jesus to save you and give you eternal life.
Turning away from sin, trusting in Jesus, and committing to live your life for Jesus is called repentance. In Matthew 4:17 Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” In Luke 13:3 Jesus also said, “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Jesus calls all people to repent, to turn away from sin and place their trust in Him alone for the forgiveness of their sins, and follow Him.
Sin does nothing but destroy our lives physically and spiritually. Do you want to stop living in sin and live a new life in relationship with God?
In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” In Acts 4:12 Peter said this of Jesus, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
The only way you can be sure your sins are forgiven, have a relationship with God, and know you will go to heaven is by trusting Jesus Christ to save you. Believing that Jesus died on the cross to pay for your sins, was buried in the tomb, and was raised from the dead on the third day.
If you understand that you have sinned against God, you are sorry for your sins, and you want to turn from your sin to follow Jesus, you can do that today.
Tell God that you have disobeyed Him and you are sorry for your sins. Tell Him that you no longer want to live in disobedience to Him and you want to follow Jesus. Tell Him that you believe Jesus died for your sins on the cross and was raised to life on the third day. Tell God in your own words that you are trusting Jesus for your salvation today and you want to live a new life through Him.
If you are not sure how to express your desire to be saved, you can say something like this to God:
Dear God
I know that I am a sinner and that I have broken Your commandments. I know that there is nothing I can do to earn Your forgiveness. I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross and was raised from the dead so that I could be forgiven. Today, I am putting my faith, my trust in Jesus to save me and I ask You to forgive me and save me from my sins. I no longer want to live in disobedience to You. I want to trust in Jesus and follow Him for the rest of my life. Thank You for sending Your Son so that I can be forgiven and have a new life through Him. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
If you prayed that prayer or a similar prayer and you genuinely meant what you prayed, I want to welcome you into the family of God! I want you to know, on the authority of the Bible, that if you trust in Jesus, you will be saved.
In John 6:37 Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”
In John 6:47 Jesus also said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.”
If you truly trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and your salvation, you have received eternal life and you are now part of the family of God!
As a new Christian, the first thing you should do is tell someone that you know is a Christian that you have placed your faith and trust in Jesus. God calls us to be open about our faith and tell others we have trusted in Jesus. He does not call us to be secret Christians, but public Christians.
Second, begin reading the Bible each day. We recommend getting a Bible that is both easy to read and a good translation to study from. Some suggestions would be the ESV, NASB, or NIV translations. Your Christian friends can help you find a good Bible to read and study from as well.
Third, spend time praying each day about anything and everything that is on your heart and mind. Prayer is simply talking to God about what is going on in life and the world around you. Pray and ask God to help you understand what you are studying in the Bible, to help you understand how to apply what you are learning, to help you with decisions, to help you tell others about Jesus, and more. You can literally talk to Him about anything and everything.
Fourth, apply what you learn from prayerfully studying the Bible. That simply means putting into practice what you learn from the Bible each day. It may not always be easy to apply what you are learning, but God will help you through the Holy Spirit each day.
Finally, find a good Bible believing and teaching church to attend. Why? Because we need to gather with other Christians to worship God together and grow in our faith together.
A good Bible believing and teaching church teaches from the Bible, helps church members grow in their faith, the church members live out their faith daily and continue to grow in their faith and relationship with God.
Depending on where you live it may take time finding a good church to attend, but your Christian friends can help you. Once you find a good church to attend, let the pastor know that you are a new Christian that would like to be baptized, become an active member in the church, and continue to grow in your faith with other Christians.
Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English standard version®), copyright© 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.