God created us to have a perfect relationship with Him. When we talk about salvation, we understand it to be God’s plan for eternal life for every human being.
We messed that up when we rebelled against Him. The Bible calls that sin. The big problem is that our sin as an eternal consequence that separates us from God. This creates a problem. God loves us to much that He wants us back into an intimate relationship with Him. Yet we can’t get there on our own. Our sin results in us being broken people living in a broken world. And we don’t like it. Most people try all kinds of ways to fix their brokenness. Some try good works or being a good person, hoping their good will outweigh their bad in the judgment. Some figure that need to do whatever feels good, be it pleasure, possessions, or position from the world. The problem is that selfish focus is what caused the problem in the first place. It never works, and typically results in more emptiness and frustration.
This is where God’s love come in. God loves us so much that He clothed Himself with humanity and invaded planet earth in the person of Jesus. Jesus is the eternal God-man. He lived a perfect and sinless life for a single purpose. He wanted to pay the penalty of our sin by dying in our place on the Cross. Even more, He proved who He is and what He did by being resurrected on the third day. In doing this, God has done all He needs to do for us to be saved.
The only thing lacking is our response. We can either receive God’s forgiveness or not. The Bible is clear that to receive God’s gift of eternal life, we need to surrender our lives through repentance and faith to Jesus as our Savior and Lord. This means we believe in Jesus and keep believing in Jesus. We have a faith that seeks to follows Jesus faithfully.
God promises that when we believe like this, we are born again. We are a new creation. We are adopted into God’s forever family and have a home with God in heaven when we die.
Here is a simple prayer you can use to ask God to forgive you of your sin and give you eternal life: Dear Father, I realize I am a sinner. Because of my sin, I am separated from you. I know that you love me. In love, you sent Jesus into this world to live a perfect life. Even more, Jesus came to die on the Cross to pay for my sin and was resurrected on the third day. In doing this, You offer me the forgiveness of my sin. I want to receive this forgiveness. Right now, I am turning from my sin and selfishness and trusting in You alone for my salvation. I surrender my life to You and ask You to be my Savior and Lord. Thank You, Jesus, for doing just what you said. Thank You for saving my soul. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
NEXT STEPS. When you have given your life to Jesus and been born again, there are some things God wants you to do. These things don’t save you, but as some things you will want to do to obey God as your new Savior and Lord.
The first thing is to be baptized and join a church. This isn’t to be religious, but to be obedient. Baptism is something a person does after they become a Christian. It is a public demonstration of the decision you have made to follow Jesus. It is like you are telling the world that you are now living your life for Jesus and they can expect better things from you.
We typically do this as part of joining a church. Again, this is not to be religious, but to be obedient. Meeting regularly with other people following Jesus allows us to be encouraged with and through them. We get to worship Jesus, grow spiritually, and serve others and we get to do that together.
G.R.O.W.T.H. We seek to grow as a disciple of Jesus. That means we learn how to better live the life Jesus has saved us to live. There is a simple acryonym called G.R.O.W.T.H that can help us.
G. Go to God Daily in Prayer. Prayer is nothing more than talking to God. It is telling Him how you feel. It is asking Him to help you. It is sharing with Him the needs of others. God wants us to pray. There is no perfect way to pray. The only thing that matters in your prayer is that you mean what you say. Prayer is a lifeline that connects us to God.
R. Read God’s Word Every Day. Just think, if God wanted to really help us. If He had a bunch of advice to tell us how to live. If He wanted to show us what would really make us happy and successful, He would write it down. And He did. In the Bible. Since He has taken the time to give it to us, we would be smart to read what He has to say. Now, the Bible is a big book. The goal is to understand it. I have a suggestion. Start at the beginning of the New Testament. With the book of Matthew. Read a chapter each day. You may want to read more, but read at least one. Every day. If you miss a day, read two the next day. But if you miss a bunch, then just start over. Keep reading a chapter a day until you finish the entire New Testament. Then do it again. After you have read it a couple of times, then you can go back and read the Old Testament.
O. Obey God Moment by Moment. God will speak to you. Not with words you can hear, but you will still know what He wants from you. He will use the Bible. He will use your preacher or church leader. He will use your prayers. Your response is to obey Him. Do what He says. The quicker you do what He says, the more He will share with you. When you asked Jesus to be your Savior and Lord, this is the Lord part. This is letting Jesus be your Boss. If you trust Him enough to take care of your soul for eternity, then you can trust Him enough to take care of your life. Remember, he is a Father who loves you with all His heart. Trust means the same thing as faith. God loves us. He treats us as a Perfect Father. He controls everything. He is in charge. Nothing can happen to you unless it has been allowed by God. Trust He knows what He is doing. Trust that He knows what will be the best for you, even thank Him for doing it.
W. Worship God through His church. Get involved in a church. There is no such thing as a Christian being right with God who isn’t faithful at church. Church is a place we learn more about God. It is also a place that helps better prepare us to serve God and witness to others about God. At church we can be encouraged and get help for our needs. Most importantly, at church we worship God.
T. Tell others about Jesus. Tell others about what Jesus has done for you. Tell about how He forgave you for your sin. How He comforted you when you were scared. How He protected you from something bad. Also, show you are a Christian by how you act. Live like you believe. How we live reflects what we love. It also earns us the right to tell them about Jesus.
H. Holy Spirit. Let Him Control and Empower Your Daily Life. No one can live the Christian life on their own. The Holy Spirit is God. Part of what we call the Trinity. That means there is one God, but He shows Himself in Three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Don’t worry about trying to understand all that right now. Instead, focus on letting God help you. He will. He will warn you if you are getting ready to do something wrong. He will speak through you when you tell others about Him. He will help you understand when you read the Bible. He will comfort and encourage you when you fall.
There’s no short cut for growing as a Christian. I’ve had to go through these same steps. They are something you can do. Don’t feel guilty if you mess up here and there. Just keep on trying. No one is perfect. We all mess up. The key is that when a Christian messes up, they then clean up and try again. God will always help you. So, go for the goal: GROWTH!