Jesus
loves you! There's so much more to share about "being saved" but the
most important things for you to understand is Jesus loves you and He is
for you. He desires to have a close relationship with you. That's the reason
the Son of God (Jesus) came to earth, was born in a humble stable, died on a
wretched cross and then was gloriously resurrected on the third day. He did all
this so He could hang with you.
Hopefully,
the following few steps will help you understand what it means to be
saved (born again), as well as help you understand how God can radically
change your life.
No one is perfect.
Let’s
face it, we’ve all done things that are wrong. I’m not talking about mistakes.
Mistakes are not sin. I’m talking about moral wrong-doing. Most of us probably
have never killed anyone or robbed a bank. However, if we’re honest, we will
admit to lying, cheating, stealing, disobeying our parents when we were young,
having anger, or unforgiveness towards someone. These are just the tip of the
iceberg of things we’ve probably done wrong in our lives.
“For all
have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
“There is
none righteous, no not one.” Romans 3:10
Consequences for our wrong-doing
We call
our moral failure “sin.” It means “to miss the mark” as in a bullseye. We all
miss the mark of perfection because of the sinful nature in us. I would like to
blame Adam and Eve for all this “sin” stuff (read Genesis 3), and yet, I’ve
made some lousy choices myself.
Unfortunately,
there are consequences for sin. The first is separation from God while here on
earth. God can’t associate with sin. The second consequence is spiritual death,
being eternally separated from God after our bodies die. Neither is God’s will.
Good News
Good
news. Even though we deserve to be punished for sin, God sent His son Jesus to
take our punishment. Jesus was severely beaten and then crucified on a cross as
punishment. On the third day He came back to life. He is now in heaven seated
at the right hand of His Father, God. Since He took our punishment, we can have
our sins forgiven and be united with God, no longer separated from Him.
"For the
wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ
our Lord." Romans 6:23.
"For God
so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whosoever believes in
Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
Salvation
To be
rescued from spiritual death, we need to confess our sins. We also need to acknowledge
Jesus as Lord of our lives which means we surrender our wills and our lives to
Him. We receive new life in Him. The Bible calls this new life being born
again. It’s a new way of looking at life.
"If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and forgive us
from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9
"If we
confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in our hearts that God has
raised Him from the head, we will be saved." Romans 10:9, 10
"As it is written,
you must be born again." John 3:3
Pray
If you desire
this new life in Christ, in your own words talk to God. Admit to Him you aren’t
perfect and you do sin. Acknowledge that Jesus, the Son of God, took your
punishment on the cross but arose the third day. Ask God to forgive your sins.
Ask His Spirit to live in you. Believe He has forgiven you. Know He lives
within you. Thank Him for what He has done and is doing in your life. Thank Him
for His love. (He never stopped loving any of us even when we were at our worst.)
What’s next?
I would
encourage you to find a church and begin to attend faithfully. Read the Bible
which is the Word of God. A good place to start would be in the book of John in
the New Testament. Share your new belief with others.
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