[A-1] HOW TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN
All the knowledge in the world is unimportant unless you know where you are going to spend eternity. The question is never whether the Lord is on your side; the question is -- are YOU on the Lord's side? If you don't know that you are on the Lord's side, that issue needs to be settled once and for all.
The Lord our God and our Creator has given us commandments to follow. Disobedience to these commandments is sin. According to scripture, even thoughts that are contrary to the Lord's commandments are sin. Also, according to scripture no one has kept every commandment except Jesus Christ God's only Son. God the Father sent His only Son Jesus {God-in-the-flesh} to pay the price for the sins of the world. The promise has been given that anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior will be saved. To be "saved" means that our sins are forgiven and we have the right as "adopted" children of God to enter the kingdom of heaven when we die, or when Jesus comes to take us home at the rapture of the church. It also means we have a special relationship with our heavenly Father now because once we've accepted His Son, His Holy Spirit lives in us to teach us, convict us when we sin, and to give us a glimpse of "heaven on earth."
| 6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6 AKJ) | 6Jesus said to him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man can come to the Father, but through Me. (John 14:6 KJP) |
To those who are lost, this seems very
narrow minded, but consider this:
Suppose
someone owed you a lot of money and had no
hope
of ever having the ability to repay you.
Suppose
you told that person, "If you will just
love
and respect my only son, I will cancel all
of
your debt." Then suppose that person told you,
"I will never love or respect your son.
I despise
Him and all He
represents." How would you feel.
This
is a very good example of how God the Father
views
those who reject His Son.
The Roman Road to salvation:
{From the book of Romans}
A. All
have sinned -- We must all acknowledge that we
are sinners and have not lived in
accordance with
the
Lord's commands.
| 10As
it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
11There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Rom. 3:10-12 AKJ) |
10As
it is written, There is no one who is righteous, no, not one:
11There is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God. 12They have all gone out of the way, they have all together become unprofitable; there is no one who does good, no, not one. (Rom. 3:10-12 KJP |
{Righteous --
means to be right with God
and to keep
ALL of His
commandments -- Jesus said if you have
thought a wrong thought you have
broken all of the
commandments.}
[Mat 5:8]
|
20Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Rom. 3:20-23 AKJ) |
20Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh shall be justified in His sight: because the knowledge of sin comes through the law. 21But now the righteousness of God is manifested without the law, being witnessed to by the law and the prophets; 22Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ for all and upon all those who believe: because there is no difference: 23Because everyone has sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Rom. 3:20-23 KJP) |
or to have eternal life.
| 23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Rom. 3:23) | 23Because everyone has sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Rom. 3:23 KJP) |
C. The price of sin was paid
for, for all who
believe
-- Believe that if you accept God's only
Son,
Jesus, as your personal Lord and
Savior, He
has paid the
price for your salvation. {To accept
Jesus as
your personal Lord means that you are
sincere in your
desire to live in accordance with
His
commands; to allow Him to be Lord of
your life;
but also
knowing that you can never repay Jesus for
the
love and mercy He has shone towards
you. -- Jesus
said,
| 15If ye love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15 AKJ) | 15If you love Me, keep My commandments. (John 14:15 KJP) |
Salvation means to not have your sins
counted
against you and
the right to spend eternity in
heaven
-- not because of what you've done, but
because
of what Jesus has done for you. It is
a free
gift, totally
undeserved, given to everyone who
accepts God's Son Jesus as
his/her Lord and Savior.
| 9That 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. (Rom. 10:9 AKJ) | 9That if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Rom. 10:9 KJP) |
{Believing also means that you believe
that Jesus was truly born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on
the cross for the sins of the world, arose from the dead, and will
soon return to take us to be home with Him. If any of these things
were not true, then He could not be our savior.}
|
21But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22Even
the righteousness of God which
is by faith of Jesus Christ unto
all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
|
21But now the righteousness of God is manifested without the law, being witnessed to by the law and the prophets; 22Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ for all and upon all those who believe: because there is no difference: 23Because everyone has sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Rom. 3:21-23 KJP) |
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6Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, 7Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. (Rom. 4:7-8 AKJ) |
6Even as David also describes the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputes righteousness without works, 7Saying, Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. (Rom. 4:7-8 KJP) |
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13And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. 14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. (John 3:13-21 AKJ) |
13And no man has ascended up to heaven, except He Who came down from heaven, even the Son of man Who is in heaven. 14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15That whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16Because God loved the world so much, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17Because God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. 18He who believes on Him is not condemned: but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God. 19And this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20Because every one who does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21But he who does truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. (John 3:13-21 KJP) |
None of us knows when our life will
end and we will stand in the presence of the Lord. It may be years
from now; it may be 5 minutes from now. This life is only a testing
grounds. It is here your life must count for the Lord. The scriptures
state: "Now is the time for decision." [II Cor. 6:2] When
this life ends, there will not be another chance!
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38Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. (Mark 8:38 AKJ) |
38Therefore whoever will be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation; the Son of man will also be ashamed of, when He comes with the holy angels in the glory of His Father. (Mark 8:38 KJP) |
Suggested prayer:
Father, I know that I have sinned
against You and I have not lived the kind of life I know You want me
to live. Please, forgive me for the ways I have failed You. I know
that You sent Your Son, Jesus, to pay the price for my salvation and
I believe You raised Him from the dead to become King of Kings and
Lord of Lords. I believe that one day soon He is coming back again to
reign forever and ever. I accept Your Son, Jesus, as my personal Lord
and Savior. With Your help, I will strive to live for You and to be
the person You want me to be.
Lord
Jesus, come into my heart and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I
know I do not deserve what You have done for me, but forgive me and
help me to live for You every moment of my life.
In
Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
If you are sincere and believe the things in this prayer you have the promise of God that your salvation is assured. Your salvation is based on His faithfulness, and He is always faithful.
See the next section: Assurance of
Salvation.