How to be Saved by Jesus Christ

Psalm 139: 13-16 "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed."

God knew you well before you were born, even while you were in your mother's womb. He knew all about your family and your life up until now. He wants to give you an all new start and a new way of living. He can do that when you give him your life. Why would you do that? Because...

John 17:3 "And this is the way to have eternal life - to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth."

God is not some "force", an unspeaking or unseeing idol up in the sky, or merely an alternative name for your own self-esteem. God is a person, your creator, who created you to be in a relationship with him. Why? Because...

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life"

You can turn control of your life over to God, because He loves you and wants only the best for you. His love for you is so great that He gave His only son Jesus, to die on the cross for you. We'll talk more about that in a moment. I just want to make sure you realize that when you trust God, you are 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 best, inside and out. Don't you think a that's a perfect place to put your trust?

James 4:17 "Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it."

I John 3:4 "Everyone who sins is breaking God's law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God."

Most people don't understand the concept of sin. We live in a fairly amoral world where the majority believes that each person can decide what is right and what is true. Televison and movies don't help with their portrayals of happy people blatantly living sinful lives. God tells us there is such thing as "sin".

God is perfect and holy. People are sinful. You probably already know that about yourself. Try being "perfect" for a day and you'll quickly find out you can't do it. Sin seperates us from God. Sin means not understanding or caring about what is right. You defy God if you know what is right and then refuse to do it.

Romans 3:23 "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's standard."

Romans 5:17 "For the sin of one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many."

The Bible says everyone has sinned. We're human, we can't help it. When Adam sinned back in the Garden of Eden, sin entered the human race and sinfulness is part of our human nature. You might be asking, "So what"?

Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death."

Isaiah 59:2 "It's your sins that have cut you off from God."

Sin leads to death. 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 our sin. So what did God do? He gave us His only son, Jesus Christ.

John 14:6 "Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me."

So we learned that God can't have anything to do with us because of sin. Well, He decided to deal with our sin. Problem was, He had made it clear throughout the Old Testament that sin leads to death. In the Old Testament, people sacrificed animals as a way to show how sorry they were for their sins. And that was only temporary. God's plan all along was to send his son, Jesus Christ to live on this earth and be the perfect human being to be the final and ultimate sacrifice.

I Peter 3:18 "Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit."

Jesus died to take the penalty for our sins. He took our punishment so we wouldn't have to. Now, because of Jesus, the way is prepared for us to have the ability to have a personal relationship with a holy God. The fact of salvation means nothing unless a person accepts it for themselves.

Even if you grew up in church, you still need to accept Jesus personally. If you have led a terrible sinful life, no one is too bad for God. Someone doesn't have to "clean up their act" before coming to Christ. God wants all people to come to Him.

Romans 10: 9-10 "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your hear that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your hear that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved."

You simply need to believe. That doesn't mean you don't have lots of questions or that you understand everything. It simply means you recognize you are a sinner and are in need of the Savior. You recognize that you cannot be good enough for a perfect God on your own. And the fact that God loves you so much that He sent Jesus to save you. If you believe that, say so...

John 1:12 "But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God."

You can express your belief and trust in Christ through prayer. Prayer is simply talking to God. He knows what you mean even when it is difficult to express. You can use your own words or repeat the following prayer...

"Dear God, I know that my sin has separated me from you. Thank you for 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! You are officially a member of God's family. You are my new brother or sister in Christ. Just as a baby isn't born and left to fend for himself, so a newborn believer in God's family needs some guidance. So you prayed the prayer...

There is no way I could type out all the things that Jesus has done and continues to do for me. The fact that he innocently died on a cross long ago just for me, is one I could never thank him enough, besides all the other daily things.

You may have heard Him called the Prince of Peace, that's exactly how I would describe Him personally. I feel so peaceful and even though trying times may come, I know it's part of a master plan that is above all else.

He has given me a beautiful wife, a beautiful baby, and all the blessings which I am not worthy. I believe people get caught up in religion today, worrying about properness and guidelines. But it's much simpler than that, if you believe totally in Jesus, he will come into your heart. The Bible says you must become like a child.