FAITH
You are a sinner, having done things that have grieved God (Romans 3:23);
God’s punishment for sin is spiritual death after this life (Romans 6:23);
Your sin causes a chasm that separates and alienates you from God (Isaiah 59:2);
God loves you, and wants a relationship with you. He wants no one to die (1 Timothy 2:3-4);
You cannot do it on your own by being good (Romans 3:20). God has provided one plan for forgiveness of your sin and reconciliation to Him (Acts 4:12). There is no “plan B”;
God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to become the sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sins (John 3:16, 1 John 2:2);
Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for past, present, and future sins of anyone who believed in Him (1 Peter 3:18);
God raised Jesus back to life on the 3rd day (Acts 2:24) demonstrating the power of His Spirit over death (Romans 8:11);
God’s plan of salvation is a free gift, and can only be accepted by faith–there is nothing you can do to earn it (Ephesians 2:8-9);
TRUST
Intellectual belief in God’s plan of salvation is insufficient. Even the evil ones believe and tremble (James 2:19);
Someone may believe an elevator will carry them to the 56th floor, but trust is when they get on the elevator and personally travel to the 56th floor;
As many as received Christ Jesus, they became children of God (John 1:12). To receive is to grasp, to take ahold of Jesus Christ for your salvation trusting in Him for the most important decision of your life, forgiveness of sin and reconciliation to God (Colossians 1:19-20);
It is faith with trust in Jesus that our sins are forgiven and we are reconciled to God (Ephesians 2:8-9).
WHEN YOU ARE READY TO RECEIVE JESUS CHRIST, PRAY THIS PRAYER!
Dear God,
I confess I am a sinner. I am sorry for my sins and I ask for your forgiveness;
Lord Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God who died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins;
I place my faith and trust that your death on the cross paid the penalty for my sins and reconciles me to God;
I commit from this point on in my life to wholeheartedly follow and serve you to accomplish the things in my life for which you created me.
Jesus, I pray this in Your name,
Amen.
One word of caution. Some may pray the words above quickly and think they have earned salvation. God can see if there is sincerity when you pray this prayer. Reciting a thirty second prayer does not save until it is a genuine appeal to God from a heart broken and contrite from sin, that freely accepts and commits to follow and serve the Lord Jesus Christ from now on.
It took the renowned Christian author C.S. Lewis years to reach a point of belief, trust, and commitment to God through Jesus Christ. Ponder the points and Bible verses above in Faith, Repent, Trust, and Commit until you are ready to make this commitment. Remember, God said that if you seek Him, you will find Him (Isaiah 55:6);
IMPORTANT NEXT STEPS
First, seek out a church who follows Christ Jesus and believes in the infallibility of God’s Word, the Bible. Begin to regularly attend worship serves in person;
Second, identify yourself to the pastor as a person who has recently received Jesus Christ, and ask about two things:
-Being baptized;
-One or more Christ-followers in the church mature in their relationship with Jesus who can oversee your growth and relationship with Him;
Third, commit yourself to the means of grace God gives His children for growth, including His Words in the Bible, prayer, and fellowship with other Christ-followers;
Fourth, devote yourself to growing to maturity in Christlikeness overcoming sin and bearing good fruit;
REPENT
You must be sorrowful of your sins that have offended God, and turn from them to Jesus Christ who can enable you to overcome them thereafter (Acts 2:38);
COMMIT
Jesus Christ identified the commitment with two words: “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19);
It is a commitment to follow Jesus and serve Him for the rest of your life, to bear the good fruit for which you were created (Ephesians 2:10);
The first step in following Jesus is to confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord of your life (Romans 10:9-10) by a public profession through baptism (Acts 2:38);
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE MOMENT YOU WERE BORN AGAIN?
You were buried with Jesus in His death and raised with Him to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4);
When God now looks at you, He sees the righteousness of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21)!
You are connected to Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13);
You are called to overcome sin in your life through the power of the Holy Spirit in you (Romans 8:13-14);
The Holy Spirit with your cooperation will progressively mature you in Christ resulting in bearing good fruit you were created for (Ephesians 2:10) in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:8);
Remember, you are not saved by good works you are saved by faith alone. But you are saved in order to good works!