|

Click Here To Read
About The
Upcoming Cope Conference!
ADDITIONAL LINKS
Our Statement
Of Faith
How You Can Help Us
Newsletter
Archive
VT
Prison Ministries
Light Of The Soul
Covered
Bridge
CSOM
Kairos

Free online bible & study tools.

The Christian Apologetics
and Research Ministry.
An excellent site with the answers to just about any question you may have
about Christianity.

Another excellent site with more answers to questions you may have about
Christianity. It also has movie reviews, a section for children, a guide to
video games, a book store and so much more!
Site Last Updated On:
8/27/07
| |
How do I become
a Christian?
How do you become a Christian? First of all,
you don't become a Christian by joining a church, adopting a creed, or by
believing in God. There are lots of false churches, false creeds, and even the
devil believes in God. Becoming a Christian means you need to understand what
the real issues are. Let's take a look.
Jesus
Hopefully, you've already read the page on
Jesus. But by way of review, Jesus is the most important figure in all of human
history. He is God in flesh (John
1:1,14;
Col. 2:9), physically
risen from the dead, Lord (Luke
24:34; John 2:19-21)
and Savior (Acts 5:30-32).
He came to die for sinners (Rom.
5:8) to deliver people from the righteous wrath of God upon us.
Are you a sinner?
I ask you, are you a sinner? Have you
ever lied, stolen, lusted, coveted, or been angry with someone unjustly? If so,
then you have broken the Law of God. God has said "You shall not steal; You
shall not lie; You shall have no other gods before Me; You shall not murder,
etc.," (Exodus 20).
He has given the standard of righteousness and if you have broken any of God's
commandments then you have fallen short of that standard and are under the
inevitable judgment of God. When you die you will face Him and on the Day of
Judgment He will punish all sinners.
If you do not like this teaching, then throw away your Bible and turn from
Christ, for this is the message of God's word -- that Jesus came to die for
sinners and to save them from the wrath to come. God is holy and righteous and
He must deal with those who sin against Him.
Jesus is the One you need. He alone. Not your works (Rom.
3:10-12; Isaiah
64:6). Not your sincerity. Not your goodness. You have nothing to offer
God except your sinfulness. It is only by the love and grace of God found in
Jesus and His sacrifice that you can be delivered from the righteous wrath of
God upon all who have broken His law. Jesus saves you from God.
God's wrath on the Day of
Judgment is upon sinners
On the Day of Judgment God will judge all
people for their sins against Him. He will judge all who have lied, stolen,
cheated, lusted, dishonored their parents, etc. He will do this because He is
holy and righteous. God must punish the sinner. God cannot and will not ignore
the person who has broken His righteous law. The Law is a reflection of the
character of God. Therefore, to break God's law is to offend God and deny the
holiness of His character. He will be vindicated. He will judge.
The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom.
3:23). That means that your sins have caused a separation between you and
God (Isaiah 59:2)
and the result is death (Rom.
6:23) and wrath (Eph. 2:3).
The only way to be saved from the wrath of God, is to be saved from it by faith
in Christ (Eph. 2:8-9;
Rom. 5:1). You must
trust in what Jesus did on the cross to forgive you of your sins and not trust
anything else, not even your own sincerity or works. It is Jesus and only Jesus
who can turn away the righteous judgment of God upon the sinner.
The Gospel
The gospel is that Jesus died for sinners
on the cross, was buried, and rose from the dead (1
Cor. 15:1-4). His death was a sacrifice that turns away the wrath of God (1
John 2:2). This is the only way to be saved.
Jesus is the one who died for the sins of the world (1
John 2:2). He is the only way to the God the Father (John
14;6). He alone reveals God (Matt.
11:27). He has all authority in heaven and earth (Matt.
28:18). It is only through Him that you can be saved from God's wrath (Eph.
2:3). He can forgive you of your sin (Luke
5:20;
Matt. 9:2). He can
remove the guilt that is upon your soul. Jesus can set you free from the
bondage of sin that blinds your eyes, weakens your soul, and brings you to
despair. He can do this because He bore sin in His body on the cross (1
Peter. 2:24) that those who trust in Him would be saved.
If you are not a Christian, and want to be delivered from the righteous
judgment of God upon you due to your sin against Him, then come to the One who
died for the sins of the world. Come to the One who died for sinners (Matt.
11:28). Turn from your sins. Believe and trust in Jesus. Receive
Jesus, who is God in flesh, who died and rose from the dead (1
Cor. 15:1-4) as your Lord and Savior. Ask Jesus to forgive you of your
sins. Receive Christ (John
1:12). Only He can wash you clean from your sins and only Jesus can deliver
you from the righteous judgment of a holy and infinite God. Pray to Jesus.
Seek Him. Ask Him to save you.
He will.
Here is a sample prayer you can offer to Jesus. It does not have to be
exact, but you will get the idea.
Lord Jesus, I know that I have sinned
against you. I know that I am not perfect and that I cannot please you
through my own efforts. I know that I deserve to be judged according to my
sins. And, I know that I have nothing to offer you.
Lord Jesus, I ask you to forgive me of my sins. Please cleanse me and
make me right before you. I trust in what you have done on the cross. I do
not rely on myself but only on you and I receive you as Lord of my life and as
savior of my soul. Lord Jesus, save me. I look to you alone.
I would like to note, that the Jesus of
Mormonism (the brother of the devil), the Jesus of the Jehovah's Witnesses (an
angel made into a man), the Jesus of the New Age (a man in tune with the divine
consciousness), etc., cannot save you from your sins. Faith is only as good as
who you put it in. Only the Jesus of the Bible can do that. Jesus is God in
flesh, the creator. God is a
trinity and Jesus is the second person of the trinity.
If you have prayed and asked Jesus to
deliver you from your sins and save you from God's wrath, then please
email us and let us know!
Please Note: This page was copied with permission and verbatim from CARM.org's site.
It can be found at the following link:
http://www.carm.org/seek/be_christian.htm
We encourage you to visit their site!
Copyright Matthew J. Slick, 1996 - 2006
(The only modification that was made to this was
the contact link in the last sentence.)
|