Receiving Jesus Christ as Savior and confessing him as Lord are the most important steps of faith anyone can ever take. ” to all who received him (Christ), to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” –John 1:12. Please read through the following Scriptures to see God’s wonderful plan for you. Some texts quoted below, but some only cited—Please look them up in your Bible.
First, the bad news — all have sinned.
Romans 3:23 All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.
1 John 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Sin separates us from God.
Isaiah 59:2 Unforgiven sins separate us from God and hide his face from us.
Romans 6:23 The wages of sin is death….spiritual death.
The good news (gospel) is that God loves you.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
1 Peter 3:18 Christ died once for all, the righteous of the unrighteous (us!) to bring us to God
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God–not because of works, lest any man should boast.
Romans 5:8 God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
Romans 4:25 He died for our sins and rose again to make us right with God.
You accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior by believing in Him, confessing that faith and repenting of your sins, and being baptized in his name for the forgiveness of your sins.
John 1:12 To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh to of the will of man, but of God.
Romans 10:9 If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Acts 2:38 Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Colossians 2:12 Through baptism, we are buried with Christ. In it we are also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” Salvation is by faith— our faith in God’s work.
In a way, baptism is the end of a process; but it is also a great new beginning! It is likened to burial and resurrection. We rise from the watery grave of baptism dead to the old self and alive to God (see all of Romans 6). The love that sent Christ to the Cross becomes to us “compelling” (2 Cor. 5:15) and, empowered by God’s gift of His Spirit in our lives (Rom. 8:11). We live out that love in fellowship with other Christians (Heb. 10:14, 1 Cor. 12, 2 Cor. 5) and in service to all (1 John 3:17-18, Galatians 6:10). Once accepted, nothing can separate you from God’s love…it will be light and life and joy for you throughout time and for all eternity! (Romans 8:35-39). Scripture says “as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Galatians 3:27) The Bible uses such relational terms to describe our fellowship with Christ. We are baptized “into” him and we “put” him on in baptism. The New Testament speaks of Christians as being “in Christ” far more than it uses the term, Christian. [Here is a good web site if you’d like to do a more in-depth study of New Testament baptism: http://www.bebaptized.org/.]
Well, there are many more Bible passages on each of these ideas. To quote the Apostle Paul once more: “We implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him (Christ) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor. 5:20-21).
Please come and study God’s word with us. Let us know if we can help you consider the gospel of God’s love and grace. Grace – God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. And God would have you know that blood-bought grace!