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How do I become a Christian?
We’d like to help you understand what it means to trust Jesus for the first time. If you’re not sure what that means, watch this video, or read on below.
God’s Design
We see beauty, purpose and evidence of God’s design around us. The Bible tells us that God originally planned a world that worked perfectly—where everything and everyone fit together in harmony. God made each of us with a purpose—to worship Him and walk with Him.
God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands.
Sin
Life doesn’t work when we ignore God and His original design for our lives. We selfishly insist on doing things our own way. The Bible calls this sin. We all sin and distort the original design. The consequence of our sin is separation from God—in this life and for all of eternity.
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Brokenness
Sin leads to a place of brokenness. We see this all around us and in our own lives as well. When we realize life is not working, we begin to look for a way out. We tend to go in many directions, trying different things to figure it out on our own. Brokenness leads to a place of realizing a need for something greater.
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped and served something created instead of the Creator.
The Gospel
At this point, we need a remedy—some good news. Because of His love, God did not leave us in our brokenness. Jesus, God in human flesh, came to us and lived perfectly according to God’s design. Jesus came to rescue us—to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. He took our sin and shame to the cross, paying the penalty of our sin by His death. Jesus was then raised from the dead—to provide the only way for us to be rescued and restored to a relationship with God.
For God so loved the world in this way: He gave His One and only Son.
He erased the certificate of debt…and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross.
Repent and Believe
Simply hearing this Good News is not enough. We must admit our sinful brokenness and stop trusting in ourselves. We don’t have the power to escape this brokenness on our own. We need to be rescued. We must ask God to forgive us—turning from sin to trust only in Jesus. This is what it means to repent and believe. Believing, we receive new life through Jesus and God turns our lives in a new direction.
Repent and believe in the good news.
For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Recover and Pursue
When God restores our relationship to Him, we begin to discover meaning and purpose in a broken world. Now we can pursue God’s design in all areas of our lives. Even when we fall, we understand God’s pathway to be restored—this same Good News of Jesus. God’s Spirit empowers us to pursue His design and assures us of His presence in this life and for all eternity.
For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose.
For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.”
What should I do now?
Now that you have heard this good news, God wants you to respond to Him. You can talk to Him using words like these: “My life is broken—I recognize it’s because of my sin I need You. I believe Christ came to live, die and was raised from the dead—to rescue me from my sin. Forgive me. I turn from my selfish ways and put my trust in You. I know that Jesus is Lord of all, and I will follow Him.”
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
