Did you know God loves you! You may never have thought about it or been told so, but he does. God loves you very much and wants you to live in heaven with him for all eternity. That is why he sent his Son to earth to die for our sins. Jesus Christ was that Son, and nearly 2,000 years ago he was crucified at a place called Calvary as the ultimate sacrifice. Jesus did it for us because it was the will of our Father in heaven for Him to die for our sins, Jesus did just that. That is why we can have the promise of eternal life with our Father in heaven, a place far more wonderful than any person can imagine. Before you can enter into the kingdom of heaven however, you must be born again. This is the requirement set forth by God. Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kindom of God unless he is born again." John 3:3 NIV
Salvation. What does it mean? (Six
steps to Salvation)
Webster defines salvation as: "1 a : deliverance from the power and effects
of sin b :
the agent or means that effects salvation 2 : liberation from ignorance or
illusion 3 a : preservation from destruction or failure b : deliverance from
danger or difficulty".
In the bible, salvation is defined as
"deliverance from danger or evil; especially deliverance from all that
separates people from God. All those are very good answers. But salvation, or,
"being saved", has a much deeper meaning. You can only become saved
when YOU want yourself to be. No person can do it for you, no matter how much
they want you to be. It is a very personal thing for each individual. There are
no magic spells, no ritual dances, no special tonics, or any other such nonsense
involved with it. It actually is very simple when you get to the truth of the
matter.
There are a few basic steps to becoming saved. Now, I don't profess to be a
learned minister, or some perfect person who has all the answers, because I'm
neither. But I do know enough about being saved to tell you what is necessary.
You have to repent of your sins against God. Sins? Who me? Surely not! Yes, you
are a sinner just as I am, along with everybody else. Even though you may not
mean to or even know that you do it, you have sinned and you must realize it.
Since you have sinned, you must have Jesus Christ in your life; you cannot
please God any other way. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of
God. Romans 3:23 KJV
Accept Jesus
Christ as your personal savior. This means you
acknowledge who he is and acknowledge that you need him. Ask him to come into
your life and into your heart and take control of it. When you give up control
and hand it over to the Lord, that is saying that you trust
in Him and know that he will do what is best for you. He that believeth on him
is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he
hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:18 KJV
Believe in Christ. Have faith in Him. Without faith, (faith being the belief in things that are not always seen) our efforts will be futile. If you do not believe that Christ died for your sins and that He is the Son of God, you will come up against a brick wall. And if you do not believe that there is nothing that God cannot do, then you find that changes in your life will come with great difficulty. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6 KJV
Read the word of God, or in other words, the Bible.
This isn't a necessary part of being saved, as there were thousands of people in
biblical times that were saved only on the hearing of the word of God, but it
will become necessary as you continue to live a Christian life. The word of God
is the bread of life, and we must eat of the bread every day. In other words, we
need to read the bible as often as possible so we can continue to grow in the
understanding of the Lord. So how does salvation tie in with being born again?
Well, being born again means "spiritual rebirth or conversion".
Following the steps of salvation with means that you have been born again, which
in turn gives you the salvation that Jesus Christ died for.
One more thing that I would like to add is that you need to find a bible believing church to attend. Many people shy away from church because they fear all kinds of things. But I urge you to find a church to attend. In my opinion, church is a place where people go to learn about God and His word, to praise the Lord, and also to rejoice in the fellowship of one another. Church isn't about conforming to someone's ideals & following "religious" guidelines. It's about learning about God.
Salvation is a very personal thing. I cannot give it to you, nor can I make you "saved". It is a precious, precious gift from God. Jesus loves you. This I state with the utmost certainty. He is holding out his hand for you to take, all you have to do is be willing. Please do not be afraid to talk with your Lord. If you want more information, the best place to look for answers is in the Bible. Look up the verses I have listed here, & read then to yourself. If you are truly interested in becoming a Christian, I suggest you start reading in the gospels. (Mark, Matthew, Luke, & John. John is a very popular starting point.) If you want more information, or want to ask me some questions, just e-mail me. I thank Jesus for all the things he has allowed me to do and I strive to continue to do his will. May God richly bless you with his goodness and mercy.