Beginning a Relationship with God
The central theme of the
Bible is God's love for you and for all people. This love was revealed
when Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into the world as a human
being, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and rose from the dead.
Because Christ died, your sins can be forgiven, and because He
conquered death you can have eternal life. You can know for sure what
will become of you after you die.
You have probably heard the
story of God's love referred to as the "Gospel." The word Gospel simply
means "Good News." The Gospel is the Good News that, because of what
Christ has done, we can be forgiven and can live forever.
But
this gift of forgiveness and eternal life cannot be yours unless you
willingly accept it. God requires an individual response from you. The
following verses from the Bible show God's part and yours in this
process:
God's Love Is Revealed in the Bible
"For
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." —John 3:16
(NIV)
God loves you. He wants to bless your life and
make it full and complete. And He wants to give you a life which will
last forever, even after you experience physical death.
We Are Sinful
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." —Romans 3:23 (NIV)
You may have heard someone say, "I'm only human—nobody's perfect." This
Bible verse says the same thing: We are all sinners. We all do things
that we know are wrong. And that's why we feel estranged from
God—because God is holy and good, and we are not.
Sin Has a Penalty
"For the wages of sin is death." —Romans 6:23 (NIV)
Just
as criminals must pay the penalty for their crimes, sinners must pay
the penalty for their sins. If you continue to sin, you will pay the
penalty of spiritual death: You will not only die physically; you will
also be separated from our holy God for all eternity. The Bible teaches
that those who choose to remain separated from God will spend eternity
in a place called hell.
Christ Has Paid Our Penalty!
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." —Romans 5:8 (NIV)
The
Bible teaches that Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, has paid the
penalty for all your sins. You may think you have to lead a good life
and do good deeds before God will love you. But the Bible says that
Christ loved you enough to die for you, even when you were rebelling
against Him.
Salvation Is a Free Gift
"For it
is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can
boast." —Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
The word grace means
"undeserved favor." It means God is offering you something you could
never provide for yourself: forgiveness of sins and eternal life, God's
gift to you is free. You do not have to work for a gift. All you have
to do is joyfully receive it, Believe with all your heart that Jesus
Christ died for you!
Christ Is at Your Heart's Door
"Here
I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens
the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." —Revelation
3:20 (NIV)
Jesus Christ wants to have a personal
relationship with you. Picture, if you will, Jesus Christ standing at
the door of your heart (the door of your emotions, intellect and will).
Invite Him in; He is waiting for you to receive Him into your heart and
life.
You Must Receive Him
"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." —John 1:12 (NIV)
When
you receive Christ into your heart you become a child of God, and have
the privilege of talking to Him in prayer at any time about anything.
The Christian life is a personal relationship to God through Jesus
Christ. And best of all, it is a relationship that will last for all
eternity.
If you are making this commitment to Christ today, please let us know. We would like to send you Bible study materials to help you grow in your faith.
If you have spiritual questions of another nature, please let us know.