How to become a Christian

God created man to be in fellowship with Himself. We are incomplete without that relationship. God and Man originally enjoyed that closeness and unity in the Garden of Eden, but Man chose to break that relationship by rebelling and going his own way. The Bible is the account of God’s attempts to restore that unity.

God loves you. God wants to bless you with a completely fulfilling life. He wants you to possess eternal life – life that continues even after the death of your physical body. He went to great lengths to make that happen.

We are sinful. 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. That’s why we feel estranged from God – because God is holy and good, and we are not.

• Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Sin has a penalty. 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.

• Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death.

Christ has paid our penalty. 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.

• Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Salvation is a free gift. The word grace means “undeserved favor.” It means that God is offering you something you could never provide for yourself: forgiveness of sins and eternal life, and this gift is free to you. 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!

• Ephesians 2:8-9 - 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.

You must receive Him. When you become a child of God, you 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 what will last for all eternity.

• John 1:12 - Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.