God loves you so much you can trust Him with your life. So, what do you have to lose? If you are asking. ”How can I get in touch with God?” “How can I come into a right relationship with God?” “How can I obtain eternal life?” Many people know about God, but few have had a life-changing encounter with Him. But very few have a personal relationship with the true God. Here’s are five principles to help you become a child of God. “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name’ (John 20:31).
Principle #1: God loves you and offers you an incredible plan for your life. All through the Bible there is verse after verse that talks about how much God loves you. The greatest example of this was when He sent His only Son into the world to die for your sins. Even today, He watches over you and pursues you to have a relationship with Him. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Principle #2: Man is a sinner, separated from God. It is so common in today’s culture to believe that there are many paths to God. There are so many religions, so many churches, each with very nice, good people in them. There are also many good people that it can seem natural to assume that each of these good people or their religious affiliation have a lock on heaven because they have done so many wonderful things. But the truth is that all of us have blown it…All of us have sinned, and it only takes one sin to separate us from our God, because He is perfect. The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). And “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). As you can imagine, this creates a huge problem, through sin, we are separated from God and therefore cannot get to God on our own, for where He is, there can be no sin. But just when it appears that all is lost, principle #3 kicks in:
Principle #3: Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for man’s sin. “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12,13). Now I know that sounds too simple. But then again, we are not God. It was God who chose to provide a “sacrifice” for our sins, His own son Jesus. “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Now here’s the incredible part, it was His death that paid for your sins and mine, every sin we have ever committed as well as any we will commit in the future. There had to be a blood sacrifice, and Jesus willfully gave His life for you and for me. But the most incredible thing to know is that three days after He died, He rose from the dead. This is not just religious mumbo-jumbo, this is historical fact. And because He rose from the dead, He now sits at the right hand of God making intercession (carrying messages for us and speaking to God on our behalf) for us. “Christ died for our sins…He was buried…He was raised on the third day, according to the scriptures…He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve (disciples). After that He appeared to more than five hundred others…” (I Corinthians 15:3-6).
Principle #4: Jesus is the only way to God. This is the hardest one for many people to believe. I’ve heard so many people say, “As long as you do the best you can you’ll be okay.” “There are many paths to God, it really doesn’t matter which one you choose.” There are no other “paths” to God or “ways” of salvation. While this “many paths to God” theory is popular in the minds of many and even some modern-day churches, it is a lie designed to keep people from the truth of Jesus Christ. “Jesus said, I am THE WAY, (so there is no other way) THE TRUTH, (so there is no other truth) and THE LIFE; (so there is no other life) no one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6). (Emphasis provided by the author). This is why it is so important that you understand that to simply be a good person, believe in God, and do your best to serve Him is not what it means to be a Christian. It is impossible to follow God without accepting God’s son Jesus. Jesus is the way…the only way to salvation for all of mankind. It was Jesus who died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, and it is Jesus that we must accept and with whom we must come into to a right relationship if we are to be called by His name…”Christians,” which means “followers of Christ”.
Principle #5: Each person must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. “But to as many who received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12). “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Written below is a very simple prayer for salvation. Does prayer save you? No, belief saves you: “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). But God’s word also says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). This is your moment of salvation, simply stop right where you are at this moment, and pray this prayer to the Lord. He is waiting for you to call on Him. Only pray these words if they truly represent the desire of your heart and your decision to follow Christ:
Dear Lord God, I need You in my life. I acknowledge that I have sinned and I come to You right now confessing my sin, and asking for your forgiveness. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I believe You are the Son of God and that You died for me, and rose from the dead and are alive today. I open the door of my heart and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Please take control of my life from here forward and make me the kind of person you want me to be. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Did you pray that prayer? Did you mean it? Do you believe God? Well God says to you, you are saved for eternity. You will go to heaven when you die! Listen and believe: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37 NLT). “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). In Jesus says to you, “And I give them eternal life, and they will never, ever [by any means] perish; and no one will ever snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater and mightier than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:28,29).
