We Follow Following Jesus Christ is the most important step you will ever take!
How do people come into a relationship with Jesus Christ as their Savior and begin their lives with Him as their Lord? On the most basic level, people do so when they accept 3 things about Jesus Christ:
- When they accept Jesus Christ as the owner of their whole lives, physically and spiritually, and acknowledge the authority of Jesus in every aspect of it.
- When they accept Jesus Christ as the only Savior of their souls, and that they are forgiven of their sins and given eternal life, based not on their own good works or intentions, but on His loving sacrifice for them.
- When they accept a personal relationship with God, through Jesus Christ. God does not want a simple mental affirmation of truth from us. God wants us to return a portion of the love that God has lavished upon us.
To get to the point of accepting these things, there are many contributing factors. Some of those factors can be: seeing the truths of Jesus Christ modeled in the lives of Christians, being convinced of the truth about Jesus as taught in the Bible, working through the intellectual and historical issues of truth in Christianity, and personal experiences where Jesus has intervened in our lives.
A Basic Summary of the Gospel**
One of the most basic things we must understand in order to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is to know what God has accomplished for us in Jesus. The following outline is a summary of what God has done. [Note: God is neither male nor female, but we have used the traditional masculine pronoun in reference to God for ease of reading.]
- God
- God created the universe and He created us. (Genesis 1:1, Psalms 100:3)
- God loves us deeply. (John 3:16, 1 John 4:9)
- God is perfect, holy, and just. God punishes evil, removing it from God's presence. (Romans 1:18, 6:23a)
- Jesus Christ
- Jesus was present when the universe was created. (John 1:1-3)
- God took on human form in the person of Jesus to restore our life and fellowship with God (John 1:14, Colossians 1:19-20, Luke 3:1)
- Jesus Christ, who lived a life without sin, died on the cross to take the punishment for our rebellion against God. Only through his sacrifice can we be forgiven for our sins. (Isaiah 53:5-6, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 5:8)
- Jesus rose from the dead in order that we also might be raised to eternal life with God. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Romans 6:5)
- Jesus ascended into heaven following 40 days of appearing to his disciples, and from there intercedes on our behalf. (Acts 1:8)
- Jesus has promised to return and we are called to serve as we await his second coming. (John 14:3)
- The Holy Spirit
- The Holy Spirit was present with the Father and the Son when the world was created. (Genesis 1:2)
- The Holy Spirit has been and is the power through which people are able to discover and follow Jesus. (John 14:15-17, 26)
- The Holy Spirit in now with us and in us and empowers us with gifts to be able to witness to the grace, mercy, peace, and love of God. (1 Corinthians 12:8-10)
- The Holy Spirit produces fruit in the lives of those in whom He dwells. (Galatians 5:22-23)
- Our Response
- Humanity was created in God's image to be in relationship with God. (Genesis 1:27, Revelation 21:3)
- Humanity rebelled and turned away from God. (Isaiah 53:6, Romans 3:2-3)
- Our disobedience (sin) has separated us from God. (Isaiah 59:2)
- The penalty for our sin is death (physical and spiritual). (Romans 6:23)
- By ourselves, we are not able to repay God or repair the relationship. (Romans 10:10-18)
- We must confess our sin and repent, turning away from our sin. (Matthew 4:17, Isaiah 55:7)
- We must believe in what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. (Romans 10:9-10)
- We must invite Jesus Christ into our lives to forgive our sins, to be our Savior, and submit to His authority over our lives as our Lord. (Revelation 3:20)
- When we begin our new relationship with Jesus Christ, we also gain a new relationship with other believers. Part of this new life means that we are baptized into the Christian community and enjoy a new level of fellowship with the family of God, the Church. (Acts 2:38-47, Mark 3:3)
- We must begin to follow Jesus and exhibit a lifestyle worthy of our calling, loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and loving our neighbors as we love and care for ourselves.
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