Why does anyone need a Savior?
Romans 3:23, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"
Sin is something that separates you from God. A sin is something that's wrong. Stealing, lieing, murdering, etc. It can also include things like pride, lust, and jealousy. Anything that is wrong is a sin. What that verse says...is that everyone at some point of their lives has sinned. Even good people make mistakes sometimes. Because of those mistakes, we're separated from God. Everyone, not just people in jail. "For all have sinned..."
Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Why does it matter that we sin? That verse explains that if you sin...you die. Not a physical death, but a spiritual one. Well, we all die physically. But this verse means if you sin, you're going to Hell. That's not the end of the story though. God doesn't want anyone to go to Hell, so we can get into Heaven through Jesus Christ. I'll explain how in a minute, but I just want you to see that this verse says...sinners die, but you don't have to because you can get eternal life through Jesus. Death in Hell is just what we, sinners, deserve.
So, how do you get to Heaven?
John 3:3, "In reply Jesus declared, 'I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.'"
To get into Heaven, you have to be born again. I know that sounds really funky. But you don't have to crawl back in your mother's womb to be born again. This verse is talking about a spiritual rebirth. What that means is when Jesus becomes your savior...He turns you into a new person. That doesn't mean a new body or a new eye color, but a new person inside. We all have personalities and unique qualities that make us who we are. We also have character flaws, and sins, and things about us that are just...bad. That is what Jesus changes, thats how He makes you a new person. On the inside. So, that's why it's called being "born again", because you're a new person. That change doesn't happen right away, it's gradual as you get to know Jesus better, but that is what being born again means. You leave your old sinful life behind, and become a new creation in Christ.
You still may be wondering why Jesus is the ONLY way to Heaven. Why can't you just change yourself and stop sinning by yourself without Him, and still get into Heaven?
John 14:6, "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Well...that's pretty to the point. No one comes to the Father (God) except through Jesus. When you really think about it, why would you want to be in Heaven with God and Jesus if you didn't know them anyway? It's never fun to go to a party alone, eh?
Now maybe you're wondering...ok, if Jesus is the only way, how do I become a Christian and get to know Him?
Romans 10:9-10, "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."
The way to "get saved" (become a Christian, get to know Jesus, make Him your Savior), is to confess it with your mouth and believe in your heart all that the Bible says about Him. Do you believe that the Bible is right when it says you're a sinner, and since you're a sinner you need a Savior? Do you believe that Jesus is the only way to Heaven? Do you believe that God raised Him from the dead, and He is who He says He is? If you answered yes to those, you've got the believing part down! The next step is to confess it with your mouth. That involves praying to God and telling Him that you believe all that stuff. If you confess and believe, you're saved. That's all it takes. You don't have to be perfect to get saved, because Jesus will help you become a better person as the years go by. That's what He likes to do. You don't have to do anything to earn this gift. If we could earn salvation, we wouldn't need Jesus.
If you don't know how to pray, I'll include a prayer down at the bottom you can use as a guide. Right now I'd like to explain a little bit more about what it means to be a Christian.
2 Corinthians 5:15, "And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died and was raised again."
This verse says that Jesus died for all. For everyone. Not just nice people, not just Americans, but everyone. Being a Christian involves more than just accepting a ticket to Heaven. You don't have to do good things to stay a Christian, but you'll see as you spend more years as a Christian that you want to. You won't want to live for yourself anymore. You'll want to do things that please God, because that's what your "new self" I explained earlier will be like. That means you'll end up giving things up that may be hard to let go of, some sins in your life that Jesus wants to help you let go of. Why? Because Jesus died so you won't live for yourself anymore, but for Him. It may sound like a bummer, but it's actually really fun. When you follow Christ and allow Him to work on you, you also get so much in return. Joy, blessings, etc. Being a Christian is about so much more than being "saved from sins." It is such a privilege to actually have a relationship with Jesus Christ. That's what it's about for me. I want to know everything about Him. He's my best friend. Not just my Savior.
How do I know this gift of salvation is for everyone?
Revelation 3:20, "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."
John 3:16, "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."
Those two verses make it clear that ANYONE who takes the steps to make Jesus their Savior can be a Christian. "If anyone hears my voice...", "that whoever believes in him...." God gave His Son Jesus to us to be our sacrifice, so anyone who ever lives on this earth can go to Heaven. In the second verse, "perish" means Hell. Whoever believes in Him will not go to Hell. That gift is for anyone.
You may wonder how you "get to know Jesus better" like I've been saying. One way to do that is to read the Bible. There are some books in there that explain about His life, and just some cool stuff about Him. If you don't know how to go about reading the Bible to learn about Jesus, I think it's a really good idea for you to find a church in your area to go to. You can get involved in Bible studies there, and they can help you. It's also pretty cool to have friends who are Christians too, because you all have something in common. They can help you learn more about the Bible and Jesus. Another way is to pray. I know that it's probably hard to understand, but praying is so cool. You can tell Jesus ANYTHING. You can praise Him (tell Him He's cool), you can confess your sins to Him. That's a good thing to do, you're already forgiven since you're a Christian, but confessing your sins every day just shows God that you know those things were wrong. When you pray you can also ask for stuff. God isn't a magical genie that grants every request, but He does care about what you want and need. It's also cool to just be silent when you pray, that is when Jesus "talks" to you. It's not a loud booming voice or anything, but it's during those times that you can feel Jesus telling you things about yourself that He wants to change. Or maybe if you're in a funk, it's during those times that He can comfort you.
Another part of being a Christian, is receiving the Holy Spirit. There are plenty of opinions on what that means, and I'm not going to get into all of that right now. But I think it would be helpful in this topic, to understand that the Holy Spirit will help you in this decision. It's His job to draw you to God, to help you pray, to help you understand what you read in the Bible, and other things along those lines. That's what He does.
After Jesus rose from the dead and was preparing to go to Heaven, He explained that the Holy Spirit would be given to us. He is a Counselor. Well, I'll just type the verses out.
Matthew 14:16-17, "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him for he lives with you and will be in you."
Matthew 14:26, "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."
So yeah, once you become a Christian, the Holy Spirit will help teach you lessons and help you understand parts of the Bible you don't understand yet.
I'll have to address why Jesus had to die so we could have salvation in another topic, but for now if you realize that you are a sinner and you know you need a Savior and you want to become a Christian....here is a prayer that will help you talk to God about that if you want some help. Add your own personal thoughts to it.
Dear God, I'm no good. I realize that I'm a sinner, because I know I do things that are wrong sometimes. I also realize now that my sins are what keep me from Heaven. I believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven. I believe that Jesus Christ died on a cross because of my sins, and He came back to life 3 days later. Because of all this, I want to be a Christian. I need a Savior, and Jesus is that Savior.....(insert personal thoughts here).
In another topic, I'll explain what I believe the role of baptism is in Christianity. There are also many opinions on that.
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