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BECOMING A CHRISTIAN   Placing your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone as your personal Lord and Savior is the most important decision you will ever make! If you have never invited Christ into your life, or if you would like more information on what it means to commit your life to Christ, please allow us the privilege of sharing Him with you. The pastor would be delighted to talk with you any time. A Basic Summary of the Gospel How does a person become a Christian? On the most basic level, people become Christians when they accept three things about Jesus Christ. 1. When we accept Jesus Christ as the owner of our whole life, physically and spiritually. and acknowledge the authority of Jesus in every aspect of it. In fact the most ancient Christian declaration of faith was simply "Jesus is Lord!" 2. When we accept Jesus Christ as the only Savior of our soul. That we are forgiven of our sins and given eternal life, based not on our own good works or intentions, but on his loving sacrifice for us. 3. When we accept a personal relationship with God, through Jesus Christ. God does not want a simple mental affirmation of truth from us. He also wants us to return to Him a portion of the love that he has lavished upon us. Now to get to the point of accepting these things, there are generally 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 life. One of the most basic things that 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 gives a good 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 you and me. (Genesis 1:1, Psalms 100:3) God loves us deeply. (John 3:16, 1 John 4:9) God is perfect, holy and just. He punishes evil, removing it from His presence. (Romans 1:18, 6:23a) Humanity We were created in God's image to have a relationship with Him. (Genesis 1:27, Revelation 21:3) We rebelled and turned away from God. (Isaiah 53:6, Romans 3:23) 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 3:10-18) Christ God became a human being in the person of Jesus to restore our life and fellowship with Him. He walked the earth as a Jewish man in the first century A.D. (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 also be raised to eternal life with God.   (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Romans 6:5) My Response I must confess my sin and repent, turning away from my life of rebellion. (Matthew 4:17, Isaiah 55:7) I must believe in what God has done for me in Jesus Christ. (John 1:12) I must personally receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, and accept a loving relationship with Him. (Revelation 3:20) When I begin my new relationship with Jesus Christ, I also gain a new relationship with other believers. Part of this new life means that I am baptized into the Christian community and enjoy a new level of fellowship with the "family" of God, the Church. (Acts 2:38-47, Mark 3:35) Cost to Me Nothing! My salvation has been paid for. There is no cost to me. (Ephesians 2:8-9) Everything! I must give my life totally to Jesus Christ and desire to obey Him. (Romans 12:1-2) Cost to God He gave His Son Jesus Christ, to be killed for my sake. (John 3:16) If you are interested in giving your life to Jesus Christ, pray the following ABC prayer:           (A)"Lord Jesus, I Acknowledge that I need You.           (B) I put my Belief in You for the forgiveness of sins and                  eternal life.           (C) I now come to You in faith and Commit myself to You." At this point it is important that you contact the pastor and let him know of your decision so that he can help you with what to do next.