How to know Jesus

The Bible makes it clear that God has sent Jesus into the world for one purpose:  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever will believe in Him (Jesus) would never die, but have everlasting life.”  God wants you to believe in Jesus.  Not just believe that Jesus was some charismatic religious figure that walked the earth 2,000 years ago.  Or that Jesus was sent to earth to show us how to love one another.  No…God sent Jesus to the earth so that we could know Him…personally.  Your greatest need is to know Jesus.  We want you to know how to begin a personal relationship with this God who created you, loves you, and sent His Son to earth so that you could live with Him forever.  If you want to begin that relationship today, here’s how you do that:

1. ADMIT YOUR SIN TO GOD:
   The Bible teaches in Romans 3:10 - “There is no one righteous, not even one…” And again in Romans 3:23 - “For all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.”  This simply means that all of mankind has sinned against God and cannot live up to God’s righteous standard which is perfection.  The first step in salvation is to admit that no one is good enough to be saved. 
2. PLACE YOUR FAITH IN JESUS AS SAVIOR AND LORD:
   When we admit that we have sinned against God, we may feel as if there is no hope.  Or, we may be tempted to think that we can work hard enough to earn our salvation.  But the Bible teaches that there is no amount of good works we can do to earn God’s love.  Instead, we see in Romans 5:8 - “But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  And in Romans 6:23 - “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
   In order to be saved, you must believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins.  At the cross, Jesus took your sin (past, present, and future) and He paid the penalty for your sin in His body and with His blood.  Literally, Jesus became your substitute and died for your sin so that you could be forgiven.  You gain the benefit of His death by faith.  Faith is trusting and believing in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as a settled fact.
3. BELIEVE THAT GOD HAS RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD:
   God promises in the Bible in Romans 10:9 - “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him (Jesus) from the dead, you will be saved.”  And also in Ephesians 2:8-9 - “For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” 

If you prayed and trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, we want to rejoice with you!  Please contact our pastor or come join us for worship so that we can help you in your first steps as a Christian.  One of the first things you will want to do is to get baptized and join a local church so that you can begin to grow in your faith and go and share the good news with others!