we were created to know God

God created you to have a relationship with Him. He loves you more than you can imagine, and you can only experience true fulfillment in Him. 

Sin Separated Us from God

However, God is perfect and knows no sin (1 John 1:5). Sadly, each of us have done wrong, and our sin has separated us from God (Romans 3:23).  The world is damaged as a result of sin.  Every evil and suffering in this world is occurring as a result of sin (Romans 5:12-21). Try as we might, there is nothing any of us can do to earn back a relationship with God (Romans 3:10). Worse, we all face eternal punishment as a result of our sin (Romans 6:23).  

Jesus' Death and Resurrection Make Salvation Possible

Jesus is fully God and fully man.  He came to this world to live a perfect life, die to pay the penalty for our sins, and to be risen from the dead to give us new life. (John 1:14, 1 John 2:2, 1 Peter 3:18).  Romans 6:23 says, “The wage of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Jesus already paid for everything you will ever do wrong.  Salvation is a gift from Him through His sacrifice.  Gifts can't be earned; they can only be accepted or rejected. 

Salvation is by Grace through faith

Romans 10:9 explains how to accept salvation: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."  

• Declare “Jesus is Lord." This means trusting in Him, and letting Him take control of your heart and direction of your life. It means acknowledging that you cannot accomplish fulfillment within yourself without His hands being constantly within your life to guide you.

• Believe God raised Jesus from the dead. Have faith that Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sins and rose from the dead to give you new life.

There is no formulaic prayer that is necessary to pray, no brand of love for God that is required, and there is no religious regime that secures your salvation for you. Christ died to absolve us of the sins we commit that push us away from Him. He experienced the resurrection as we will one day experience rebirth in Him through. You simply have to believe in Him, allow Him to take over your heart, and trust in Him for the path and purpose that you He created you to fulfill.  Believing in Jesus’ saving work and make Him the Lord of your life, not out of fear or sense of obligation, but because of loving Him and trusting Him. If you need help knowing where to start your conversation with God, here is an example prayer: 

God, I have sinned.  I can’t live life on my own, but I believe Jesus died to pay the penalty for my sins and that He rose from the dead. Jesus, take control of my life. Be my Lord. Help me to follow you by the power of your Holy Spirit in me. I love you. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus name, Amen.  

If you prayed that prayer, please let us know, we want to help you grow in your relationship with God. If you struggle with these ideas and have doubts in your heart, we want to help you build your relationship with Jesus and walk that path with you!