None of us are born Christians. None of us are born destined for heaven. According to the Bible, all of us are born enemies of God (Romans 5:8) and living our lives blinded. (Ephesians 2:1-3) We were all dead in ours sins and destined to receive God's wrath forever. (John 3:36) But God loved us. He did not want that to be our future. So He provided a means of salvation for us. Each of us have to at some point give our lives to Jesus and receive that salvation. Below are the steps to that process.

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Step 1: Recognize You Are a Sinner

God made the world good and perfect. In the very beginning, all things were functioning as they should and everything was in perfect relationship with God. There was no death or evil. But Adam and Eve, the first humans, disobeyed God and ever since, we have all continued in that. We have broken God's law that He has established as what is good. And thus we are all sinners. "Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you". (Isaiah 59:2) God made laws to govern how things were to work in the world He created so that life could be good, all things could benefit humankind, and glorify His name. We chose the opposite of that. And so we are sinners. If you are going to be forgiven of your sins, you must first recognize that you are a sinner. Believe that about yourself. And repent of your sins. Repent is a word that means to turn from. In your sin, you are going in one direction. Repenting is turning and walking the other way.

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Step 2: Believe That Jesus Died and Rose Again on Your Behalf

"Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin." (Hebrews 9:22) Divine justice has to be given for our sins. Somebody has to receive the penalty of them. God provided a way for you to not have to. God sent His Son, who is also God, named Jesus. Jesus lived a sinless life. And He died by crucifixion. In His death, God placed sin upon Him and punished sin with divine justice so that sinners no longer have to endure that for themselves. After His death, Jesus rose from the dead showing that His sacrifice had worked. He had won the victory. If you would have your sins forgiven, you must believe Jesus did this on your behalf. It is not simply believing He did it as a historical fact. It is believing He did it in your place. You were supposed to be on the cross under God's judgment and Jesus took your place. 

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Step 3: Surrender Your Life To Him

"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9) Repentance and Faith produces a life surrendered to Christ. Where you place your life before Him and say, "I am yours. Do with me as you would." If you are not willing to surrender your life to Him, Jesus says you cannot be His disciple. (Luke 14:33) But the treasure you find when you do is worth more than anything you ever imagined. (Matthew 13:44)

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Step 4: Follow Jesus in Baptism

After step 3, you have been saved. Your first step is to get baptized! We'd love to talk with you about that too. Click here to view information about baptism.