Be Right with the God of the Bible

Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life - and living apart from Him means that we are dead in our sins and trespasses. But if you're born-again, (literally, "born from above") He doesn't promise to make our lives easy. If you are a Christian, the Bible promises trials, temptations, persecutions...but having the proper understanding of what Christ did for us and how it makes it all worth it, nothing will be able to tear us apart from Him. He promises that His Spirit will live in us and guide us, and that when we die, we will be in heaven with Him. So, the question is: how can one be made right with God and escape the Judgment to come, and gain the blessings of God in Christ?

Steps

  1. Understand that you are a sinner. The Bible says that all of us have sinned and fall short of God's standard of righteousness. (Romans 3:23) Have you stolen? Lied? Cheated? Taken God's name in vain(blasphemy)? Thought bad thoughts? The Bible says "There is not one who is good, no one is righteous." (Ps. 14) In thought, word and deed we have failed to meet up to God's standards. The Bible says our righteous deeds apart from faith are like filthy rags before God. (Isaiah 64:6) If your motivation for being "good" is anything other than a desire to obey and honor God, it's not enough to please Him; to be in God's presence, we must be made holy through God's grace despite our sinful nature. Understanding that you are spiritually bankrupt and have broken God's commands is the first step to realizing you need God's forgiveness. Salvation is by grace and faith alone. It cannot be earned. (See Ephesians 2:8-9)
  2. Pray, asking God to forgive your sins and give you a new heart with new desires from now on. Act on that prayer by getting baptized in water(Acts 2:38)(Acts 18:8)(Acts 22:16). God's purpose for making us is so that He can demonstrate his mercy, grace, and loving kindness. Our purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Embracing sin or trying to get "better" by yourself is a foolish attempt at ensuring the future. We often think that we can do enough good things to outweigh the bad, and God will reward us for it. But the truth is, purity and righteousness are unattainable without God's help. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins. His sacrifice - of His life - was the consequence of every wrong thing we have done or will ever do. He knew we couldn't know Him through our own efforts, so He made a way for us to know Him by covering our sins with grace, on the cross.
  3. In Jesus Christ, God can legally dismiss your case. Repent from your sins. Repentance is a full 180degree turn from doing sin. Sin is breaking God's law. (1 John 3:4) Repentance isn't merely being sorry or guilty for sin, but it's turning away from it...God can't be mocked. God doesn't accept hypocritical repentance, thinking you can continue sinning so long as you ask for forgiveness. You will not have your sins forgiven unless you truly don't want to live wickedly anymore. Cry out to God to grant you godly sorrow, that you may turn from your sins and desire nothing but God's righteousness. Jesus paid your sin debt, He paid the fine you could not pay. The very sins you committed are the very things that crucified your Savior... you should not want anything to do with sin anymore. God will help you in your weaknesses and help you overcome evil.
  4. Acknowledge God's Power to do this incredible thing, and ask Him to show you how to live His way. God's Word - the Bible - is a love letter to the world. He wants to save us from sin's condemnation, but that only comes through repentance and trust in Jesus Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit . If you don't believe God is telling the truth, you will not allow Him to guide and save you, and you'll be condemned eternally to Hell because you never had your sins forgiven and weren't born-again (made a new creation in Christ.) We are "children of wrath" before we come to Christ. We must be made a child of righteousness. And only the finished work of Christ on the cross can grant us that--if we trust in Him.
  5. Share the Gospel of Salvation. If you are truly born again, you'll have the desire to tell others about the forgiveness available in Christ and that they can be made right with God before they die. If I love Christ, I'll obey what He commissioned all Christians to do: preach the Gospel!
  6. Read your Bible and pray to God, asking Him to help you live His way. Believe the promises in the Bible. Trust what God says is true -- so that: He means what He says. Then, watch Him work in your inner-being and in your daily life as He fulfills His promises to you in response to your faith and obedience. Are you growing in the fruits of the Spirit? (See Galatians 5:22-23)
  7. Be happy about the fact that you were lost, but now you are found. The Bible says that when someone who was lost is saved, all of heaven rejoices. Be thankful that God in His mercy, grace and loving kindness provided a way for you to be saved. Amazing grace truly becomes "amazing grace"!
  8. For more, please go to Wayofthemaster.com and Wretchedradio.com to learn and grow in the faith. If you got questions, go to gotquestions.org! And read your Bible everyday and obey it. God will by no means cast anyone out who desires this forgiveness.... trust and repent in the Savior.

Tips

  • Don't be worried if you don't completely understand or know everything in the Bible yet. God promises that if we seek Him, we will find him.
  • Let other Christians support you and find a way to support other Christians who are aiming for the same goal as you are: to honor Christ and obey his Word.
  • As you pursue His truth by asking Him for wisdom and reading His Word, He will help you to know what it means and He will show you how to live.
  • Get involved with a church. The Bible says that we are to find encouragement and strength through other believers - as His people, we are not expected to go through life alone.
  • Visit sites like www.gotquestions.org and www.biblegateway.com to learn more about what it means to be in a relationship with God.
  • God always loves us so we have to love him back and ask him to forgive our sins.
  • How to know if you are "good" [1]*
  • Be encouraged by reading these examples of people becoming right with the God of the Bible
  • Revival Centres article on salvation

Warnings

  • Watch out for Christians who say they love the Lord but who do things you know aren't Biblical or consistent with God's character.
  • Don't base your picture of God only on what you see in other believers. Basically don't judge Christianity based on those in the Church. There are false converts who are hypocritical and aren't born again. Judge the truth based on the actions of Jesus Christ. He fulfilled Old Testament prophecy as Messiah, and fulfilled the Law of God by perfectly keeping it. He is the only way to be saved.
  • "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world." (1 John 4:1-3) Pray to God for discernment, to tell between truth from lies. Be a Berean, examine EVERYTHING under Scripture. (Acts 17:11) The Word of God is the final authority, not what any man/woman says. Study the Word of God and memorize Scripture, it is shaper than a double-edged sword. (Heb. 4:12)
  • Christians are saved sinners - When you are born-again, you attitude toward sin has changed. You now hate what you once loved. Now you desire God and what He wants. You will encounter Christians who are not spiritually mature and may be stumbling in many ways, but if they're born of God, Christ will keep them and perfect them on the day we see Him face to face.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ "livingwaters.com/good
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