1. Recognize that you are a sinner. Romans 3:23 says we all have sinned and fallen short of God's standard of holiness. Romans 3:10 says that there is no one without sin. In other words, we all make mistakes. We sin against God. We blow it...and have since the day we were born!
2. Understand that your sin demands payment. Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death - physical and eternal. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." It also promises that the gift of God is eternal life. In other words, Jesus Christ went to the cross for you...and for me...to make the payment for sin that you and I should have made. He took our place! What a great love! Romans 5:8 describes that love in this way, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.
3. Confess your sin right now to God. To confess means to agree with God about your sin and choose to turn away or "repent" of your sin. You are choosing to step away from your old life and ways in order to follow God and live out His amazing plan for your life.
4. Receive His gift of forgiveness. Understand that His forgiveness is a gift. You can't merit it by being good enough or earn it by doing good things.
Romans 3:21-22 “But God has a way to make people right with him without the law. And God has now shown us that way which the law and the prophets told us about. God makes people right with himself through their faith in Jesus Christ. This is true for all who believe in Christ, because all are the same.”
5. Accept God’s forgiveness as His gift to you and thank Him for coming into your life. Surrender everything you know about you...to everything you know about Him.
Romans 10:10 tells us "We believe with our hearts, and so we are made right with God. And we use our mouths to say that we believe, and so we are saved." In other words, we must believe in our hearts that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and that He rose from the grave. We confess that truth in our hearts and with our lives.
6. Turn your life over to Him and choose to follow Him from this day on.
Romans 8:38 promises: “Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from the love God has for us. Not death, not life, not angels, not ruling spirits, nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us, nothing below us, or anything else in the whole world will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
7. Share your decision with someone. And celebrate the fact that God has taken up residence in your heart and life and will, from this moment on, be with you.
Friend, we celebrate with you this new relationship with your living God. It is the most important decision you will ever make. We encourage you to join a church that teaches the Bible. Look for a small group Bible study in which you can participate. Begin spending a few minutes every day, praying to God and reading His Word. Start with the book of John. It tells you so much about who God is and why Jesus came.
We pray that you will follow Him and experience all the blessings He has for you...on your journey.
