| Step 1. It
is important to know that God loves you
and that you matter to Him very much.
He made us and wants to have a relationship
with us. (John
10:10) |
 |
| Step 2. However,
we have rebelled against God, choosing
to go our own direction instead of His.
This rebellion is called sin, which separates
us from God and breaks off our relationship
with Him. (Isaiah
53:6; Isaiah
59:2) |
 |
| Step 3. Most
of us are aware of our distance from
God. To try to compensate for this, we
do things like being a good person, paying
our taxes, working hard, being religious,
giving to charities - all in order to
get back to God. But it doesn't work.
There is nothing wrong with these things,
but they fall short of earning God's
forgiveness or reestablishing our relationship
with Him. (Romans
3:23) |
 |
| Step 4. Furthermore,
God must deal with our rebellion. The
Bible tells us that the wages of our
sin is death. This death is not just
a physical death. Even more it is a spiritual
separation from God for all eternity.
This state of eternal hopelessness is
what the Bible refers to as hell. (Romans
6:23a; Proverbs
14:12) |
 |
| Step 5. That's
a pretty bleak picture. But the good
news is that God loves us so much that
He did for us what we could not do for
ourselves. He provided a bridge back
to a relationship with Himself, to His
forgiveness, and to His love. |
 |
| Step 6. He
did this by coming to us in the person
of Jesus Christ, dying on the cross to
pay our death penalty, and rising from
the dead so that we can have life in
Him. (John
3:16; Colossians
1:19-20; I
Timothy 2:5) |
 |
| Step 7. This
is God's good news for us. But it is
not enough just to know this or even
agree with it. We have to act on it.
We have to cross the bridge. We do this
by humbly admitting to God that we have
rebelled against Him, and that we need
Christ's forgiveness and leadership in
our life. With our sin forgiven, our
relationship with God is reconciled and
we are firmly established as part of
His forever family. (Colossians
1:21-22; John
1:12) |
 |
Would
you like to cross the bridge and have
peace with God?
- Pray right now, admitting in
your own words that you have rebelled
against God and have gone your
own direction. Ask Jesus in your
own words to forgive your sin and
to be the leader of your life.
- If you meant that prayer, then
your sin has already been forgiven
and you have become a child of
God… a part of His forever
family! You are at Peace with God
and all the angels in heaven are
rejoicing for you!
What Now?
- Tell someone about the decision
you made
- Be baptized to
publicly identify your faith in
Christ.
- Find a church home, like OCC,
where you can grow in your new
relationship with Christ along
with other Christians.
- Let
us know so we can help you
grow in your newfound faith.
|
