Salvation: The Gift of New Life
Salvation is the free gift that God offers us through Jesus Christ. It is through His death and resurrection that we are given the opportunity to be reconciled with God, leaving behind the weight of sin and embracing the eternal life He promises.
The Problem: Separation from God
In the beginning, God created humans to live in perfect relationship with Him. However, when sin entered the world, it put all of humanity on a path to death! As a matter of fact, there are 3 deaths we became subject to:
• Spiritual death: Separation from God due to sin, which Jesus reconciles us from.
• Physical death: The separation of body and soul when we pass from this life.
• Eternal death: The separation of the soul from God for eternity if we do not accept Christ.
The Good News:
The good news is that God, in His infinite love and mercy, sent His Son, Jesus, to live a perfect life, die on the cross for our sins, and rise again so that we might have eternal life as a gift for our faith instead of eternal death as a price for our sins. Jesus bore our sins and the consequences of spiritual death, making a way for us to be restored to God. This is what we call the gift of salvation.
Romans 10:9-10 (NIV) tells us,
"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. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."
This simple yet profound act of declaring Jesus as Lord and believing in His resurrection is the doorway to salvation. It is through this declaration that we receive forgiveness, and our broken relationship with God is restored.
The Prayer of Salvation
If you’re ready to take the step of salvation, pray this prayer with sincerity in your heart:
"Lord Jesus, I come before You as a sinner in need of Your grace. I believe You died for my sins and rose again, and I accept You as my Savior. I confess with my mouth that You are Lord, and I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. Thank You for forgiving me and giving me eternal life. Help me to live for You from this day forward. In Jesus’ name, Amen."
If you’ve prayed that prayer with a genuine heart, congratulations! You have been made new in Christ! 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" This is the first step in your journey of faith.
What's The Next Step?
As a new believer, your next step is to join a local church where you can grow, learn, and be supported in your new faith. We encourage you to get plugged into a community where you can be discipled, share life with others, and be equipped to live out God’s calling on your life. You can do that with One Accord Church TODAY, or any church of your choice!
After joining a church is baptism. Baptism symbolizes your new life in Christ and is a public declaration of your faith. An outward sign of the inward change that has taken place in your heart.
Welcome to the family of God! Your journey has just begun, and it’s a beautiful one.