Bridge Community Church Harstine Island

Becoming a Christian

Placing your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone as your personal Lord and Savior is the most important decision you will ever make! If you have never invited Christ into your life, or if you would like more information on what it means to commit your life to Christ, please allow us the privilege of sharing Him with you. Pastor Howard Spear would be delighted to talk with you any time.  He can be reached by phone at 360-426-5221 or be email at:  whs803@hctc.com

A Basic Summary of the Gospel

How does a person become a Christian? On the most basic level, people become Christians when they accept 3 things about Jesus Christ.

1. When we accept Jesus Christ as the owner of our whole life, physically and spiritually, and acknowledge the authority of Jesus in every aspect of it. In fact the most ancient Christian declaration of faith was simply "Jesus is Lord!"

2. When we accept Jesus Christ as the only Savior of our soul. That we are forgiven of our sins and given eternal life, based not on our own good works or intentions, but on his loving sacrifice for us.

3. When we accept a personal relationship with God, through Jesus Christ. God does not want a simple mental affirmation of truth from us. He also wants us to return to Him a portion of the love that he has lavished upon us.

Now to get to the point of accepting these things, there are generally many contributing factors. Some of those factors can be: seeing the truths of Jesus Christ modeled in the lives of Christians, being convinced of the truth about Jesus as taught in the Bible, working through the intellectual and historical issues of truth in Christianity, and personal experiences where Jesus has intervened in our life.

One of the most basic things that we must understand in order to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is to know what God has accomplished for us in Jesus. The following outline gives a good summary of what God has done. [Note: God is neither male nor female, but we have used the traditional masculine pronoun in reference to God for ease of reading]

God

• God created the universe, and He created you and me. (Genesis 1:1, Psalms 100:3)
• God loves us deeply. (John 3:16, 1 John 4:9)
• God is perfect, holy and just. He punishes evil, removing it from His presence. (Romans 1:18, 6:23a)

Humanity

• We were created in God's image to have a relationship with Him. (Genesis 1:27, Revelation 21:3)
• We rebelled and turned away from God. (Isaiah 53:6, Romans 3:23)
• Our disobedience (sin) has separated us from God. (Isaiah 59:2)
• The penalty for our sin is death (physical and spiritual). (Romans 6:23)
• By ourselves, we are not able to repay God or repair the relationship. (Romans 3:10-18)

Christ

• God became a human being in the person of Jesus to restore our life and fellowship with Him. He walked the earth as a Jewish man in the first century A.D. (John 1:14, Colossians 1:19-20, Luke 3:1)
• Jesus Christ, who lived a life without sin, died on the cross to take the punishment for our rebellion against God. Only through his sacrifice can we be forgiven for our sins. (Isaiah 53:5-6, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 5:8)
• Jesus rose from the dead, in order that we also might also be raised to eternal life with God. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Romans 6:5)

My Response

• I must confess my sin and repent, turning away from my life of rebellion. (Matthew 4:17, Isaiah 55:7)
• I must believe in what God has done for me in Jesus Christ. (John 1:12)
• I must personally receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, and accept a loving relationship with Him. (Revelation 3:20)
• When I begin my new relationship with Jesus Christ, I also gain a new relationship with other believers. Part of this new life means that I am baptized into the Christian community and enjoy a new level of fellowship with the "family" of God, the Church. (Acts 2:38-47, Mark 3:35)

Cost to Me

• Nothing! My salvation has been paid for. There is no cost to me. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
• Everything! I must give my life totally to Jesus Christ and desire to obey Him. (Romans 12:1-2)

Cost to God

• He gave His Son Jesus Christ, to be killed for my sake. (John 3:16)

Why should God let you into heaven?

Think about it. If you died today and stood before God in heaven and He asked you, “Why should I let you into Heaven?” what would you say to Him?

Prayerfully think about it and hold the answer in your mind for a moment.  Then read on:

If your answer was anything like “Because I am a good person” or “I’ve done more things right than wrong” or anything that is based on what you do, then you should recommit yourself to the liberating truth of the Gospel today!

The first answer that should have come to your mind was something like “I am saved by grace” or “Because Jesus is my Lord and Savior” or something that shows you have a clear understanding of the gospel. Remember, salvation is a gift from God to us. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God's offer of forgiveness can we be saved. Eternal life begins the moment we truly receive Jesus Christ into our life by faith.

Check out these scriptures:

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).


I want to commit my life to Jesus Christ today! Click here.