If you find yourself searching for answers in this life, you may find yourself wondering how to become a Christian. Well, you’ve come to the right place! At Liquid Church, we believe having a relationship with Jesus Christ is life-changing. In fact, if you have never before made the decision to accept God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, we can walk you through it in this simple guide. We believe that you’re not reading this by accident, and we pray that you will leave here with new hope!
WHAT IS SALVATION, ANYWAY?
The first step in how to become a Christian: Let’s learn what salvation is. We recognize that this is not a popular term in our culture, and if we’re honest, this word often makes us uncomfortable. But salvation simply means “to be saved.” This means that Jesus, the Son of God, came into the world to sacrifice Himself in our place so that we can have a right relationship with Him (John 3:16-17). This sacrifice was accomplished by Jesus’s death on the Cross over 2,000 years ago... but He didn’t stop there.
Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead so that both sin and death could be defeated once and for all. The difference between Christianity and all other world religions is that God gave the gift of salvation to us. This means that we never have to earn our own salvation and way into Heaven. It’s given to us as a free gift! But, it is also up to us whether we accept that gift or not.
WHY DO I EVEN NEED TO BE SAVED?
Next, in our journey on how to become a Christian, we need to understand WHY we need a Savior. See, the Bible shows us that ever since Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, there’s been one thing that has separated us from God (Genesis 3). That one thing is called sin. Broken down, sin is a human act, word, or desire that is in direct opposition to the character of God. See, sin gives us the illusion that we are in control of our own lives and therefore don’t need God. Because God is holy and perfect, when we sinned, we were separated from our original relationship with Him — the best relationship that we could have.
The reason we can still come to God today is because of the loving sacrifice that Jesus, the son of God, made for us. Because Jesus took our place on the Cross, He carried the weight of our sin and carried that weight to the grave (Matthew 27:32-56). When He rose from the tomb, His righteousness was given to us. Righteousness means to be right or justified before God. Because Jesus was perfect, we can be made holy, right, and justified for our sin in the eyes of the Father - if we accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the payment for our sins.
If you are reading this and feeling that tug in your heart to make Jesus your Lord and Savior, we encourage you to take a moment to do just that. Don’t worry if you feel overwhelmed about what to pray. We’ll guide you on how to become a Christian...a believer...a child of God...because praying the prayer of salvation is as simple as A-B-C!
A = Admit Your Sin
The word “sin” may not be popular in our culture, but it’s our reality every day. God created us for a relationship with Him, but we’ve all fallen short of His love (Romans 3:23). That’s why we need to repent or turn away from our sinful ways, so we can turn towards God.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:9
B = Believe in Jesus
To believe in Jesus not only means to know and believe that Jesus was the Son of God, but it also means to surrender your heart and make Him the absolute Leader over your life rather than yourself.
“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.” - Romans 10:9
C = Commit to Follow Christ
Choosing to follow Jesus is not a one-time decision but rather a whole heart commitment. Think of it as a marriage ceremony. You are standing before your soon-to-be spouse, promising to be with that person for the rest of your life. Likewise, accepting God's gift of salvation is choosing to follow Jesus for the rest of your life! You won’t follow Him perfectly, but He will use His presence in your life through his Holy Spirit to transform your heart and give you a new power to live for Him.
“Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.’” - Mark 8:34-35
Last, but certainly not least, we'll add another letter to the ABCs of salvation…
D = Do It Today!
If you sense God’s Holy Spirit compelling you to follow Jesus, then we encourage you to do it today! Don’t wait. We are not guaranteed tomorrow. We encourage you to make this transformative decision now.
If you have reservations about “this whole Christianity thing,” please understand that it is completely normal to feel that way. Let your questions draw you nearer to Christ as you learn and grow. Don’t let your questions get in the way of accepting a loving relationship with Jesus! We don’t know what tomorrow brings, but we do know from the Bible that those who do not accept Jesus will experience a spiritual death, which will be far more painful because we’ll be forever separated from our Creator.
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” - John 3:36
ACCEPTING THE GIFT
Are you ready to accept and receive God’s free gift of salvation? We’ll guide you in a personal salvation prayer that you can either say out loud or pray quietly in your heart wherever you are!
Understand, the below prayer is not a secret formula. But, we encourage you to let these words (or your own words) be an expression of a sincere desire to know the God that loves you. Let’s pray!
“Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I do not deserve eternal life. But I believe that you died and rose from the grave to make me a new creation and to prepare me for an everlasting relationship with you. Jesus, come into my heart, take control of my life, forgive my sins, and save me from myself. I put my trust in you alone for my salvation, and I accept your free gift of eternal life. Today, I commit my life to you. Amen.”
If you just prayed that salvation prayer for the first time, congratulations! God bless you and welcome to the family of God!