This is the most important question any person can ever ask, because nothing --
absolutely nothing -- is more important than our eternal salvation. Life is short,
and someday our time on this Earth will be over. But eternity is forever -- something
we can barely imagine -- and yet, tragically, countless people never stop to prepare
for eternity.
The Bible tells us salvation is a gift from God -- a gift we receive by putting
our faith in Jesus Christ. When the jailer in the town of Philippi asked Paul and
Silas how he could be saved, their reply was clear: "Believe in the Lord Jesus,
and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31).
But what does it mean to "believe" in Jesus? It doesn't mean simply to believe He
existed, or even that He died on the cross to save us. The word "believe" in the
Bible means "to trust." It means to believe that through His death and resurrection,
Christ paid the penalty for our sins and conquered death -- and then to commit our
lives to Christ and trust Him alone for our salvation.
Let me illustrate it this way. Suppose you were hiking and came to a bridge. You
might believe that bridge would hold you -- but you wouldn't really "believe" in
it until you actually put your trust in it and walked across it. The same is true
with Christ. By faith turn to Him and trust Him alone as your Lord and Savior today.
Probably the most compelling reason to become a Christian is for the sake of your
eternal soul, and the fact that if you are not a Christian when your physical body
dies, your soul will spend eternity future in the lake of fire.
However, when you accept Jesus Christ and confess your sin nature before the Lord, you
will be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. By accepting, loving, and listening to the Holy
Spirit you will begin to develop a personal relationship with God. After all,
the Holy Spirit is God, as is His son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So, through
the Holy Spirit God will live in you.
The Trinity of God may seem very confusing to seekers and new Christians, but the
Trinity expresses but three aspects of God. In way of illustration let me use this
example; just as you are a son, a father, an uncle, a grandfather, a brother, a
husband, or a daughter, a mother, an aunt, a grandmother, a sister or a wife, God
has three aspects, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
By becoming a Christian you will never again be alone. God is always with you. God
is always protecting you, God will always listen to you. God will always Love you,
forgive you, and comfort you. There is a poem that I have always loved, you have
probably read it before, written by Mary Stevenson in 1936, that expresses
this point better than I:
Footprints in the Sand
by
Mary Stevenson
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.
This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints,
so I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you, you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there has only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”
The Lord replied,
“The times when you have seen only one set of footprints,
my child, is when I carried you.”
How Do I Become A Christian?