How To Become A Christian

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth. God also created mankind in His own image and designed mankind pure and perfect. He also gave mankind free will to love Him or reject Him; obey or deny Him. Mankind gave into temptation and sinned against God tainting the human race with a sinful nature from that point on. Since then every person on Earth has commited a sin of some kind; every person that is except one*.

Sin is like a cancer for holiness, and as God is pure and holy He cannot be around sin unless it is atoned for and the only atonement (or wage) for sin is death**. The death of a soul with unatoned sin is not like the death of the flesh. The death of a soul means eternal separation from God, the source of life, to a place designed for death, Hell. As something must die to atone for sin, God initially allowed for animal sacrifices to cover the sins of man ***. However, not wanting to be separated from His creation, God provided an alternative plan. God sent His son, Jesus, into the world **. Jesus, born of the virgin Mary which means he was not bound by the sin nature that plauges mankind, lived a life completely free of sin ****. He was unjustly accused and condemned to die by the most tortuous means available, execution on a cross. When He died on the cross, he atoned for the sins (past, present and future) of those willing to place their sin on Him and follow Him the rest of their lives *****.

However, the story does not end with Jesus' death. After three days of being dead, He rose from the grave and won victory over sin and death ****. This means that if we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, if we place our sin on His death on the cross, we too can have victory over death and sin. When we do this, even though our flesh will eventually die and decay, our eternal soul will be purified from sin and we can spend eternity with God.

For those that have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, He sent us His Spirit to dwell with us and intercede on our behalf before God. Because of this, we will never be alone or apart from God. That is what it means to be a Christian and what we are charged to share with the world as Christians ******.

If you would like to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, to become a Christian, to have your sin atoned for and to follow Him for the rest of your life, simply talk to him in your own words similar to this *******:

"Jesus, I know that I am as sinner. I believe that you died for my sins and rose to have victory over sin and death. Please take my sin, purify my soul and accept me as your follower for the rest of my life. Thank you for saving me and your amazing love! Amen."

The next step is then to declare to the world, through baptism (submersion in water to symbolize death, coming out of the water to symbolize life), that you are now a Christian and to go tell others about the life and purification that Jesus gives! Joining a local church, such as OHC, helps to teach, equip, encourage and challenge you to do this ********.

If you have made a decision to follow Jesus or have more questions about following Him, please call us at (417) 689-2524 or visit us in person. We look forward to hearing from you!

** Romans 6
*** Numbers 6
**** Luke 1
***** John 18 - 19
****** John 14
******* Romans 10
******** Matthew 28

Scripture Reference