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© 2003 by Clay Boepple

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

 Romans 10:17

Are you a "Christian?"  Are you "born again?"  Have you been "saved?"  Christians have various phrases we use to share our faith.  To me being a true Christian is about having a relationship with Jesus Christ.  In the Bible Jesus says,

²¹Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? ²³And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Matthew 7:21-23

Notice in the last verse that it says, "I never knew you."  Jesus wasn't saying, "I never heard of you."  What Jesus was saying is that there never was a relationship, and here he is talking about people who went to church and did church things.  For instance, by looking at this web site you may know of me, but until we build a relationship with each other you don't really know me.  A true Christian is someone who has a relationship with Jesus Christ.  I am a Christian, how about you?

If you don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ, the first thing you should know is that Jesus wants to have a relationship with you.  In fact he wants so much to have a relationship with you that He left heaven and came to live on earth a sinless life.  He then painfully died on the cross for you and me.  It begins in the book of Philippians 2:6 by saying that Jesus Christ...

⁶Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: ⁷But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: ⁸And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Philippians 2:6-8

Next, Jesus lived a sinless life so he could be a perfect sacrifice for you.  Why?  Because you are a sinner.  You are a sinner, I am a sinner, we are all sinners.  But until you realize that personally, then you can not have a relationship with Him.  In the Bible, the first part of the book of Romans is a guide on how to begin and have a relationship with Christ.  Here are some key verses.

²³For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23

You see "sinned" is a term that means you've missed the mark or bulls eye.  The bulls eye in this case is, "the glory of God."  Have you been perfect since you have been born?  I know I haven't.!  The fact is that all of us have done something that was wrong.  The fact is that whether you've missed the mark a little by not telling the truth, or whether you've missed the mark by killing someone in either case you've missed the mark.  So what happens next?  The first part of Romans 6:23 says...

^23aFor the wages of sin is death;

Romans 6:23a

This scriptures shows us the consequences of sin.  When we hear the term wages we understand it best like when someone works and they earn a wage.  You can say, "Payment received for services rendered."  The wage for sin is death.  Everybody dies physically and that is because, "all have sinned."

So, now that you understand what sin is and the consequences of it what can you do?  The answer is to turn away from sin and receive the gift of eternal life (a relationship with Jesus Christ).  Romans 6:23 continues on by saying...

^23bbut the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23b

To receive the gift of eternal life and have a relationship with Christ we must repent (turn away) from sin and decide to follow Christ.  The picture being painted here is that you are walking on the path of sin which is leading away from Jesus and is heading to death and destruction.  So, to follow Jesus you must turn away from sin.

¹⁹Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

Acts 3:19

⁸But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

Now, that I've given you some verses on what the Bible says you need to do to have a relationship with Jesus Christ here is what you need to do.  Simply pray to Jesus.  Prayer is simply talking to Jesus.  So when you pray to Jesus just say that you understand that you have sinned, you want to repent, and you want to follow him.  Then, thank him for dying on the cross for your sins and for paying the price.  Now, if you prayed these things and you meant them, then you are now a Christian.

⁹That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Romans 10:9

I can tell you that once you make that first step, Jesus will help you take the rest.  It sounds simple and the Bible says that even a child has the faith to understand, but unfortunately some will not take this first step.  I pray you have taken that first step in beginning your relationship with Jesus.  If you have, please let me know by dropping me and e-mail.  I will continue to update this page to help encourage you in you walk with Christ.

With Christ's Love,

Clay

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This site was last updated 03/01/04