What does it mean to be a Christian? A follower of Jesus? 
- It begins with knowing that God is our creator.
- Genesis 1:27 (ESV) — 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
- Even though God created us perfectly, we chose to rebel against Him.
- Genesis 3:6–7 (ESV) — 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
- The consequence of that rebellion was physical and spiritual death.
- Romans 5:12 (ESV) — 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
- Revelation 20:14–15 (ESV) — 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
- Every person who has ever been born is a sinner because of this rebellion.
- Romans 3:23 (ESV) — 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
- However, God’s love provides rescue through Jesus from our condition as sinners.
- Romans 6:23 (ESV) — 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to take the penalty for our sin.
- John 3:16 (ESV) — 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
- Jesus took the penalty for our sins by dying in our place on the cross.
- Romans 5:8 (ESV) — 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
- After Jesus died for us, He rose again on the third day.
- Luke 24:1–7 (ESV) — 1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”
- Since Jesus died and rose again, we can be saved from ours sins by God’s grace through faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
- Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV) — 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
To be saved, or rescued, we must ask God to forgive us of our sins and place our faith, our trust, in Jesus as Lord.
- Acts 20:20–21 (ESV) — 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
- We repent of our sins and place our faith in Jesus as Lord by confessing to God our need to be saved by Jesus’ work on the cross.
- Romans 10:9–13 (ESV) — 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
- Our confession to God may sound something like this: “Father, I confess to you that I am a sinner and that I need to be saved from the penalty of my sins. I believe that Jesus died for me and rose again. I surrender to Jesus as Lord by placing my trust in Him as my Savior. I pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.”
- If you truly confessed your sin and trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then the next step is to make your salvation public through baptism at a local church. We would love for you to be a part of Covenant Baptist Church, but more importantly, we want you to find a place to grow in your new relationship with Jesus.
Please reach out to us by email (office@mycbcc.org) to let us know of your decision so we can help you.