How do I become a Christian?
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God is a gracious Father--who loves to show mercy.
The Bible says in Exodus 34:6b, "And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin."
God is a Just Judge-who must punish sin.
The Bible says in Exodus 34:7b, "Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."
God created man in His image to be in relationship with Him.
In Genesis 1 - 3, the Bible tells us that man was created to be in perfect relationship with God. But, we learn in Genesis 3 that man rebelled against God and with that rebellion sin entered our world and our relationship with God was broken. The Bible says in Romans 5:12, "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned."
Because God is both a loving Father and a just Judge, He must act in a way that expresses both His mercy and His justice. On the one hand God would be unjust if he simply cleared guilty people. On the other hand God hates to see sinners condemned. The Bible teaches that God hates the death of a sinner, but He has also sworn that the soul that sins must die. Therefore, we must stress God's holiness and justice and his absolute love and mercy. The only way we can see the glory of grace is to see both his law and his love fulfilled on the cross through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is the answer.
In the gospel of John we learn that God sent His only son Jesus Christ to live, die and be raised again so that a sinful world might be brought back to Him.
Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 3:25-26 says, "God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus."
Therefore, those who profess faith in Christ will be saved.
The truth of the gospel is that we are far more loved, valued, and accepted than we ever dared to dream and we are more sinful, weak and evil than we ever dared to believe! But, by professing faith in Jesus Christ and trusting in His righteousness, we can be saved. Romans 10:9 says, "if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Those who profess faith in Christ have been saved from sins' penalty. Ephesians 2:8a says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith." Those who profess faith in Christ and repent of their sins have also been delivered from sin's dominance.
Man's response to the good news of the gospel is a life of repentance, faith, and obedience.
The Bible says in Ephesians 4:22-24, "You were taught with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."
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