Salem's members are Christ-followers, or Christians, who live their lives for God. But, what exactly is a Christian and how can you begin to follow Jesus today?

The Bible says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We all have a problem the Bible calls sin. Sin is essentially anything we do, or do not do, that falls short of God’s standard of perfection. It can be those closet-habits you want no one to know about, or even seemingly small wrongs like white lies. Sadly, sin has a big price tag: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

The price of our sins is eternal death in a terrible place called hell. This death is eternal separation from our loving God who is in heaven. The good news is that God offers eternal life as a free gift! It is your choice to receive it.

The first step to accepting God’s free gift of eternal life is to admit that you are a sinner in need of God’s forgiveness. This begins a process called repentance: turning away from your sin by turning towards God.

God simply could not stand the distance between you and Him. At first, He established a system of animal sacrifices to pay the penalty for the wrongs of His people. This was only foreshadowing what God would one day do Himself. God sent His own Son Jesus to die just like a sacrificial lamb would for the penalty of a sinner’s wrongdoing. It is as if we were on death row and Jesus stood up in the courtroom to say He would sit in our place. As the Bible states, “‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life’” (John 3:16).

Unlike a sacrificial lamb, Jesus did not stay in His grave after paying our death sentence. Jesus rose from the dead, forever clearing the wrongs of those who would trust in Him to do so. After you have admitted you are a sinner, believe in your heart that Jesus died and was raised from the dead in your place! 

After admitting in your heart that you are a sinner, and believing that Jesus rose from His grave after dying in your place, confess that Jesus is now the Lord of your life. This means you acknowledge that God is now the boss. You turn in your keys and let God take the driver’s seat: “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” (Romans 10:9).

You could pray something like this to God: "Dear Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner and in need of forgiveness. I believe that You died for my sins and rose again. I want to turn from my sins and invite You into my heart and life as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus’s Name. Amen."

After admitting, believing, and confessing, you now have a secure hope that you will spend eternity in heaven with Jesus when your time on earth is finished. You also now have the opportunity to discover your purpose and tell others how to receive the same gift you have freely accepted!

If you prayed to accept Jesus into your heart as your Lord and Savior today, congratulations! We would love to connect with you and talk through your next steps as a believer like believer's baptism. Fill out the form below and one of our pastors will be in touch with you as soon as possible.