Becoming a Jesus-follower

Jesus has a lot of fans.  But Jesus didn't come to be a superstar.  He came to be our Savior.  He came to bring the Kingdom of God - God's rule and reign.  A lot of people in the Gospels wanted to get in on it because they thought the Kingdom of God meant the Romans would be booted out of their homeland.  One of the religious leaders of the day came to Jesus at night (because he was embarrassed to be seen with Jesus in public) and asked about it.  Jesus told him, "You must be born again."  You can, and should, read the story in John 3:1-21.  


Everyone's conversion story is different.  Below are the two essential elements the Bible says are necessary to be "born again."

Belief

The New Testament has a lot to say about believing in Jesus.  Probably the best known verse is John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believe in him shall not perish but have eternal life."  Believing in Jesus means that you understand and personally embrace the gospel.  You "stake your life on it."

  • We all stand condemned before God because of our sin (Rom. 3:23).
  • God had mercy on us his because of his great love for us and sent Jesus to confront and take upon himself the power of sin and death (Eph. 2:4-5).
  • Jesus died on a Roman cross but rose from the grave three days later, defeating sin and death (Rom. 4:25). 
  • Jesus will come again as the righteous Judge and receive those who believe in him unto himself to live together in the New Heaven and Earth for eternity (I Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 21:1-4).  

Repentance

Repentance is the biblical term for making a moral u-turn.  It means you're going one way and you turn around and go the opposite.  We are all born wired to live life our way and on our terms.  We're the lords of our life.  Repentance leading to salvation in Jesus is simply turning away from your way of living and following Jesus.  Repentance makes a difference in the way we live.  It is a moral decision to turn our life over to Christ.  It is powerfully symbolized in baptism as we are immersed in water, symbolizing death to our sinful self, and raised to walk in union with Jesus (Acts 2:38).

Need Help?

If a religious leader came to Jesus at night asking how to get in the Kingdom of God, there's a good chance that you might need some help understanding all of this.  We'd be thrilled to help and there are lots of ways that you can find it.  You can indicate it on the response card in corporate worship and we'll make an appointment with you.  You can ask one of the pastors after the service, or, actually, there are many in our congregation who would be happy to help you.  You can contact the office by phone or by email and we will get right back to you.  Trust us, there would be no greater joy for us than to help you receive Christ as your Savior!