Perhaps you aren't yet ready to make this decision, or you want to know more about who Jesus is, keep reading!

Jesus Died for Our Sins

Since we cannot save ourselves, Jesus restores us to God—His perfect sacrifice washed away our sins...forever.

We turn from our sin & pursue God

Because of Jesus, we can turn from our sins and pursue God, bringing hope and purpose to our lives.

Here's what you need to know.

God loves you! 

He is your Creator and wants to have a relationship with you and all people (Genesis 1:1). He wants to share His abundant life with you (John 3:16; 10:10).

You are a sinner. 

And not just you, but every human who ever lived (Romans 3:10). A sinner is a rebel against God’s standard, holiness, and authority (Romans 3:23), just like Adam and Eve.

The penalty for sin is death. 

Rebellion must be dealt with, and sin has a price that must be paid (Romans 5:12). Sin causes us to have eternal separation from God (Romans 6:23). Sin causes physical death in this life (Genesis 2:16-17) and spiritual death and eternal separation in a real place known as hell (Revelation 21:8).

Jesus paid your sin penalty with His own death. 

Jesus is God’s Son, and the only righteous person who could ever do this (1 Peter 3:18; Acts 4:12). He lived perfectly, died, was buried, and then resurrected in His own power (1 Corinthians 15). His death was your substitute, and He took your punishment so that God’s wrath could be satisfied (Romans 5:8).

His salvation can come to you by His grace, not your works.

He can save you, rescue you from Satan, cure you of your sin, and help you escape from sin’s penalty (Romans 10:13). He offers this as a free gift of His grace or “unmerited favor” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

You must repent and call on God by faith. 

To repent is more than regret (acknowledge sin mentally) and more than remorse (acknowledge sin emotionally). To repent means you turn away from your rebellion and turn toward God—it is a literal act of your will. You then put your full trust in Jesus and believe God for salvation (Romans 5:1). You express this by literally asking Jesus to forgive your sin (Romans 10:9). That is God’s plan. You once were dead in sin, but now and forever, you are alive in Christ!

Is this your story?

Is this the story you have heard and believed? Have you asked God to rescue you? If you have never done this, now is the best time to make sure about your standing with God and your eternal life. Pray, talk to God right now, in your own words, from your heart. You could say something like this:

“God, I believe that You love me. I confess that I am a sinner, and I know the penalty for sin is death. I believe that Jesus paid my sin penalty with His own death on the cross, and that He rose again. I believe that salvation comes by Your grace, not by any good works that I can perform. I repent and by faith ask You right now for salvation. Save me and be Lord of my life. Thank You.”

If you prayed that prayer and trusted in Jesus for salvation, congratulations! That is the greatest decision we could ever make because it impacts not only our lives here on earth but our eternity! Be sure to share your decision with a friend, family member or mentor so that they can celebrate with you and guide you in your next step in following Jesus.

Let's go a little deeper. (Section is hidden)

God’s Design

We see beauty, purpose and evidence of God’s design around us. The Bible tells us that God originally planned a world that worked perfectly—where everything and everyone fit together in harmony. God made each of us with a purpose—to worship Him and walk with Him.

The Bible Says: God saw all that He made, and it was very good (Genesis 1 :31). The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands (Psalm 19:1).

Sin

From the time we are born, there is a nature in us that is broken.  That pulls us away from God rather than toward Him and His design of having a relationship with us for all of eternity.  And unfortunately, the Bible teaches that there is nothing that we can do on our own to remove this sin nature in us.  This is why we need Jesus.

The Bible Says: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a).

Brokenness

Sin leads to a place of brokenness. We see this all around us and in our own lives as well. When we realize life is not working, we begin to look for a way out. We tend to go in many directions trying to fix the effects of sin we commit and the affects of sin around us. Brokenness leads to a place of realizing a need for something greater.

The Bible Says: They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served something created instead of the Creator (Romans 1:25).

Gospel

But truly the only possible answer is the free gift of salvation from sin and its' consequences through Jesus Christ.

Jesus came to rescue us—to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. He took our sin and shame to the cross, paying the penalty of our sin by His death. Jesus was then raised from the dead—to provide the only way for us to be rescued and restored to a relationship with God.

The Bible Says: For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and only Son (John 3:16). He erased the certificate of debt … and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross (Colossians 2:14).

Repent & Believe

Simply hearing this Good News is not enough. We must admit our sinful brokenness and stop trusting ourselves. We don’t have the power to escape the brokenness on our own. We need to be rescued …

We must ask God to forgive us—turning from sin to trust only in Jesus. This is what it means to repent and believe. Believing, we receive new life through Jesus and God turns our lives in a new direction.

The Bible Says: Repent and believe in the good news (Mark 1:15b). For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is God’s gift - not from works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). 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 (Romans 10:9).

Recover & Pursue

When God restores our relationship to Him, we begin to discover meaning and purpose in a broken world. Now we can pursue God's design in all areas of our lives.

Even when we fall, we understand God's pathway to be restored—this same Good News of Jesus. God’s Spirit empowers us to pursue His design and assures us of His presence in this life and for all eternity.

The Bible Says: For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose (Philippians 2:13). For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).

Our response.

What should I do now?

Now that you have heard this Good News, God wants you to respond to Him. You can talk to Him using words like these:

• "My life is broken—I recognize it’s because of my sin I need You"
• "I believe Christ came to live, die and was raised from the dead—to rescue me from my sin"
• "Forgive me. I turn from my selfish ways and put my trust in You"
• "I know that Jesus is Lord of all, and I will follow Him"

The Bible 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 (Romans 10:9). For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13).