Being a Christian is more than identifying yourself with a particular religion or affirming a certain value system. Being a Christian means you have embraced God’s new way of living through Jesus Christ. Consider the following truths found in Scripture:
Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.
God rules as the sovereign Creator.
God is the loving ruler of the world. He created the world. He made people to live as rulers of the world, under His authority.
But this is not the way it is now.
Man lives as a sinful rebel.
We all reject God as our Ruler by trying to run life our own way without Him. But we fail to properly rule ourselves, our society, or our world.
There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside; together they have become useless; there is none who does good; there is not even one.
It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.
What will God do about our rebellion?
God responds as the righteous Judge.
God won’t let us rebel forever. God’s punishment for rebellion is physical death and spiritual judgment.
God’s justice sounds hard, but…
Jesus died as the sinless Substitute.
Because of His love, God sent His only Son into the world: the man Jesus Christ. Jesus always lived under God’s rule. Yet by dying on the cross as humanity’s substitute, Jesus took the punishment for rebels and enables them to be forgiven.
Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
But that’s not all…
Jesus lives as the resurrected Lord.
God raised Jesus to life again as the Ruler of the world. Jesus has conquered death, now gives new life, and will return to judge.
Where does that leave us now?
Everyone responds to this Gospel message.
There are only two ways to live.
- Our way: We reject God as our Ruler and try to run life our own way. The result: We are condemned by God and face physical death and spiritual judgment.
- God’s new way: We turn from our rebellion against the Ruler God and rely on Jesus’ death and resurrection to pay for our sin. The result: We are forgiven by God and receive eternal life.
He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
The two ways to live could not be more different, and they present you with some important choices.
- You can continue to live your own way, maybe not believing the truths referenced above. If that is the case, please think carefully. You should investigate these claims more thoroughly. If they are true, the consequences for this choice are judgment and eternal suffering.
- If you know that you are a rebel against God and would like to live God’s new way, this is what you should do:
-
- Talk to God. Admit to Him that you are a rebel against Him and deserve His judgment. Then, ask Him for mercy on the basis of Jesus dying in your place. Ask God to help you change from being a rebel to someone who submits to Jesus as his or her ruler.
- Submit to Jesus. Start thinking about what attitudes and actions need to change now that you are following Jesus, and then start changing them, with God’s help.
- Keep trusting. Keep putting your trust in the right place, not in your own efforts or accomplishments, but in Jesus’ perfect life and sacrificial death for you. Remember, it is only because of Jesus (His death and resurrection) that you can be forgiven and be made right with God.
- Contact our church. We would love to help you learn how to live as a follower of Jesus.
Being a Christian is more than identifying yourself with a particular religion or affirming a certain value system. Being a Christian means you have embraced God’s new way of living through Jesus Christ. Consider the following truths found in Scripture:
God rules as the sovereign Creator.
God is the loving ruler of the world. He created the world. He made people to live as rulers of the world, under His authority.
Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.
But this is not the way it is now.
Man lives as a sinful rebel.
We all reject God as our Ruler by trying to run life our own way without Him. But we fail to properly rule ourselves, our society, or our world.
There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside; together they have become useless; there is none who does good; there is not even one.
What will God do about our rebellion?
God responds as the righteous Judge.
God won’t let us rebel forever. God’s punishment for rebellion is physical death and spiritual judgment.
It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.
God’s justice sounds hard, but…
Jesus died as the sinless Substitute.
Because of His love, God sent His only Son into the world: the man Jesus Christ. Jesus always lived under God’s rule. Yet by dying on the cross as humanity’s substitute, Jesus took the punishment for rebels and enables them to be forgiven.
Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God.
But that’s not all…
Jesus lives as the resurrected Lord.
God raised Jesus to life again as the Ruler of the world. Jesus has conquered death, now gives new life, and will return to judge.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Where does that leave us now?
Everyone responds to this Gospel message.
There are only two ways to live.
- Our way: We reject God as our Ruler and try to run life our own way. The result: We are condemned by God and face physical death and spiritual judgment.
- God’s new way: We turn from our rebellion against the Ruler God and rely on Jesus’ death and resurrection to pay for our sin. The result: We are forgiven by God and receive eternal life.
He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
The two ways to live could not be more different, and they present you with some important choices.
- You can continue to live your own way, maybe not believing the truths referenced above. If that is the case, please think carefully. You should investigate these claims more thoroughly. If they are true, the consequences for this choice are judgment and eternal suffering.
- If you know that you are a rebel against God and would like to live God’s new way, this is what you should do:
-
- Talk to God. Admit to Him that you are a rebel against Him and deserve His judgment. Then, ask Him for mercy on the basis of Jesus dying in your place. Ask God to help you change from being a rebel to someone who submits to Jesus as his or her ruler.
- Submit to Jesus. Start thinking about what attitudes and actions need to change now that you are following Jesus, and then start changing them, with God’s help.
- Keep trusting. Keep putting your trust in the right place, not in your own efforts or accomplishments, but in Jesus’ perfect life and sacrificial death for you. Remember, it is only because of Jesus (His death and resurrection) that you can be forgiven and be made right with God.
- Contact our church. We would love to help you learn how to live as a follower of Jesus.