It’s a great question; in fact the most important question that could ever be asked!  People have been wondering and enquiring about their relationship with their Creator since the beginning of time.

Today many people embrace what is called a post modern world view.  The main tenet of this ideology is that whatever you believe is valid and true simply because you think it, trust it and are sincere.  Taken to the limit it concludes that there is no absolute fact, truth or reality.

Regardless of what many spiritualists claim, not all paths lead to the mountain top and not all roads lead to heaven.  Since the Bible records exclusive claims and statements of Jesus, then either Jesus lied or the Bible is false.

Consider a few of the statements of Jesus:
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”  (John 14:6)
“Unless you believe that I am He you will die in your sins.”  (John 8:24)
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “Before Abraham was born, I am!”  (John 8:58)
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.”  (John 6:21)
“I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.”  (John 11:25)

GOD’S LOVE

God loves every person far more than words can express.  The ultimate demonstration of His love is when Jesus died on the cross for the sins of every one of us.

“For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”  (John 3:16-17)

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:6-8)

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”  (1 John 4:9-10)

MY SIN

God is pure and perfect in all He does – it’s who He is.  The Bible sometimes uses the word “holy” which means God is awesome. Moses wrote these lyrics in his song about God, “I will proclaim the name of the Lord.  Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He.”  (Deuteronomy 32:3-4)  The Psalms wrote this about God: the word of the Lord is right and true; He is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.  The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. (Psalm 33:4-12)  God’s thoughts, wisdom, plans and ways are so much greater than anything we can comprehend (Isaiah 55:8-9; 1 Corinthians 1:25).

Our relationship with a perfect God is severed because our sin.  Sin is a breaking of a universal moral law.  Paul said that sin is easily recognized and listed actions and attitudes like sexual immorality, impurity, wickedness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, conflict, jealousy, fits of anger, selfish ambition, discord, division, envy, drunkenness and orgies. (Galatians 5:19-21)

We have all sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23).  If someone claims that they have no sin, they are lying (1 John 1:8-10).  Often we categorize sin in groups: the bad sin (usually that other do) and the minor infractions (the things we do).  God sees all sin as the breaking of the law of righteousness (James 2:10).  There is no distinction with God (Romans 3:10-12).

The penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23).  It’s much more than physical, it’s spiritual separation.  Because of sin we can no longer enjoy a relationship with God because He is holy and we are sinful.  Now we’re not in a position to receive His blessing or the promise of living with Him forever in His heaven home.

The good news is that our guilty verdict can be wiped clean, our sins can be forgiven and we can enjoy being children in God’s family.  “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him” (Romans 4:7-8)

Jesus took our place when He died on the cross (1 Corinthians 5:18-21; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 John 4:9-10; Galatians 1:3-5).  He died a physical and a spiritual death so that we can be reconciled and reunited with God (Isaiah 53:4-6).  He is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

BELIEVE GOD

We must fully trust God, believing that He loves us, will take care of us and will do what He has promised.  This kind of faith is pleasing to our Heavenly Father.  The Bible states, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)  That kind of trust is described in Hebrews 11:1 like this, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

Our trust and faith in God is developed when we read the Bible and see how God has worked faithfully throughout history, always reliable, always trustworthy.  The apostle Paul wrote, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”  (Romans 10:17)  At the end of John’s gospel he gave us these words of encouragement, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”  (John 20:31)

Jesus said that we are blessed when we have faith.  “Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  (John 20:29)

TURNING 180

The religious word for turning around is repent.  This is an action that is taken when a person knows that they are going the wrong way.  We must travel in the direction of our desired destination in order to reach the goal.  Repentance means turning and traveling toward God instead of running away from Him.  The final destination of the wrong road is pain, suffering and death.  Jesus said unless we repent we will perish (Luke 13:3).

Peter spoke of the great blessing of repentance, “When God raised up his servant, He sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.” (Acts 3:26)  While some think that this change is a bad thing, in reality it is for our benefit.  “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” (Acts 3:19)

TELLING OTHERS

We should never be ashamed of good things or great people.  When we become a Christian we are children of God, we’ve been born again and we have a new hope.  That is good news that we can tell others.  Jesus doesn’t want us to hide our relationship or keep it a secret.  He said, “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32)

Paul described the importance of our confession when he wrote, “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” (Romans 10:10)  Our relationship with God is made evident by our words.  “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.” (1 John 4:15)

WATER BAPTISM

The great commission is the last instructions that Jesus spoke.  “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go into all the world, preach the good news to all creation, making disciples of all nations. Whoever believes and is baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.  Then continue teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15-16)

Baptism is the point and time when a person is united with Jesus.  It’s what a wedding ceremony is to an engaged man and woman.  While there is love, commitment, faithfulness and relationship before the wedding day, they aren’t married until they say “I do”.  Baptism is the “I do” in our relationship with God.  It’s the point where we are forgiven of our sin and we receive the Holy Spirit to live within us (Acts 2:38).

Here is a brief list of what happens at our baptism:
     1)  we are clothed with Christ  -  Galatians 3:27
     2)  our sins are washed away -  Acts 22:16
     3)  we are saved -  Mark 16:15-16
     4)  our sins are forgiven -  Acts 2:38
     5)  we receive the Holy Spirit -  Acts 2:38
     6)  we participate in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus -  Romans 6:3-10
     7)  we entered the body of Christ -  1 Corinthians 12:13
     8)  we are buried with Christ -  Colossians 2:12
     9)  we are saved -  1 Peter 3:21

LIVING FAITHFULLY

When we are baptized we receive God’s Holy Spirit that lives in us.  The Spirit guides and strengthens us to act, talk, live, love and even think after the qualities and character of God.  Paul writes about the fruit of the Spirit that reveals that we belong to God.  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)  Jesus emphasized that in order for us to be fruitful we must remain in Him, just as a branch must be attached to the tree in order to live, grow and produce fruit (John 15:1-8).

Through God’s grace we have been saved through our faith.  God has created us for a special purpose.  Each person is uniquely made and designed for a special purpose.  Our purpose individually and collectively as the Church is to work on God’s behalf.  Regarding our purpose, Paul wrote, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  (Ephesians 2:10)

Now we belong to God we are to grow faith goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. (2 Peter 1:5-7)  When we pursue Godly attributes, we will mature, grow and be productive in God’s kingdom.

Jesus simplified God’s plan for our lives.  The first thing is to love God with all of our heart, all our soul, all our strength and all our mind.  The second is to love our neighbor as our self.  (Luke 10:27)  John stated that we cannot love God without loving people. (1 John 4:20-21) The other details of the New Testament teach us how, encourages us to grow and motivates us to love God and each other.

While there will be times of struggle, temptation, suffering and persecution, we take heart that our hope and faith is not based on external circumstances nor the rewards of this world.  We set our hope on pleasing God and on the promise of an eternal home with Him forever.  John wrote to the persecuted Church in the first century, “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10)