Background
God is real. He created everything in the universe. (Genesis 1:1) He knows everything (1 John 3:20), sees everything (Proverbs 15:3), and can do anything (Jeremiah 32:17).
God is love. (1 John 4:16) He is perfect, pure, true, good, and holy.
God gave us the Bible so we can know Him, His commands, and how to live our lives. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
People often lie, cheat, steal, and are lazy. We do not consistently follow God’s commands.
Doing something other than what God says is called sin. (1 John 3:4)
God is holy. (Psalms 99:9) He does not allow sin in His presence. We are, therefore, separated from God. (Isaiah 59:2)
Despite your sins, God wants a relationship with you. The God of the Universe knows you and everything about you, and no matter what you’ve done in the past, He wants you to be with Him in the Kingdom of Heaven. (John 3:16)
The Bible says (before Jesus), “and without shedding of blood is no remission.” (Heb 9:22) Remission means payment.
God sent Jesus to die on a wooden cross (John 19:17) as a sacrifice to pay for everyone’s sins, including yours. (Colossians 1:20-22) This is the biggest and most important gift ever made. (Romans 6:23)
If you want a relationship with the God of the Universe, you have to accept the gift. (John 1:12, Romans 10:9-10)
How to accept the gift.
You believe Jesus died on a cross as a voluntary (Matthew 26:53) sacrifice for our sins (Hebrews 9:26) and rose again. (Acts 10:40)
You repent and ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. (Mark 1:15, Acts 20:21)
You repent by admitting that you sinned (1 John 1:9, Romans 3:23), by being truly sorry you did things that grieved God (2 Corinthians 7:10), by committing to stop doing that (Romans 6:1-2), by asking God for forgiveness (2 Chronicles 7:14), and by asking for help in living a Godly life (James 1:5, Matthew 7:7-8).
You ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior by committing to follow him and obey His commands (1 John 5:2-3).
Why accept the gift?
Because you want to be reconciled with the God of the Universe. (Matthew 6:33) You want a loving relationship with Him. (Revelation 3:20)
When you embrace Jesus, your sins are washed away (Acts 22:16). You are forgiven and so can be in God’s presence (Hebrews 10:19-20).
What do I have to do in this relationship?
Faith is believing and behaving as if something is real and true. (Heb 11:1) To have faith in something, you have to hear about it first. (Rom 10:17) You have faith that God’s Word is real and that, thanks to Jesus, God’s free gift of redemption is the best thing that could ever happen to anyone, including you. (Eph 2:8)
You revere God and follow His commands. That reverence will turn to worship as you see God at work.
God is at work because there is something in every one of us that God cherishes and wants with Him (John 3:16-17). He works to reveal Himself (Romans 1:19-20) and to implement the plan He has for the world and mankind (Ephesians 1:11, Psalms 33:11).
You join Him where He is working. (John 12:26)
What does that personal relationship do for me?
You become a child of God. As a child, you receive teaching, spiritual nourishment, peace, joy, patience, discipline, wisdom, and a heart to love others. (Gal 5:22-23)
The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, comes to you to provide guidance, remembrance, understanding, wisdom, and discernment for your life with God. (1 Cor 2:9-14, John 14:26, John 16:13, Isaiah 11:2).
You are no longer under condemnation. (Rom 8:1)
You get to know God (He already knows you) (John 14:23) and experience His love. (John 14:21)
Your faith in God and everything He said grows stronger as you learn to hear Him, see His influence, experience Him, and learn more about Him (Acts 16:5, Romans 4:20, 2 Corinthians 10:15, 2 Thessalonians 1:3).
You get to help the God of the Universe implement His plan for the world and mankind. (1 Corinthians 3:9)
Your prayers are fruitful if they fit in God’s plan. (Luke 11:9-10) (1 John 5:14)
You change for the better. Evil begins to drain from your thoughts, behavior, and actions. When situations arise, you realize, “That’s not like me anymore”, and you turn away, not because you’re supposed to, but because you want to. (2 Cor 5:17). You avoid a lot of self-created pain and suffering.
You learn to forgive as God forgave you (Ephesians 4:32) . Forgiveness releases you from the pain and suffering of past events. Forgiveness does not make an offense ok; it means we release it and allow ourselves to continue our lives in peace and joy.
You gain a sense of peace in your core (Rom 5:1). There is still plenty of stress, disappointment, and pain, but you know God is there working His plan. Something that feels horrible for you or your loved ones has a purpose for good. We often can’t see it or understand, but we can rest in the fact that God is in control. (Isiaah 45:5-7) All things work for good for those who love Him. (Rom 8:28)
You are no longer afraid to die because you know you will spend eternity in Heaven with God Himself. (John 3:16). “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Rev 21:4 KJV)
You have confidence in your salvation. (1 John 5:11–13)