How to Know Jesus Christ

The most important decision you will ever make in this life is whether or not you will trust in Jesus Christ, the only hope of salvation. Every religion in the world will tell you that you can earn your way to God or to heaven or to paradise. These are lies of Satan. God knew that man could never be good enough. Consider these below:

“² The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. ³ They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Psalm 14:2-3).

In fact, even our righteousness is not good enough. “⁶ But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isaiah 64:6.

So, while the world tells us that we can earn favor with God by doing good, God makes it clear that we can never be good enough. So you might think, well I may not be that good, but I am not a bad person.

Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

Romans 6:23 tell us “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Death is not just death in this life, but there is an eternal death for those who reject the gift of Christ as God’s way of salvation. They must pay for their own sins with eternal punishment in hell.

“…the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, ⁸ In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: ⁹ Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

Hell will also be a place of eternal fire. “49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, 50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:49-50).

Many people will claim that hell will be some sort of party. But this is another lie of Satan. Over and over the Bible speaks of hell in terms of eternal punishment and extreme suffering.

So, is there any hope? What do we do about it? God sent Jesus, His only son to this earth to take our place if we will accept Him. He was fully God and fully man. God Himself entered His own creation to set us free from our sin and bondage. Many of us complain about how evil this world is, but our own sin has contributed to it. We must recognize that we are sinners and that only Jesus can save us. He lived a sinless life, He offered Himself as a sacrifice for us on a wooden cross, He died and was buried for 3 days and 3 nights. But God raised Him from the dead, conquering sin, death, and hell, so that you could be saved. But you must trust in Him to do this. If you depend on your own merit, you will fall far short.

To watch a video on the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, click the video below:

So, how do you get this free gift?

1. Humble Yourself before God – James 4:6b: “…God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourself before God. Admit to Him that you have no way of saving yourself, that you cannot ever be good enough. Ask Him to save you.
   
2. Confess your sins – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
   
3. Repent of your sin (turn away from) and trust Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
   
   “But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Matthew 9:13).
   
   Luke 13:3 “…except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
   
4. Confess He is Lord – “…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10).
   
5. Put your faith and trust in Him – being saved is about putting your faith in Jesus and not in anything else. He alone can save you. Trust Him not only to save you from your sin, but to guide your life. Without faith it is impossible to please God.
   
   “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6).
   
   We are saved by faith alone – “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
   
6. Renounce anything or anyone you have previously trusted in. Jesus is not just another god to add to the list. He is not a lucky rabbit’s foot or some spirit you can invoke. He is the living God and the only way of salvation. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Put your faith and trust in Jesus alone.

Step 2 is often glossed over, but confessing your sin is more than saying “I am a sinner.” You are guilty of breaking God’s laws. In a court case, if you were guilty, you would have to sign a statement listing the things you are guilty of. I would encourage you to speak out specific ways you know you have sinned. If you don’t know how you have sinned, ask God to reveal those things to you. But for starters, have you ever told a lie? Have you lusted after another person? Even if you have never sinned sexually with your body, Jesus equated lust in the heart to committing adultery. Have you made anything in your life more important than God? Have you trusted in a job or money to provide for your needs? Have you acted selfishly towards others? Have you been jealous or envious of others? Have you been dishonest? These are just some examples. Get a piece of paper and begin to write down sins that come to mind.

Then, confess them one by one to God and repent (turn away from) each one.

Then ask Jesus to save you from your sin and put your faith and trust in Him to do so. You cannot fool God. You cannot do this half-heartedly. Jeremiah 29:12-13 says “12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

Jesus warned that those who loved anyone or anything in this world more than Him are not worthy of Him. Are you willing to forsake the things of this world for Christ? He will not only save you from your sin, but give you new life. “24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26).

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So, what now? If you have truly accepted Jesus Christ who was God made flesh on this earth as your Lord and Savior and only hope of salvation, here is what the Bible says about you:

1. You have become a child of God – “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” (John 1:12).

2. You are a new creature – “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

3. You have the Spirit of God living in you – “²⁶ A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

The Holy Spirit (or Ghost) now lives in you – “19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Corinthians 6: 19-20).

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What do I do now? You might be asking? Well, if you’re like me and you have truly given your life to Christ, you will be rejoicing! I would imagine that the burden of your sin is gone and there is peace now in your heart for the first time. Jesus says: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15). If you have been born again (see John 3), you will love Him because He puts His Spirit in you. So, to obey and keep His commandments, we must know them. So, get a Bible or start reading a Bible online. Avoid paraphrased versions such as The Message and The Passion Translation. They are man’s interpretation of the Bible. Get a good Bible and ask the Lord to teach you as you read it. Get a journal and write what you learn.

Reading the Bible does many things for us. Here are just a few:

1. It builds our faith – “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17).
2. He cleanses us by washing us with the Word – “²⁶ That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, ²⁷ That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:26-27)
3. (Memorizing it) Helps keep us from sin – “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Psalm 119:11).
4. It is our guide – “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105).
5. It builds us up and sanctifies us (makes us holy) – “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.”
6. It gives us peace – “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.” (Psalm 119:165)
7. We can trust it because it will never pass away – “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” (Isaiah 40:8).

The Word of God will lead you and guide you as you begin to walk with Jesus. Make sure you begin to tell others about Jesus. You might face some nasty reactions from people. They might mock you or even become angry with you. But Christ promised us that the world would hate us and that we would face tribulation.

“¹⁸ If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. ²¹ But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.” (John 15:18-21).

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33).