Do you know God? Have you accepted Christ as your Savior? Are you troubled, suffering with just living, need relief and finding yourself being drawn to something. That is the Holy Spirit acting on you. It is an uncomfortable feeling most times. God is pursuing you, and you don’t recognize it. He is drawing you into His family where he wants you to be. He wants you as you are and where you are, now! What must you do?

It is counter to your sinful nature to heed anything that brings God into your life. You are used to following the desires of your flesh. You may resist even more strongly while your desperation grows. Yet you often find that the pull will not stop regardless of your turning away. There is truth in the claim that you can run but cannot hide

God’s pursuit of you is persistent and strong through the Holy Spirit. I plead with you to give in. I cannot save you and the preacher on the corner cannot save you. Only you can respond to the call. What you must do is yield. And you must do this on your own, and you can; millions have.

In fact, there are thousands and thousands of testimonies where a person found themselves on their knees praying for relief and pleading with God to save them and they were alone. And their prayers were answered; mine were and yours can be answered too!

Few of them were led in a “Sinners Prayer.” And most times no one stood by them, except for the Holy Spirit being there. So, what must you do? Read what follows; there is nothing I could share with you that is more important! It is the only reason I am here.

To become a follower of Jesus Christ you need to know these basic facts from the Bible:

:: God loves you. Because of God’s love for all persons, He desires that you have an unbroken fellowship with Him … know that He pursues you. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

:: You are a sinner. All people are sinners because they universally disobey God. Sin is choosing to go your own way and do what you want instead of being obedient to God. Romans 3:10 “As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one.”

:: Sin separates you from God. Sin creates a barrier that prevents you from entering into an unbroken relationship with God, who is Holy. As an unholy sinner, you cannot have a relationship with God. You are headed for an eternity without Christ in a place that Bible calls hell. Isaiah 59:12 “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”

:: You cannot save yourself. People still think that there is some kind of effort that they can exhibit that can overcome the sin barrier between themselves and God. It is not true! There is nothing that you can do to restore that broken relationship with God. You cannot earn God’s salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you are saved through faith; and not that of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.”

:: God sent His Son Jesus to remove the sin barrier. By his death on the cross Jesus, God’s Son, removed that sin barrier between you and God. Jesus died for your sins, taking upon himself, the punishment you deserve. God, through Jesus did for you what you could not do for yourself. 1 Peter 2:24 “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed.”

:: You can receive Jesus Christ through faith. Faith is trusting in what Jesus has done for you rather than relying on you trusting what you can do. Faith is a gift from God. You cannot go out and find it or drum it up within yourself. Ask for it. Ask God to reveal himself to you. That faith is complete reliance on Christ’s sacrifice to put you in right relationship with God. He thereby lives His life through you. Faith also involves repentance; genuine sorrow for sin and the willingness to turn away from all sin. Romans 10:9-10 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

:: Through prayer you can trust in Jesus Christ. Admit to God that you are a sinner. Express sorrow, repentance for your sinfulness. Ask God to forgive your sin. Invite Jesus into your life as Savior and Lord. Thank Him for entering your life. Commit yourself to live for Him.

Accepting Christ is the beginning. After accepting Him, be obedient by following Christ in baptism and by uniting with a Bible teaching church. When you do, you will find that life truly does have meaning and purpose. Talk with another Christian about your decision for Christ. May God be with you!

This last section was adapted and edited from “How to Become a Christian.”

The Baptist Hymnal page 667 - 1991

To yield to God’s call can happen anywhere, at any time.

“For he says: At an acceptable time I listened to you, and in the day of salvation I helped you. See, now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation.”

2 Corinthians 6:2

And when you accept Christ as your savior consider the follwing:

“Let this one great, glorious fact lie in your spirit until it permeates all your thoughts and makes you rejoice even though you are without strength. Rejoice that the Lod Jesus has become your strength and your song - He has become your salvation.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon