The Grow CourseShembull

Over four days, we are looking at the essentials to grow in your relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. This is day one on Salvation.

We can only have a relationship with God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; in John 14:6, Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one can come to the Father except through me.’

Other verses you could look at are Acts 4:12 and 1 Timothy 2:5. Acts 4:12 says that there is one name under heaven by which men can be saved, and that is the name of Jesus, and 1 Timothy 2:5 says there's one mediator between God and man who is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Salvation cannot be earned or achieved; it must be received by grace through faith in Jesus. The Bible tells us in Romans 6:23, 'The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ.' It's a gift, it is not something that you can earn, and it's not something that we deserve. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “It is by grace that we have been saved, and this is not of ourselves lest any man should boast, it is the gift of God'.

So how do we receive salvation? There are three steps.

Step one is to make Jesus the Lord of our lives. If Jesus is not Lord of all, he is not Lord at all. This involves handing over the controls of our lives to him. He should not just be a spare wheel but the steering wheel in our lives to determine that direction and not just be something we apply when things go wrong.

In Romans 10:9-10 it says that to be saved, we should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead.

Step two is to repent. Repent means to make a 180° turn. It means an inward change of heart that produces an outward change of behaviour. In Acts 3:19, the Bible says, 'Repent then and turn to God so that your sins may be blotted out and seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.' Essentially repenting is turning away from a self-centred life and living a Christ-centred life.

Step three is to pray. Romans 10:13 says,’ Whoever calls in the name of the Lord will be saved.’ We say a simple prayer.

If you want to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, then please pray this prayer.

“Father God, I want to give my life to you. I am a sinner, and I need your forgiveness. I believe in my heart and say with my mouth that Jesus is Lord. I decided today to turn away from sin and follow Jesus. Thank you that I now belong to Jesus. Thank you for your forgiveness in Jesus' name. Amen.”

Thank you. God bless you.