If you don't already have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we hope that by reading the following material you are on the path to accepting Him as your personal Savior.
God says that if you belive in Jesus, you will live in glory with Him forever.
"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."
(John 3:16 NIV)
Why were you created?
To Glorify God
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
(1 Peter 2:9 NIV)
To Know God
I have made you known to them, and they will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that myself may be in them.
(John 17:26 NIV)
To Have Life with God
...I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
(John 10:10 NIV)
The Problem
Because we have sinned (disobeyed God's commands), we have severed our relationship with God and have fallen short of His intended purpose for our lives.
This separation will lead to eternal death unless we are reconciled to God.
All of us, like sheep have gone astray, and each of us has turned to his own way.
(Isaiah 53:6)
If we say we never sin, we are only fooling ourselves, and refuse to accept the truth.
(I John 1:8)
The trouble is that your sins have cut you off from God.
(Isaiah 59:2)
...for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
(Romans 3:23 NIV)
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 6:23 NIV)
The Question
How can we be reconciled to God? How can we bridge the canyon and make things right with our Creator?
Many have tried various ways to get across the canyon without success. Yet, because God loves us, He gave His Son to pay the debt we owe.
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.
(John 3:16 NIV)
I have come in order that you might have life—life in all its fullness.
(John 10:10)
I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me.
(John 14:6)
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(Romans 5:8 NIV)
You have to make a decision.
Which side of the canyon are you on?
Are you still on man's side trying to get across by your own efforts?
Or, have you made the decision to use the bridge created by the cross of Christ?
Three Steps to Cross the Bridge
Receive
To receive the gospel means to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God who died for your sins and offers salvation as a free gift for all who put their trust in Him.
Now brothers I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for your sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures.
(I Corinthians 14:1-4 NIV)
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.
(John 3:16 NIV)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.
(Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV)
Repent
Repent of your sins. To repent means to change your mind. Decide today that you no longer want to live life doing your own thing, but that you want to follow God's path instead.
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing might come from the Lord.
(Acts 3:19 NIV)
Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'
(Acts 2:38 NIV)
Repent means to turn; to change my mind, to change my direction.
Genuine repentance involves three elements:
- Conviction (Psalm 51)
- Contrition (Psalm 34:18)
- Change (Matthew 27:3)
Respond
People in the New Testament responded to the gospel message by completing two simple steps:
Confess that Jesus Christ is Lord
If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
(Romans 10:9-10)
Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will 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)
Be baptized into Christ
To be baptized means to be immersed with water. It is a symbol of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, reminding us that when we are saved we die to our selves and are raised to live a new life in Christ
Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'
(Acts 2:38 NIV)
...don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
(Romans 6:3-4)
In Him you were also... buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sin and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sin, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross.
(Colossians 2:11-14 NIV)
Why should I be Baptized?
To follow the example set by Jesus.
At that time Jesus came from Nazareth and was baptized by John in the river.
(Mark 1:9)
Because Christ commands it.
Go then, to all people everywhere and make disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.
(Matthew 28:19-20)
It demostrates that I really am a believer.
many of the people who heard Him believed and were baptized.
(Acts 18:8)
We know that we have come to know Him, if we obey His commands.
(I John 2:3)
What is the meaning of baptism?
It illustrates Christ's DEATH and resurrection.
Christ died for our sins… He was buried and He rose again.
(I Corinthians 15:3-4)
For when you were baptized, you were buried with Christ and in baptism you were also raised with Christ.
(Colossians 2:12)
It illustrates my NEW LIFE as a Christian.
When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. The old life has passed away and a new life has begun!
(II Corinthians 5:17)
By our baptism then, we were buried with Him and shared His death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead… so also we may live a new life.
(Romans 6:4)
Why be baptized by immersion?
Becasue Jesus was baptized that way
As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water.
(Matthew 3:16)
Every baptism in the bible was by immersion.
...then both Philip and the man went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water...
(Acts 8:38-39)
The word baptize actually means to immerse.
The Greek word, Baptizo means -- "to immerse, to dip, to plunge under water."
At Baptism, the believer is promised:
The forgiveness of sins
Repent and be baptized, everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.
(Acts 2:38)
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit
Repent and be baptized, everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
(Acts 2:38)
Added to His church
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
(Acts 2:41)
For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body.
(I Corinthians 12:13)
Joy of Salvation
When they came up out of the water… the eunuch went on his way rejoicing.
(Acts 8:39)
Identification with Christ's death and resurrection
Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may have new life.
(Romans 6:3,4)
Clothed with Christ
You are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all of you who baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ.
(Galatians 3:26-27)
The death of our sinful nature
When you came to Christ he set you free from your evil desires, not by a bodily operation of circumcision, but by a spiritual operation, the baptism of your souls. For in baptism you see how your old, evil nature died with him and was buried with him; and then you came up out of death with him into a new life because you trusted the Word of the mighty God who raised Christ from the dead.
(Colossians 2:11-12 LB)
The assurance of salvation
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
(Titus 3:4-5)
The founders of denominations agree:
Martin Luther: "I would have those who are to be baptized to be entirely immersed, as the word imparts and mystery signifies."
John Calvin: The word ‘baptize’ signifies to immerse. It is certain that immersion was the practice of the ancient church."
John Wesley: Buried with him, alludes to baptizing by immersion according to the custom of the first church."
What if I was baptized as an infant?
At First Christian we wait until our children are old enough to believe and understand the true meaning of baptism before we baptize them.
Some churches practice a "baptism of confirmation" for children. This ceremony is intended to be a covenant between parents and God on behalf of the child. The parents promise to raise their child in the faith until the child is old enough to make his own personal confession of Christ. This custom began about 300 years after the Bible was completed.
This is different from the baptism talked about in the Bible, which was only for those old enough to believe. In the Bible, men and women were baptized following their belief in Jesus.
At First Christian it is a membership requirement that every member must have been baptized the way Jesus demonstrated, even though many of us were "confirmed" as children.
Conversions in the Book of Acts:
History of the church - All Conversion Accounts involve Baptism
Acts 2 - Day of Pentecost, disciples are preaching
Verse 37 - crowd pierced in their hearts - What should we do?
Verse 38 - repent and be baptized
Verse 41 - those accepted his message were baptized - 3000
Acts 8 - Philip preaches the gospel.
Verses 11-13 - they were baptized - (both men and women)
Acts 8:35-38 - Ethiopian-- (secretary of the treasury) Reading the Old Testament and can’t understand it... Philip told him about Jesus "Here is water what is to keep me from being baptized? Nothing as long as your believe"
Acts 9 - Saul on the road to Damascus
A bright light blinds him. For 3 days he prays and fasts to the one whose followers he has been persecuting. God sends a man named Annianas to Saul.. Annianas Puts his hands over Saul’s eyes, something like scales fall off his eyes.
Verse 18 - he got up and was baptized
Acts 10 - Cornelius’ Household become Christians which opened up the gospel to non-Jewish people (Gentiles)
Acts 16 - Lydia’s conversion
Acts 16:29-33 Paul and Silas in jail. A great Earth quake shakes the jail, the jailer is ready to kill himself. Paul and Silas assure him that no one has escaped.
"What must I do to be saved?"
Even though it is midnight—they went to his house and were baptized.
Acts 18 - Paul preaches to the Corinthians...
Who believed and were baptized