How to know God - Why do we need to be saved?

The term “saved” generally means to be saved from the penalty of our sins. The Bible says that every person has sinned and is guilty of sin. The punishment for sin is spiritual death or hell. However, John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” But what exactly does this mean?

Since God created this world and the first person sinned, humanity has been under the curse of sin. There's no one who hasn't done wrong; we've all lied, or cheated, or stolen, or hated. Everyone has sinned. For this reason, Jesus Christ came into the world as a man and lived the sinless and faultless life that we couldn’t live. He then died on the cross, giving up His life for us, and 3 days later, He rose from the dead.

God is perfectly holy. We have all done wrong things and acted against Him in rebellion. When Jesus died on the cross, He was taking the wrath of God that we deserved onto Himself so that we wouldn’t have to face God’s punishment for the things we've done. In that sense, He died in our place.

But the only way to receive forgiveness for our wrongs and be reconciled with God is through placing our faith in Jesus Christ. This is the only way a person can be right with God, because we have all sinned. We all need a savior.

We must believe

Romans 10:9 says, “if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

To begin, we must believe that there is a holy God who has the expectation that human beings do what’s right. We have all failed to meet this expectation by giving into our sin and acting against Him in rebellion. Until we make the personal decision to follow Christ, we can have no peace with God or live in right relationship with Him because we remain under His wrath. To fix the problem of man’s separation from Him, God had to send His only Son, Jesus, into the world.

Jesus, while He was fully man, was also fully God. Jesus was the Son of God, but He was also one with God (He was God Himself). Now, because no man can pay for the sins of another man, God Himself had to come and die in our place, seen in Jesus dying on the cross.

Furthermore, the Lord Jesus never sinned. He lived the perfect life that we could never live. And so, He was the only One who could stand in our place and pay that penalty for our sins. When He died on the cross, He was taking the sins of many onto Himself and becoming the sacrifice for these sins (so that those He died for would not have to face God’s punishment for all the wrong they had done).

Lastly, we must believe that Jesus rose from the dead. If He had not, we would still be stuck in our sin with no way of being forgiven, but on the 3rd day after His death, Jesus Christ rose from the grave.

So, the sinless Son of God, Jesus, died in our place, sacrificing Himself so that we could be forgiven, and then He rose from the dead (Matthew 28:6).

We must repent

Repent means to “change one’s mind.” Coming to faith in Christ involves repenting of our past sins by turning away from them. This shift requires us to start living for God instead of ourselves. Part of following Jesus is setting aside our own desires and choosing to do what God says is right. This means willfully turning away from the sin in our lives.

Does this mean that Christians never sin? No. Christians fall into sin sometimes, and as a result, they continually repent of these sins. This is called continual repentance. They confess their sins directly to God and ask His forgiveness. Let it be understood, Christians aren’t perfect, but are gradually becoming more like Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit within them.

Doing good deeds isn’t what saves us — only putting our faith in Jesus saves us — but a Christian lives to obey God because, after they believe and repent, they have given their lives to Jesus and have begun living for Him rather than themselves. As their nature begins to change and their love for God deepens, their desire to honor Him naturally grows. Following Jesus transforms us from the inside out as we slowly become more like Him. It’s a lifelong journey.

Do you want to know God?

When we come to repent and believe in Jesus, we experience forgiveness of our sins and new life in Him. Do you want to have a relationship with God? Some people begin by saying a prayer to Him. Keep in mind that simply repeating the words of this prayer is not the point. There's nothing special about the words themselves. They're just words. The important thing is to believe. The prayer is only to help you express your faith to God in an easy way.

If you’d like to know God, you can say this to Him out loud or in your head. He hears you.

Lord, I know that I have lived in rebellion against You. I know that I have sinned against You. But now, I want to know You and have a relationship with You. I’m sorry for all the wrong things I’ve done. From now on, I turn away from my sin. I know that I will still make mistakes, but now I am going to live for You, Lord. Give me a new life. I believe in Your Son, Jesus. I believe that He died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins and then rose from the dead. I believe He is the King of all kings. From now on, I will follow Him. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for me so that I could be forgiven… Amen.

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Have you come to repent and believe in Christ? If so, welcome to the family of God! Christians have the promise of entering Heaven when they die, as well as the ability here on earth to know the Lord in a real and personal relationship that can be built up everyday through prayer, worship, and time spent with Him reading His Word. Now it is time to start your Christian walk, and there are a few ways that you can begin…

Time to Grow

Here are a few suggestions that will help you get the care and guidance you need as you begin to grow in your faith:

Tell a friend. Do you know someone who might get excited about the decision you’ve made — a pastor, maybe, or Christian friend? Tell him or her. Share the joy of your new commitment with someone else!

Read the Bible. The Bible is God’s message to mankind, so it’s vital for young believers to know what it says. We’d suggest beginning with the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — they’ll help you get better acquainted with Jesus). Next you could take a look at Paul’s letter to the Philippians and the letters of James and 1 John. To understand more about how Jesus’ sacrifice means life for you, read Paul’s letter to the Romans. If you have questions, a pastor or Christian friend will be able to help you in your Bible study.

Talk to God regularly. Make prayer a daily habit. This can mean talking to God about anything, at any time of the day or night. There is no necessary "structure" to prayer. It's just a conversation between you and the Lord. Though prayer should always be respectful, it's okay to talk to God as if you were talking to a friend (because you are).

Get involved in a church. When you open the door to Christ and come home to God, you acquire a new set of spiritual brothers and sisters. God has many other children, and it’s important that they meet together regularly as a family. That’s what church is all about. Church is the best place for young Christians to find the support they need to grow strong. Churches are where God’s people gather to worship, learn from the Bible, encourage each other and welcome new believers into God’s family. Find a church near you that does these things, and get involved. Your church should believe that the Bible is the true Word of God, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He is fully God and fully man, and that we are saved, not by good works, but by faith in Jesus alone, as the Bible teaches (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Talk to your church about getting baptized as well. Baptism is a very important and meaningful next step now that you have come to faith in Christ.