Salvation: The First Step to an Incredible Journey
“There are two classes of people in the world; the saved and the lost.” - Billy Graham
As a Christian I want to share with you the importance of salvation and what it means to be saved. Christianity is not about living the perfect life, it is about believing in the one who lived a perfect life meaning that he did not commit a single sin. Every single person who is alive or who has ever lived will either spend eternity in Heaven or in Hell once they leave this world. I do not want to scare you, that is not my purpose here. My purpose is to share with you the good news about what Jesus Christ did for all of us and how you can spend eternity in Heaven when you pass away.
Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross for the sole purpose of taking yours and my sins and paying for them so that we don’t have to. The way to be saved is to truly believe that Christ in fact, died for our sins and accept him as our Lord and savior. Once we have done that we then must repent. Repentance means to turn away from our old ways and to start living in a new direction, a direction of the Christian life. We have all sinned, I have, you have, and when you accept Christ as your savior, it allows your sins to be forgiven. When the Christian dies and faces the judgement of God, all God can see is a perfectly clean Spirit because Jesus’ perfection cloaks us and we have immediate access into the heavenly kingdom of God.
People don’t go to Hell for murder, or theft, or adultery, or lying or any other Sin imaginable. The act of Sin doesn’t send you to Hell, people go to Hell because of unbelief. To be saved it requires a prayer from the heart “Dear Lord, I know that I am a sinner, I believe in Jesus Christ and I believe that he died for my sins, I accept Christ as my personal Lord and Savior, please Lord, come into my life, I want a relationship with you.” When you pray that prayer and truly mean it, so many things can change in your life. An inner peace comes over you and you will feel a connection with God and it is a feeling unlike any other in this world. Being baptized in the Church is a public display of your faith and your acceptance of Jesus as your savior. Jesus called everyone publically. God does not want you to be saved only to keep it a secret. Jesus said, "Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven." Matthew 10:32 NIV.
My Personal Experience
I remember when I was saved. My Pastor announced an alter call every Sunday for many weeks after the sermons were given. Each time I put it off but I felt a strong pull from within to go to the front and give my life to God. Then came the time when my Pastor said it was going to be the last call for the series. I came very close to going but I refused. I still felt uncomfortable and didn’t want to take that leap. All week after that service I felt like I missed my chance and I felt as if I missed out on a great opportunity. I prayed often during that week and told God that if the Pastor does another alter call I will definitely go up to the front. The next Sunday at church my Pastor announced that even though he had said that he was finished the alter calls last week, he felt that there was a need to keep doing them. My Pastor made another alter call saying that he was going to welcome anyone else who wants to come forward and give their life for Christ. At that moment I looked at my mother sitting next to me and I told her that I’m going forward and that my time has come. It was a nervous time for me and I didn’t know what to expect and truthfully there was no immediate impact once I made my public confession of faith. I did have a peace inside, however there was no immediate change in my life. The change within my life eventually happened. It happened slowly over the course of many years. Making that decision on that special day was the greatest choice I have ever made in my life and my life is forever impacted because of it.
Find What You Are Looking For in Life
Everything you are looking for can be found in Jesus Christ. I found what I was looking for in Him. I wanted to be challenged, I wanted to be tough, I wanted to be successful, I wanted to be wise, I wanted to experience miracles, and I wanted to hear from God. I wanted many things and I found them all through Jesus. I have never regretted siding with Christ. God is my best friend and he and I have had some wonderful times. My relationship with him has been the best experience in my entire life. Don’t take my word for it, if you are really looking for God in your life, then go find him, he’s waiting for you.
What Really Matters
I pray that you experience God and accept him. Creating that special relationship with God is the best investment you can ever make. All the money, all the degrees and diplomas, all the nice cars, the six pack abs, the great marriage, the possessions, the trophies, all of those are nice, but they are not eternal. Salvation is eternal life with God. When we die there is one word that sums all of these things up, “Dust.” In the end they all become dust. Heaven on the other hand is eternal, it lasts forever and working for worldly things is a lot of fun and great to do, but it is short sighted. Having an eternal mindset is much more important. In terms of personal growth, accepting God in your life is likely to be the most profound and impactful decision that you will ever make.