God uses many different channels to save and bring a person into His family. He might use a Christian friend or family member, the plain yet profound truth of the Bible, or a life-shattering experience. Yet there is only one way to experience salvation and become a member of God's family and that way is through his Son, Jesus Christ.

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

Regardless of what means God uses to draw people into His family, all Christians hold these fundamental truths:

1. The Truth About God

• God is both a loving God and a just and righteous God

"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love." (I John 4:16)

"How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings." (Psalm 36:7)

"He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he." (Deuteronomy 32:4)

"The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made." (Psalm 145:17)

• Because God is just he punishes sin and expels evil from his presence.

"…but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:17)

"For the wages of sin is death…." (Romans 6:23)

"For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son, both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die." (Ezekiel 18:4)

2. The Truth About People

• God, who created everything, made us for himself in order that we would enjoy fellowship with him and glorify his name.

"For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him." (Colossians 1:16)

"Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture." (Psalm 100:3)

"He tends his flocks like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart…" (Isaiah 40:11)

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me…" (John 10:14)

• But we rebelled and turned away from God. The result is separation from God. The penalty is eternal death.

"We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way…" (Isaiah 53:6)

"But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you…" (Isaiah 59:2

"There is no one righteous, not even one…" (Romans 3:10)

"…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

• We cannot save ourselves from the penalty.

"He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done…" (Titus 3:5)

"…not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:9)

3. The Truth About Jesus Christ

• God became man in the person of Jesus Christ to restore the broken fellowship. Christ lived a perfect life.

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6)

"For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things…" (Colossians 1:19, 20)

"He committed no sin and no deceit was found in his mouth." (I Peter 2:22)

• Christ died as a substitute for us by paying for our rebellion and sin. He arose and is alive today to give us a new life of fellowship with God, now and forever.

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God, He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit…" (I Peter 3:18)

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10)

4. Becoming a Member of God’s Family

• God's gift of forgiveness and eternal life is received by means of faith and repentance.

"The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Mark 1:15)

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…" (John 1:12)

"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26)

"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)

"...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." (Romans 10:9)

• Upon receiving his gift, God supernaturally indwells the heart of man, giving him a changed life.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)

"Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, Abba, Father." (Galatians 4:6)

• Faith and repentance can be expressed at any time by receiving Christ as Savior and Lord.

You can express your desire to receive him into your life by praying a prayer like this:

"Heavenly Father, I admit that I am weaker and more sinful than I ever before believed, but, through your Son Jesus, I can be more loved and accepted than I ever dared hope. I thank you that He lived the life I should have lived, and paid the debt and punishment I owed by dying on the cross for me. Receive me now for His sake. I turn from my sins and receive Him as my Lord and Savior. Amen."

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