(Somebody Special, Someone Valuable - Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5)
Introduction
Every person reaches a crisis point in their life; that is the place where they either decide to accept Jesus and enter His kingdom of light or to remain in the kingdom of darkness.
Perhaps you’re at that crisis point right now. Perhaps you’ve already fallen in love with this Jesus we’ve been telling you about – a Jesus who loves you and has compassion for you and what you’re going through, and sees you as a very special person. A Jesus who died to save you so you could belong to Him. A Jesus who can help you straighten out your life and become the person He wants you to be.
Don’t you want to accept Jesus right now – to become part of His kingdom and to spend eternity with Him?
It isn’t a difficult thing to do. The Bible shows us how to do it.
Prayer
Lord, show me how to belong to You.
Personal Questions
- Have you enjoyed our time of Bible study?
- Has it made you feel closer to God?
- What was the best thing about it?
Read Acts 4:10-12.
10then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
1. Who alone gives us salvation?
Many people today teach and believe that there are many roads to salvation – that Jesus is only one of the ways. But Jesus and His disciples clearly taught that belief in Jesus, alone, is the only way we can be saved. It is very important that you understand this prerequisite. Jesus insists on being Lord of your life. He will not share His position with anyone else.
Once we understand that Jesus is the only way to salvation, then we are ready to move on.
Read John 3:1-3.
1Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” 3Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
Nicodemus was a Jewish leader who recognized that Jesus had come from God, but that was all He understood at the moment.
2. How does anyone see the kingdom of God (become saved)?
We are very familiar with the term born again today, but this was a completely new idea to Nicodemus. “How can that be?” he asked.
Read John 3:5-6.
5Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
3. What was Jesus’ answer to Nicodemus?
Jesus explained that just as a person is born physically, we must also be born spiritually in order to enter the kingdom of God.
Read John 3:16.
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.
In this verse, Jesus tells Nicodemus how he can have eternal life (be born again).
4. What must we do to be born again?
After Jesus death, two of His disciples, Paul and Silas, gave the same answer to a Philippian jailer. This man had seen a great miracle from God, and he asked the same question: what must I do to be saved?
Read Acts 16:31.
They (Paul and Silas) replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
5. What was Paul and Silas’ answer to the jailer’s question?
The word believe when it relates to Jesus is not a wishy-washy word. It means to “adhere to, to cleave to, the trust, to have faith in, to rely on.”
The Amplified Bible translates the above scripture as: Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ [give yourself up to Him, take yourself out of your own keeping and entrust yourself into His keeping].
This is the first essential in becoming a Christian. There are three others; repent, confess, and be baptized.
Shortly after Jesus’ resurrection, Peter and John healed a man born crippled. As a crowd gathered, they began to preach.
Read Acts 3:19-20.
19Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20and that He may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.
6. What else must we do?
Many people think the word repent means to be sorry about something. But it is a much stronger word. It means to turn around and go in the opposite direction, to completely change your mind. In other words, we leave one way of life and go another way – God’s way.
7. Why must we repent (verse 19)?
Just think of it. When we believe in Jesus and repent, God forgives all our sins. We start out with a completely clean slate!
Once we believe in Jesus and have repented, Paul shows us a further step.
Read Romans 10:9.
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
8. What does Paul tell us to do?
The word confess here means to proclaim. We cannot be silent Christians. Once we have accepted Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we need to tell someone else what we have done.
One step remains.
Read Mark 16:16.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.
9. What is this final step?
Baptism both symbolizes our cleansing from sin and tells the world that we have accepted Jesus as our Savior and Lord.
Perhaps you still have some doubts about whether or not you personally can be saved. Perhaps you’re still afraid that you’re not good enough or that the things you’ve done in the past can keep you from God.
None of us is good enough for God. That isn’t a problem with Him. He wants us to believe in Him, so that He can give us His goodness.
Read II Peter 3:9.
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
10. How do you know that God wants you personally to come to Him?
How about it? Don’t you want to accept Jesus right now, to be born again, enter God’s kingdom of light, and spend eternity in the presence of God. Tell your counselor. They will lead you through the steps of salvation and help you make arrangements to be baptized.
Personal Question
- Have you just accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord? Tell the others in your group. Then think of at least one other person you can tell, write to, or telephone. Share that person’s name.
God bless you in your brand new life!
Scriptures to Memorize
If you declare 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
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Acts 16:31
(Somebody Special, Someone Valuable - Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5)
Answers
- Jesus Christ
- By being born again
- “No one can enter the kingdom of heaven unless he is born of water and the Spirit.”
- Believe in Jesus Christ
- Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.
- Repent
- So our sins will be wiped out, times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and He may send Jesus to us.
- “Confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead.”
- To be baptized
- He wants everyone to come to repentance.
All scripture quotations in this publication are from the Holy Bible, New International Version
(unless otherwise indicated)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, New International Bible Society
Copyright © 1992 by JoAnne Sekowsky