Believe and put your faith in Jesus Christ

You have heard the word

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Well done! If you are following the steps in their prescribed order then you will have heard the word and will now know what the good news is about Jesus Christ.

However, no matter what is said or done there will always be those that will scoff and will never believe [Luke 16 vs 19-31]. Do you know people like that? Unbelief however, does not make the good news untrue. We suspect those people will never get this far, so you are thus not one of them.

Before you continue you need to believe what you have heard, understand that you have done wrong in the eyes of God, know that you cannot do anything about it on your own and passionately desire to make a change, putting your faith in Jesus Christ to have the authority to be able to forgive you of your sins.

Beware of false teachers

The Bible warns about false teachers and prophets who deceive and mislead [2Peter 2 vs 1-3]. You will recognise them by their fruit (meaning deeds) [Matt 7 vs 15-20]. The Bible is the ultimate authority to the truth[John 1 vs 1-2]. We have made it as clear as possible with copious references to the Bible (from the New International Version) so you can check out what we say, however, if you are concerned then don't just take our word for it, check us out with someone you can trust or from your own study of the Bible. [Acts 17 vs 10-11].

It is in our vested interest that we tell you the truth, as best we know it, because we also know the consequences on us if we knowingly deceive or mislead you. [Galatians 1 v 9]

Salvation is not a formula

Salvation is not a formula, a series of steps or instructions that you can simply follow dispassionately and once complete, hey presto! you are now saved. Salvation is not like taking an exam where once you have your certificate you can forget everything you have learned. No, for true salvation you have to passionately desire it and go on living it for the rest of your life. There is commitment involved here but the prize is well worth the cost.

We are representing salvation in a step-wise fashion here in order to guide you and help you to understand what is at stake in a structured way, however, we cannot stress strongly enough the part that personal conviction, belief and faith in Jesus Christ has in your salvation and healthy Christian Birth. We would even go as far as saying, if you cannot believe what you have read so far then stop right here as you will be wasting your time continuing.

You have known it all along

This knowledge of good and evil, you have known all along. Remember from the word we talked about the "Fall of Man" when Adam and Eve became like God with the knowledge of good and evil? That knowledge we call our conscience. Have you ever wondered why we don't need to be taught to do wrong? Furthermore how we instinctively know it is wrong? And when we do good we instinctively feel good about it.

The Holy Spirit's part to play in all this?

When Christians tell others about the good news, we are acting as messengers obeying Jesus's commands. The Bible tells us there is another player involved; the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the true "vicar of Christ" meaning acting vicariously or "in place of" Jesus Christ [John 14 vs 25-26]. Jesus in the meantime, is currently in Heaven preparing for his second return. [John 14 vs 2-4] The Holy Spirit is the third part of the Trinity of God along with God the Father and God the Son (Jesus) in the order that we have mentioned them so far. In the second letter to the Corinthians we find a blessing that many Churches even today, say to each other in parting. [2 Cor 13 v 14]

The Bible tells us that Christians can have the "power of the Holy Spirit" to assist us with the work of the Kingdom of God on Earth.[Acts 1 vs 7-8]

In the work of saving the lost (salvation) the Holy Spirit acts to convict those people, whom God is calling, of their sin and to convince them of the need for repentence. No evangelist can convict anyone of their sin, that is the exclusive job of the Holy Spirit. When you hear us you only hear the word, without the Holy Spirit to convict you of that word you would never be convinced.[Acts 10 v 42-44]

In step 5 (Receive the Holy Spirit) we will study more about this Holy Spirit person. For now let us keep with your belief in the good news and putting your faith in the authority of Jesus Christ.

Belief is not enough

It may come as no surprise to learn that Satan and his demons have absolutely no problem with believing in God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit. [James 2 v 19] No, they are well aware of their enemy and we can be certain they are not going to get salvation. The difference being that they do not put their faith in the authority of Jesus Christ.

It is clear, therefore, that belief, no matter how sincere, is not enough. You have to have faith and more. Move on to step 3 (Repent) to find out what you also need to do...