Remix: Student Devotionals

Authentic Faith - Week 1, Day 2

Day 2: Most Important Decision You Can Make (ABC's)

We found out yesterday we are not supposed to base our relationship with God on our feelings or our goodness, so how does someone know for sure that they are a Christian? 

The question we have to ask ourselves is this:
What is true salvation? 

The Bible is pretty clear that if you want to be a Christian, the first thing you have to do is: 

1. ADMIT YOU ARE A SINNER. Romans 3:23 says, "for all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God." 

A person who has a relationship with Jesus has come to grips with the fact that they have blown it repeatedly in life. But it is not enough to just admit that you have sinned. A person must repent of their sin. To repent means to go in a new direction with your life. It means that you were walking down this path, doing whatever you wanted to do, and now you are doing a complete 180 and going in God's direction and living your life for Him. 

Repentance is the decision to turn from selfish desires and seek God. It is a genuine, sincere regret that creates sorrow and moves us to admit wrong and desire to do better. It's an inward conviction that expresses itself in outward actions.  

2. BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS GOD'S SON WHO DIED ON A CROSS FOR YOUR SINS AND ROSE AGAIN FROM THE DEAD.

 A person must accept the fact that Jesus was who He said He was. We must believe that Jesus died on a cross for our sins and rose again from the dead. Just about everyone you know believes those facts to be true. The Bible says in James 2:19, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that and shudder." Just believing certain facts about God does not mean that we are going to heaven. Think about it, the demons believe there is a God, but I don't think we will see any demons in heaven. The word "believe" in Greek is the word "Pistos." It means "faithing." It is a verb. It is saying, "I not only believe with my mind that Jesus is who He said He was, but I will place all my faith and all my trust in Him." There is one more step. 

3. COMMIT YOUR LIFE TO JESUS. 

This means to allow Jesus to have full control of your life willfully. Your dreams, your hopes, your everything.

Romans 10:9 says, "if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord," 

The word "Lord" means "boss," "ruler," the one who calls the shots. 

Now you have to ask yourself, "Have I ever made a commitment to Jesus that from this day forward, the best I know how I will live my life for Him?"

If you can say, "yes," then I have great news for you. Your salvation is secure because God's faithfulness is stronger than our feelings. Isn't that good news?

 God does not intend for us to live in a state of anxiety concerning our relationship with Him. We wouldn't even want that in human relationships, would we? 

Girls, would you want to be in a relationship with a guy where he was never a hundred percent certain in the relationship, where you always kept him guessing just a little bit so that he was forever buying gifts and writing notes and sending you flowers? Would you ever want that? 

OK, bad example. God's not like some of you girls, apparently. 

I want you to see this. In 2 Timothy 2:11, Paul writes,
"Here is a trustworthy saying: If we die with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him. If we disown Him, He will also disown us; (People reject God; God will reject them)."

Then the final statement says, "if we are faithless." The word "faithless" in Greek means to waver. If we have doubts, if we have uncertainty, then God will do what? 

The Bible says, "if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself." 

  • Even if I waver and wrestle with doubt.
  • Even if I don't have a giant-sized faith.
  • Even if I sin.
  • Even though our prayers are sometimes small or uncertain, we can have great assurance because God is faithful. That's good news! 

Time Out: 

I want you to go over those three steps to becoming a Christian and answer the question after each statement. 

1. I have admitted that I am a sinner and have repented (turned away) from my sin. I'm not perfect, but I want to live my life for Jesus. Is that true of you? 

2. I believe that Jesus is God's son. I believe that He died on a cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. Do you believe that to be true? 

3. I have committed my life to Jesus. All that I am and all that I hope to be, I give over to Him. I want what He wants for my life. I want to live for Him because I love Him. Is that true of you? 

If you answered yes to these three questions, you are a Christian, whether you feel like it or not. If you were not able to answer those questions with a yes, and you want to talk to someone about what a relationship with Jesus is all about, then let me encourage you to talk to your Student Pastor or Small Group Leader today. Text them and let them know you want to speak to them about your relationship with Jesus. 

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23