Acts of Apostles in the Early Church 

Someone has said, "Knowing Christ died--that's history. Believing He died for me--that's salvation."

A personal relationship with Christ begins the moment of our salvation.

Jesus referred to this event as a second birth (John 3:3).

Only when we are born spirtually into God's family do we become His children, friends, servants, and members of His spiritual kingdom.

While we may not know exactly when this new life begins, we can understand the steps we need to take to begin this relationship.

Admit our lost condition

All of us are born to parents of a fallen humanity.

We come into this world separaed from the life of God and absorbed with an interest in finding satisfaction and personal  independence on our own terms.

In the process we don't show a natural desire for the kind of God who made us for Himself (Rom. 3:11-12)

While we may look good to ourselves as long as we measure ourselves by ourselves, Jesus Christ showed us our sin.

He is the One who showed us what it means to have a personal relationship with God.

He is also the One who said that He didn't come into this world to help good people, but "to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).

The Bible says we all come into this world physically alive but spiritually dead--missing out on life for which God made us.

The apostle Paul wrote, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23).

Know what God has done for us

The word gospel means "good news." God loved us enough to send His own Son into this world to rescue us from ourselves and our sin. (John 1:1-4; 3:16)

The good news is that Jesus lived the quality of life that God had intended for us to live.

Without a flaw, He loved His heavenly Father with all His heart, soul, and mind.

Without fail, He showed us what it means to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Then, to solve the problem of our lost relationship with the Father, Jesus died in our place. '

He offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice to pay the price of sin.

Because he was not only man but God, (John 1:1-14), His death was of infinite value.

When he rose from the dead, He proved He had died in our place to pay the price for all sin (past, present and future).

Believe and receive God's gift

While we all have earned the wages of spiritual death and separation from God (Rom. 6:23), no one can earn a relationship with God.

Salvation is a gift of His love--not a reward for our effort. We are saved only by trusting in Christ.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not by yourselves; it is a gift of God, not works, lest anyone should boast(Eph. 2:8-9)

This may sound too simple. But it takes a miracle of God's grace to break our pride and self-sufficiency. It takes God's Spirit to draw us into this kind of personal relationship. If this is your desire, here is how you can begin.

The actual words we say to God to receive this gift may vary. What is important is that we believe God enough to be able to say, "Father, I know I have sinned against you. I believe that Jesus is your Son, that He died for my sins, and that He rose from the dead to prove it. Now I accept your offer of eternal life. I accept Jesus as your gift for my salvation.

If this is the honest expression of your heart, welcome to God's family. By simple faith you have entered into a personal relationship with the One who made you and saved you!

(Source: Adapted from Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries)