It's only right that the first blog entry I do on our new website is a post about how to be saved in Christ (this subject is of the utmost importance). After reading this post, if you have any questions or if you would like to further explore this topic, please email me at michaelray@mipeacemusic.com or reply to this post and I will plan to communicate with you in a timely manner. Thank you and God's blessings to you, in Jesus' name! (Note: Once your comments are approved, they will appear below.)
In Romans 3:23, the Word of God teaches us “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. I myself have been a chief of sinners and I lived in darkness (but, I thank You Heavenly Father for saving me, in Jesus' almighty name!!!). The Word of God tells us in Romans 6:23a, “For the wages of sin is death…”. The result of our sin would have been an eternity in hell without our Heavenly Father and without our Lord Jesus (read Matthew 7:21-23, Matthew 25:31-46, and 1Corinthians 6:9-11). But, the good news is that our Heavenly Father gave us the greatest gift ever: while we were sinners, He sent our perfect/holy Lord and Savior Christ Jesus to save us by dying on the cross for our sins and He was also resurrected on the third day with all power (read John 3:16, Romans 5:8, Luke 9:22, Matthew chapters 26, 27, & 28 as well as various places throughout the entire Bible)!!! Jesus is the only way to salvation and heaven (John 14:6 and Acts 4:8-12). Through Christ, we need to repent (repentance means to feel sorry for our sins and our sinful nature as well as change our minds so that we are no longer focused on doing worldly/sinful things, but we are now focused on obeying Jesus) and through Christ we have forgiveness for our sins (Matthew 4:17 and 1John 1:8-10)! In Ephesians 2:8-9, the Word of God says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” In addition, the Word of God teaches us in Romans 6:23b, “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
With all of those awesome Scripture passages in mind, we further understand that in order for us to receive salvation from Christ, we have to do what Romans 10:9 says: “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” We should have no shame in publicly following Jesus and publicly confessing Him as our Lord and Savior (read Mark 8:38). After we do what Romans 10:9 says, then we need to be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Mark 16:16 and Matthew 28:18-20), regularly fellowship with other followers of Christ (Hebrews 10:25…we should faithfully ask God to lead us to a Bible-believing and Christ-following church and join the congregation and keep in mind that all followers of Christ are a part of His entire Church/Body of Christ - 1Corinthians 12:12-27), be led by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14 and Galatians 5:16-23), and follow Jesus forever as we get ready for His return (Matthew 7:24-29, Matthew 24:32-51, and James 1:22-27).
If you are not yet saved in Christ Jesus, I pray that you come to Him now and receive His free gift of salvation (there is no time to waste). Please let me know (or inform any other follower of Jesus who God leads you to) if you are ready to become a disciple of Christ. May our Heavenly Father continue to bless you in the almighty name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!