I am going on a basic assumption that if you are visiting our website; you have at a minimum a passing interest in Southern Gospel Music. If you have spent any time at all listening to Southern Gospel Music you have heard about this man called Jesus Christ. You have heard proclaimed in the songs how He saved us, how He forgave us, how He gives us eternal life. You have heard it proclaimed that he can handle all of our trials and we trust Him with our life.
But the question is do you know Him? Have you ever accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? There is only one way to be saved and each individual person needs to make that decision on their own. No one can do it for you. The decision is yours and yours only!
The Bible is the source of information for a Christian. The first thing you need to believe and accept is that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. We are told in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “all Scripture is God-breathed.” That means that we need to look to the Bible for the answer on how to have a personal relationship with Him.
There are five basic steps involved in giving your heart and life to Christ. I want to briefly run through those steps right now:
First of all, you need to acknowledge that you need to know the Lord as your personal Savior. Christ was crucified on a cross and died for our sins. As He hung there dying on that cross one of thieves hanging next to Him make this acknowledgment. Luke 23:39-43 in the NIV says this; “One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at Him: ‘Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!’ But the other criminal rebuked him. ‘Don’t you fear God,’ he said, ‘since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said to Jesus, ‘Jesus remember me when you come into your Kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.’” The criminal saw that there was no fault in Christ and he acknowledge that he needed Christ in order to go to paradise with Him.
Second, you need to realize that you are a sinner! That’s right, we are all sinners. Romans 3:23, again from the NIV, says “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” A little further over in Romans, in chapter 6, verse 23, the Bible says, “for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” So, you (and I and everyone else) is a sinner and the wages of that sin is death! Once you realize that you are a sinner you can move on to the next step.
Third, you need to admit your sins and have a desire to turn your life over to God. Still in the book of Romans, this time in chapter 10 and verses 9 and 10 we read, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” These verses indicate that you relationship with Christ is not based on knowing that you are a sinner but it is based on knowing it and confessing it to Jesus Christ. You must believe in your heart that Jesus is the Risen Savior and He is Lord.
The forth step in this process is to believe that Jesus is the only way to be Saved! In John 14:6 Jesus himself tells us “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” There is no other way to have this personal relationship with Christ except through Him.
If you believe the previous four points and have a desire to give your life to Christ, there is only one final step to take. You need to invite Jesus into your heart and life. Jesus Christ is alive and we can pray to Him. 1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Jesus wants to forgive you! He is just waiting for you to ask. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus tells us “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.” Jesus is standing at the door of your heart right now and He is knocking. Invite Him in today and He will change your life! So, pray and talk to Christ right now! Invite Him into your heart and life, ask Him to forgive you of your sins and accept His invitation to know Him on a personal level.
If you followed the steps above and prayed to God and meant it, you have a new and personal relationship with Jesus Christ! Let me be the first to welcome you to the Christian Family! Another scripture verse that I would like to share is 2 Corinthians 5:17. The Bible says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” That is right; you are a new creation in Christ!
So, what should you do now! The first thing you need to realize is that you are not alone in your Christian Faith. Of course, you have God in you but you have several members of the Christian Family just waiting to welcome you. A few things you should do:
1. Find a local church that believes and honors the Bible and teaches about Christ. 2. Keep reading the Bible – the Bible is God’s Holy Word and is the instruction manual for Christians. 3. Put into practice what you learn from the Bible. 4. Continue to pray – talk to God and He will speak to you through the Bible. 5. Tell someone about your decision – It is the best decision you ever made and ever will make so go tell someone about your decision to follow Christ.
If you made a decision to follow Christ recently we would love to know it! If you would like for us to send you a short booklet with additional information, please email us your name and address (US addresses only). If you live outside of the United States, please email us and we can direct you to some great websites with additional information! Our email address is
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