accepting Jesus as my savior

[tdarcher7]

I'm trying to let Jesus into my heart and accept him as my savior, but for some reason I feel a little confused and skeptical about it. I've never been a "bad" person, but recently I had this sudden epiphany out of nowhere that I need to change the way I was thinking and doing things. I think the Lord may be trying to save me, so He put the thought into my head to give me a chance to become closer to Him. I acknowledge that there is most likely a God, but for some reason I have this small part of me that feels skeptical. I would really like some advise on what I can do to fully let Him into my heart and take control over my life. I want to have complete, absolute faith in Him. I don't really have any friends to talk to about this so I just wanted to see what others could let me know to lead me in the right direction. Thank you.

 

[Wolfe]

You can pray.

Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness.

I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin.

You said in Your Holy Word, that if we confess the Lord our God and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we shall be saved.

Right now I confess Jesus as the Lord of my soul. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved.

Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace which has saved me from my sins. I thank you Jesus that your grace never leads to license, but rather it always leads to repentance. Therefore Lord Jesus transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you alone and not to myself.

Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me eternal life. AMEN.

 

[Wolfe]

Just keep praying, reading your bible, and you'll surely become close with him.

Matthew 7:7

 

[crossnote]

I've never been a "bad" person,

Perhaps you should start here...

What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips." "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known." "There is no fear of God before their eyes." Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
(Rom 3:9-20)

 

[Greg J.]

I would really like some advise on what I can do to fully let Him into my heart and take control over my life. I want to have complete, absolute faith in Him.

It takes multiple decades to acquire complete faith in him. The way to acquire faith is to be obedient to what you already understand he wants you to do. Go to church, read the Bible, join a Bible study, talk with other Christians about Jesus (whether they want to or not, because you'll find some that do).

 

[fm107]

Hi tdarcher7,

Your quite right about your way of thinking, it needs to change. It's nice to see you credit God with helping you to see that, that is good and right. The Bible says it is God who leads men to himself!

Here's the problem. You don't believe your a bad person. But in order to get into Heaven, the requirement is perfect obedience and when you compare yourself to that, you'll find out your like the rest of mankind, your not a good person and you are in fact a bad person. Here is what the Bible says:

Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

God wants us to come to it that in and of ourselves, we can do nothing to get into Heaven because we are all sinners. We all lie, covet, dishonour our parents, lust, envy, swear, steel and so on. What your doing is comparing yourself to say criminals in this world, they are not the standard God goes by!

So if we are all sinners (bad people), how do we get into Heaven? We need a saviour, someone to save us from the penalty of our sins.
It's like we have cancer and the Lord Jesus is a doctor, we need him to save us and make us fit for heaven.
So what happened?

God sent his son into the world to take the punishment for your sins. Now God seeks men and women everywhere to realise that they owed a massive debt, the Lord Jesus came and paid the price that was demanded by God. Now we can seek forgiveness for our sins on account of what the Lord Jesus did.

So the next verse in that passage is this:

Romans 3:24
and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

We can be justified from our sin (accounted as righteous) and therefore gain entry into heaven.

If people humble themselves before God, approach him, simply with the little faith we have and genuinely seek after him, God will give you more faith! God wants to save, he loves his creation. He wants to save you! God doesn't expect you to do anything to earn your salvation, that's impossible! Remember, your a helpless sinner, God only requires an acknowledgement of your sin from you (confess to him in the private of your own room), and ask him to save you. If you genuinely believe in him and his son whom he sent, he will save you!

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 

[tdarcher7]

Thank y

Hi tdarcher7,

Your quite right about your way of thinking, it needs to change. It's nice to see you credit God with helping you to see that, that is good and right. The Bible says it is God who leads men to himself!

Here's the problem. You don't believe your a bad person. But in order to get into Heaven, the requirement is perfect obedience and when you compare yourself to that, you'll find out your like the rest of mankind, your not a good person and you are in fact a bad person. Here is what the Bible says:

Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

God wants us to come to it that in and of ourselves, we can do nothing to get into Heaven because we are all sinners. We all lie, covet, dishonour our parents, lust, envy, swear, steel and so on. What your doing is comparing yourself to say criminals in this world, they are not the standard God goes by!

So if we are all sinners (bad people), how do we get into Heaven? We need a saviour, someone to save us from the penalty of our sins.
It's like we have cancer and the Lord Jesus is a doctor, we need him to save us and make us fit for heaven.
So what happened?

God sent his son into the world to take the punishment for your sins. Now God seeks men and women everywhere to realise that they owed a massive debt, the Lord Jesus came and paid the price that was demanded by God. Now we can seek forgiveness for our sins on account of what the Lord Jesus did.

So the next verse in that passage is this:

Romans 3:24
and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

We can be justified from our sin (accounted as righteous) and therefore gain entry into heaven.

If people humble themselves before God, approach him, simply with the little faith we have and genuinely seek after him, God will give you more faith! God wants to save, he loves his creation. He wants to save you! God doesn't expect you to do anything to earn your salvation, that's impossible! Remember, your a helpless sinner, God only requires an acknowledgement of your sin from you (confess to him in the private of your own room), and ask him to save you. If you genuinely believe in him and his son whom he sent, he will save you!

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.


Thank you so much! I didn't think about it like that but it definitely brings me closer and to understand more everyday from the people here to guide me. I am so excited that I'm getting closer and closer. I love studying about it..i've been researching every day all day. It just draws me in and I am so grateful that He guided me here

 

[seashale76]

I'm trying to let Jesus into my heart and accept him as my savior, but for some reason I feel a little confused and skeptical about it. I've never been a "bad" person, but recently I had this sudden epiphany out of nowhere that I need to change the way I was thinking and doing things. I think the Lord may be trying to save me, so He put the thought into my head to give me a chance to become closer to Him. I acknowledge that there is most likely a God, but for some reason I have this small part of me that feels skeptical. I would really like some advise on what I can do to fully let Him into my heart and take control over my life. I want to have complete, absolute faith in Him. I don't really have any friends to talk to about this so I just wanted to see what others could let me know to lead me in the right direction. Thank you.

I'm much more a fan of encouraging people to search for themselves. I believe that God draws us to Himself. The Christian faith is something you can read about on-line, but it must be lived. The faith has a very physical aspect to it. It is more than intellectual assent to a belief. Actions are involved. One must live out their faith in Christ's Church. This is something that many people ignore these days. I can say I believe something and truly think I do all day long- but it isn't until I start putting actions behind the declaration- that it means anything. Say, I sit at home every time there is a Divine Liturgy. As a consequence, I never partake of the Eucharist. Say, I sit at home and never pray. Say, I never feed and clothe the poor.

Go to church, get out there, get baptized, catechized, take communion, get a prayer rule and follow it, and then live a life in Christ. (And I don't mean to make that sound easy because it isn't. I also don't mean that you are going to be able to just jump in there- in Orthodoxy we believe in catechesis- so even if you wanted to become a Christian it is heavily encouraged for you to attend church, study, et cetera before you make the commitment because it is a serious one. Chrismation and Baptism is something you have to be prepared for. We don't do altar call theology.)

My advice to you:
Pray and do your research. I will post a few things that it certainly wouldn't hurt for you to read that explain the faith fairly well. (The first 3 links are a comprehensive, easy read that covers a lot.)
The Orthodox Faith
Excerpts from the Orthodox Church by Bishop Kallistos Ware (part 1)
Excerpts from the Orthodox Church by Bishop Kallistos Ware (part 2)
What Is Most Important
A good prayer resource:
P r a y e r

"If you wish to save your soul and win eternal life, arise from your lethargy, make the sign of the Cross and say: In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Faith comes not through pondering but through action. Not words and speculation but experience teaches us what God is. To let in fresh air we have to open a window; to get tanned we must go out into the sunshine. Achieving faith is no different; we never reach a goal by just sitting in comfort and waiting, say the Holy Fathers. Let the Prodigal Son be our example. He "arose and came."" (Luke 15:20).
~Tito Colliander The Way of the Ascetics.

"Faith, like active prayer, is a grace. For prayer, when activated by love through the power of the Spirit, renders true faith manifest - the faith that reveals the life of Jesus. If, then, you are aware that such faith is not at work within you, that means your faith is dead and lifeless. In fact you should not even speak of yourself as one of the 'faithful' if your faith is merely theoretical and not actualized by the practice of the commandments or by the Spirit. Thus faith must be evidenced by progress in keeping the commandments, or it must be actualized and translucent in what we do. This is confirmed by St. James when he says, 'Show me your faith through your works and I will show you the works that I do through my faith.'" (cf. Jas. 2:18.)
~St. Gregory of Sinai, The Philokalia, Vol. 4.

 

[NewCreation17]

I know of two things to have the Lord Jesus Christ. Repent and believe.

It sounds to me like you want a spiritual experience, or to be much closer to the true and the living GOD. Only through faith in Christ Jesus, and faith can grow!

Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by Word of GOD.
Seek and ye shall find.

Read the Word of GOD and believe. Hold on to His promises. Jesus Christ has promised the Holy Spirit of Adoption to all those who believe and keep His commandments.

True repentance and faith in Christ Jesus just as the scriptures hath said will get you filled and adopted with the Holy Spirit of GOD.

Mark 1:14-15
[URL='http://www.christianforums.com/bible/acts-of-the-apostles/2:38/']Acts 2:38[/URL]
[URL='http://www.christianforums.com/bible/acts-of-the-apostles/26:19-20/']Acts 26:19-20[/URL]
[URL='http://www.christianforums.com/bible/acts-of-the-apostles/26:19-20/'][URL='http://www.christianforums.com/bible/romans/8:9/']Romans 8:9[/URL][/URL]

Repentance is turning from sin completely and the desire and willingness to let go of everything GOD says to let go of. The Holy Spirit will give you power over sin and the flesh that held us down!

Romans 8:12-13
Galatians 5:24


Here is a short testimony of how I was truly saved after spending many years living my own life in sin but yet believing and never truly knew Jesus.
I am a new creature in Christ!


Hope this helps brother!
Jesus Christ's work on the Cross

 

[AvgJoe]

I'm trying to let Jesus into my heart and accept him as my savior, but for some reason I feel a little confused and skeptical about it. I've never been a "bad" person, but recently I had this sudden epiphany out of nowhere that I need to change the way I was thinking and doing things. I think the Lord may be trying to save me, so He put the thought into my head to give me a chance to become closer to Him. I acknowledge that there is most likely a God, but for some reason I have this small part of me that feels skeptical. I would really like some advise on what I can do to fully let Him into my heart and take control over my life. I want to have complete, absolute faith in Him. I don't really have any friends to talk to about this so I just wanted to see what others could let me know to lead me in the right direction. Thank you.

This may help~~~> What is the plan of salvation / way of salvation?

 

[ToBeLoved]

I'm trying to let Jesus into my heart and accept him as my savior, but for some reason I feel a little confused and skeptical about it. I've never been a "bad" person, but recently I had this sudden epiphany out of nowhere that I need to change the way I was thinking and doing things. I think the Lord may be trying to save me, so He put the thought into my head to give me a chance to become closer to Him. I acknowledge that there is most likely a God, but for some reason I have this small part of me that feels skeptical. I would really like some advise on what I can do to fully let Him into my heart and take control over my life. I want to have complete, absolute faith in Him. I don't really have any friends to talk to about this so I just wanted to see what others could let me know to lead me in the right direction. Thank you.

You are probably right that God is calling to you. The Lord loves each one of us so much more than we can even imagine. We are His creation that He didn't want to be separated from, but sin happened and it had to be that way.

But the great news is that since Jesus has died for our sins, we can now get back into relationship with God. What you need to have is faith. Faith that Jesus is the Son of God and that He came from heaven and was born a man who lived a perfect life with no sin so He could be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. His shed blood was shed for each of us. And that means you to!

If you don't completely have faith, pray to God for more faith and God will help you. God does not only call the perfect in faith, but those with some faith and if you pray, He will give you more faith.

Try to start a simple plan of getting to know God better. Get a Bible and read for 10 minutes per day and pray for the other 10 minutes a day. This is such a small amount of time, but you will be surprised if you are diligent to spending time with Him, you will come to learn much in a short amount of time.

Don't worry about trying to pray any specific type of way, you can just talk to God. If there are any people you have not so good of a relationship with, pray for the other person and then pray for yourself, that God will help you make amends and at least stop any hurt, if there is any. You can also pray for the people you love. For their health, happiness any strained relationships or specific issues. Pray for anything you need, I pray for patience and that I will consider other people and their feelings more in my life. That I will remember things are not always about me, but that there is another side of things from another perspective.

Just be honest with God. He knows you well already, probably better than you know yourself. That is nice in a way because He already knows so much about you.

I hope that you come to Christ in faith and begin your new life of being one of God's Own .

Be blessed.

 

[puregrl]

I'm trying to let Jesus into my heart and accept him as my savior, but for some reason I feel a little confused and skeptical about it. I've never been a "bad" person, but recently I had this sudden epiphany out of nowhere that I need to change the way I was thinking and doing things. I think the Lord may be trying to save me, so He put the thought into my head to give me a chance to become closer to Him. I acknowledge that there is most likely a God, but for some reason I have this small part of me that feels skeptical. I would really like some advise on what I can do to fully let Him into my heart and take control over my life. I want to have complete, absolute faith in Him. I don't really have any friends to talk to about this so I just wanted to see what others could let me know to lead me in the right direction. Thank you.

So I think it is important to acknowledge a belief in and a need for God in your life.
First it starts with admitting that we, as humans, sin. We do those things that God, in his perfect nature, does not approve of. We lie, think bad things, steal, cheat...we sin. This sin separates us from God. But, God is love...it is who He is, so he created a way for us to be with Him, to have a relationship with Him, by sending Jesus to the earth to take the burden of our sin as his own. (you know the story right?).
You have to know that God wants this relationship with you so very bad. He loves you more than you can realize and has the most amazing plans for your life. Christianity is about having a relationship with God, it is about giving him control of your life...realizing that he alone knows the future and the best way to get you where you need to be. Having this kind of faith can be difficult in the beginning. We are raised in a society that emphasizes independence and control over your own life...no one can take that from you. People tend to get nervous when they give control over to someone else (which is why many get nervous being in the passenger seat of a car). But God is the best driver there is...he knows the future and the quickest way to get you to your destination. This kind of faith, complete faith, as someone said takes years. As a christian, you will have points where your faith seems to dim...because you are human and are subject to fear and doubt. So dont think that you need to be perfect. Christ came to save the lost, those who need healing..not the healthy. Just take a deep breath, cry if you need to, and talk to God. Tell him your worries, concerns...and let him give you the most comforting hug you will ever have.

 

[1watchman]

I'm trying to let Jesus into my heart and accept him as my savior, but for some reason I feel a little confused and skeptical about it. I've never been a "bad" person, but recently I had this sudden epiphany out of nowhere that I need to change the way I was thinking and doing things. I think the Lord may be trying to save me, so He put the thought into my head to give me a chance to become closer to Him. I acknowledge that there is most likely a God, but for some reason I have this small part of me that feels skeptical. I would really like some advise on what I can do to fully let Him into my heart and take control over my life. I want to have complete, absolute faith in Him. I don't really have any friends to talk to about this so I just wanted to see what others could let me know to lead me in the right direction. Thank you.

You may be putting too much emphasis on the process rather than the relationship. One needs the Lord Jesus in their heart as lord of their life and best Friend. Begin speaking to Him with a thankful heart as Wolfe said here above. Christ died on the Cross for your sins, so does that mean anything to you? Tell Him how thankful you are, and begin walking and talking with him daily. Don't keep looking for more processes, rituals, reasonings, etc. The relationship will blossom by His Spirit in you. Look up always!

 

[restored_one]

I'm trying to let Jesus into my heart and accept him as my savior, but for some reason I feel a little confused and skeptical about it. I've never been a "bad" person, but recently I had this sudden epiphany out of nowhere that I need to change the way I was thinking and doing things. I think the Lord may be trying to save me, so He put the thought into my head to give me a chance to become closer to Him. I acknowledge that there is most likely a God, but for some reason I have this small part of me that feels skeptical. I would really like some advise on what I can do to fully let Him into my heart and take control over my life. I want to have complete, absolute faith in Him. I don't really have any friends to talk to about this so I just wanted to see what others could let me know to lead me in the right direction. Thank you.

Just continue in reading His word, prayer and find a church where you can be involved with and be guided in your spiritual walk.

I'm making an ebook, I'd love to hear your input. Will you share your ideas? You click on the link below...
New ebook Topic Survey

 

[cautiouslittlehope]

Christianity is not a religion (or it shouldn't be), it is a relationship. It is your relationship with God, your relationship with Jesus Christ, and it is a beautiful thing! Sometimes we have a tendency to try and hide behind elaborate prayers, but we cannot hide from the eyes of God. He knows your heart and He knows your doubt, and He wants nothing more than for you to talk to him about it so He can guide you and strengthen your faith. Talk to Him as though he is your father on earth, and talk to Jesus as you would a friend. A relationship with Christ is more intimate than any other relationship you can experience.

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
1 John 5:14-15

accept that the word of God is TRUTH and you will not have to worry about this. keep on asking God to draw closer to you and strengthen your faith, and it will absolutely be granted to you. He absolutely adores you, He made every part of you according to His purpose and He would never forget about you or cast you aside.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
John 15:16

If it helps then look into the historical research and non biblical accounts that prove without any doubt that Jesus existed on this earth, then think to yourself- either the word of God is true and Jesus bled on the cross for his love of me so that I might be granted salvation OR this man Jesus was a delusional magician. This makes it obvious to me, because I cannot believe part of the bible and not others- Jesus IS my saviour.

 

[hedrick]

I sounds to me like you've already made the basic decision to follow Jesus. At this point you don't really need to hear about salvation. Jesus already died and you already believe in him. You don't need a more exciting conversion experience. You need to start living as a Christian.

That means things like regular prayer and Bible reading, worship, and service to your neighbor. As you do that, you'll come to understand more about what it means to be a Christian.

 

[ClearPath]

I am happy to read that you are wishing to accept Christ; it is by far the best decision you will ever make!
I was also apprehensive before accepting Christ as I didn't know what to expect; God is so powerful, knowledgeable and loving - He is the missing piece of the jigsaw in your life.

The best way to get to know Jesus is reading the best book in the world, The Bible; this is the truth, the way and the guide. People often ask what is The Bible? In all honesty, it is everything you need it to be. The more you read, the more you will get to know our Lord.

Prayer is also excellent! Remember God knows your needs and requests before you ask, however we must have a communication with Him to form a relationship. A very close relationship of full understanding and being free from doubt can take years, however this is the mission for Christians.

I will pray for your situation and that you can accept Jesus without scepticism.

1 John 4:8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Deuteronomy 13:3
you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.

 

[South Bound]

I'm trying to let Jesus into my heart and accept him as my savior, but for some reason I feel a little confused and skeptical about it. I've never been a "bad" person

Not how it works

1 You are a bad person as we all are

2 "Accepting Jesus into your heart" is not what the Bible says

3 The Bible says that Jesus accepts or rejects us not that we accept or reject Him

Let me start by asking you this: Have you kept the law

 

[South Bound]

I sounds to me like you've already made the basic decision to follow Jesus. At this point you don't really need to hear about salvation. Jesus already died and you already believe in him. You don't need a more exciting conversion experience. You need to start living as a Christian.

That's about as silly as saying "Neil Armstrong already walked on the Moon. You need to start living as an astronaut".

Telling somebody to live as a Christian before they're born again is not only creating false converts but is adding a legalistic burden that they can't keep

Posting here is so frustrating I always feel like Charlie Brown: "Isn't there anybody here who knows what the Gospel is all about"

(And yes I realize I'm going to get an infraction for that)

 

[South Bound]

Christianity is not a religion (or it shouldn't be), it is a relationship.

No, it's actually a religion. It has codified instructions, a hierarchy, requirements for membership, etc