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Becoming A Christian "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30) Our Lord Jesus Christ invites everyone without exception, to come to Him and find rest for their souls. We at the Church of Christ of Hesperia want more than anything else for all those who are weary and burdened to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Accepting Jesus' invitation to come to Him is as easy as His yoke is light. First, Jesus asks those who come to Him to place their trust in Him as their Savior. This means accepting as truth the Gospel message. Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this Gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance; that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. (1 Cor. 15:1-5) The call of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, that He died for our sins, and that He raised from the dead. Having come to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, our next step is to give Him His rightful place in our lives. We must now accept Him as our Lord. This means making His will the authoritative guide for our lives. This will mean turning from unrighteousness, and wickedness, and following in the footsteps of Christ as a disciple, and committing ourselves to keep all of His commands. Next, our Lord desires that His disciples make a public confession of His Lordship. "I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. (Luke 12:8) On the basis of the confession of Jesus Christ as Lord before men, (usually confessed before the Church prior to baptism) believers are baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. "…I tell you the truth, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit" (John 3:5, 6). Having been born again by the water and Spirit, believers are forgiven all their sins and trespasses against God, and enjoy newness of life, complete access to God in prayer, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, and God makes them citizens of His Eternal Kingdom. |