Who is this man Jesus? Two thousand years ago a man named Jesus was born in the small town of Bethlehem. He was from a small town in a small country, born of a poor family of a minority race that was under the oppression of the Roman Empire. He never attained or even sought political power, never accumulated any real amount of wealth, has no writing credits to his name nor even traveled more than 50 miles from his place of birth in the 33 years he walked on this earth. He lived a blameless life and yet was tortured and executed with common criminals, not because of anything he had done but simply because of who he claimed he was. What sets Jesus apart from any other religious leader, is that He claimed to be the Son of God. Many people from different religions do not dispute the fact that Jesus was a great man, a holy man who lived a sinless life. Many believe he was a prophet, yet they do not believe that he was the Son of God. One cannot call Jesus a holy and blameless man and yet deny his claims of deity. Either you believe he was both a holy man and the Son of God, or you believe he was a liar and therefore could not have been a holy man. Jesus added credibility to his claims through the miracles he performed in the midst of many witnesses, including those who sought desperately to catch him in a lie or a hoax. "The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me," He said (John 10:25 NIV). Jesus' greatest miracle, however, is that He rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples and was seen by many other witnesses over a period of 40 days (Acts 1:3).  Why do I need salvation? Sin seperates man from God. God is holy and in Him there is no sin and no sin can be in His presence. The Bible says that all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and that if we claim to be without sin, we are liars (1 John 1:8). We are all in need of salvation. Good works cannot get us to Heaven because "all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags" (Isaiah 46:6).  Ephesians 2:8-9 says "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast." None of us are without sin, so none of us can save ourselves or anyone else. Why do I need Jesus? Jesus said "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6). Before Jesus, sin could only be atoned for by sacrifice. Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice, shedding his blood so that you might be saved: "God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood..." (Romans 3:25 NIV) "But now he (Jesus) has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself..." (Hebrews 9:26 NIV) "...we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Hebrews 10:10 NIV) "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:2 NIV) "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." (1 John 4:10) Finally, Acts 4:12 says simply: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." What must I do to be saved? First of all, you must admit that you are sinful and need forgiveness. If you don't believe you need salvation, why would you seek it? Second, be willing to turn from your sinful ways and dedicate your life to holiness and following God. Repentance comes from the heart. Are you truly sorry for your sins? Do you truly want to change or are you trying to appease your guilt? Third, you must believe that Jesus was and is the Son of God, that He is who He claimed to be, that He became the atoning sacrifice for your sins through His death, and finally that God raised Him from the dead. Romans 10:9 says "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." Third, confess to Jesus that you are a sinner and need His forgiveness in order to be saved. 1 John 1:9 says that "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Fourth, through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to come into your heart and make you a new creation in Him. Receive Him as Lord and Savior of your life. Romans 10:13 says "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." If you do not know how or what to pray, pray this simple prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and I need your forgiveness. I believe that you are the Son of God and you alone can save me. I believe you died for my sins and that you rose again from the dead. I want to turn away from my sins and I ask you to forgive me from all of my sins and to come into my life and make me a new creation in you. I want to trust and follow you as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name. Amen. Now What? If you prayed the above prayer sincerely from your heart, you are saved! The Bible says in Romans 10:10 that "For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." 1 John 1:9 says "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." Psalm 103:12 reminds us that "as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." Now that you've been saved, it is very important that you continue in your walk with God through regular prayer and studying of the Bible. It is also important that you surround yourself with fellow Christians who can answer questions you have and encourage you. If you currently do not have a church home, we invite you to visit ours! If you have more questions about salvation, there is a great deal of information at http://jesussaves.cc and Praise Chapel is available to answer any questions you might have. Am I really saved? The Bible assures us that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13). It is not uncommon for new Christians, or even mature Christians for that matter, to feel guilty or unworthy even after we've confessed and been forgiven. Being saved does not mean we are instantly made perfect. Rather, we all struggle with temptation and often must repent. What sets us apart from non-Christians is that we repent and then we pick ourselves up again and keep pressing on. The Apostle Paul wrote: "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14) Paul's statement is true of all of us. The only man who ever lived without sin was Jesus Himself, and it is He who now sits at the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf (Romans 8:34).