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"What It Means To Be A Christian"
The God of the Bible is the supreme, sovereign Lord and the source of ALL your good. The greatest commandment is to love God with ALL our heart for your own good. However, you have not lived that way.
Therefore, you are a sinner in rebellion against God and His kingdom. You are guilty of the highest treason, under the wrath of God, condemned to the greatest punishment, deserving of hell.
But God in His mercy sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to save sinners like you. The historical Jesus lived a sinless life but died on a cross in your place for your sins. The bodily resurrection and glorious ascension of Jesus Christ proved His divine identity. This not only secured your pardon, but also the possibility of a new life.
Christ offers His new life in exchange of your old life. The life of God will come to live in your soul, change your nature, make you a child of God, and conform you to Christlikeness. God works in you to give you the desire and the power to obey God. You must come to Christ, repent of your sins, and follow Him as your Lord and Savior. You will know you have become God’s child by the God-caused change away from sinful self–centeredness to obedient God-centeredness.
“And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. And the one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him.” (1 John 3:23-34)
You personally display your new life in Christ by loving others more than yourself. Then you should publicly declare your new life in Christ by baptism and fellowship in a God-centered church.
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