The Bible reveals that God is love and this loving God created everything there is.

As the crown of His creation, He made man in His own image.

God wanted man to exist in a dependent loving relationship with Him.

But, He also gave man freedom to choose – otherwise love would not truly be love.

The very first man, Adam, disobeyed God and chose to reject their relationship.

This meant that thereafter all men would be estranged and separated from God because of the taint of sin – both by inward nature and by specific rebellious acts.

Unfortunately, there must be a penalty for sin because God is not only loving, but also perfectly holy, righteous and just.

Because the sin was against the Infinite One, the penalty could not be less than ultimate: death.

The Bible says that the wages of sin is death and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.

But God had an amazing plan to restore that broken relationship with Himself:

He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to become a man.

Jesus lived a perfectly sinless life and was pleasing to the Father in every way.

After He taught His followers what it meant to live in a right relationship with God He willingly allowed Himself to become an atoning sacrifice for the sins of all mankind by dying on a cross.

Because He was fully man, He was able become our substitute and pay the penalty of God’s wrath.

Because He was also fully God, His sacrifice was infinitely valuable and more than sufficient to pay the full price of every sin ever committed.

God freely offers a gift of grace, or undeserved favor: Jesus’ death in place of ours.

This leaves us with a choice: By faith accept what Jesus did on the cross and have our relationship with God restored or reject Him and remain in our own sin with the resulting ultimate punishment to come.

You can receive God’s free gift of eternal life by trusting and believing that He is who He said He is and that He has the power to forgive your sins.

He rose from the grave on the third day to prove it.

All you need to do is pray from your heart something like this: God, I know that I have sinned – done things that You have said are wrong. I know that I have not been in a right relationship with You. I want that to change. I want to be able to return Your love. I want You in my life. I want Jesus’ death on the cross to count for me. I believe that He died for my sins. I turn from my rebellion and my own self-righteousness and turn by faith to Jesus to be my Savior and Lord. I want to live life Your way from now on.

If you prayed that prayer from your heart, the Bible says that You are born again.

Your relationship with God has now been repaired and restored and You are His child.

God Himself, in the person of the Holy Spirit has come to live in you and give you the guidance and power to live a life pleasing to Him.

You are a Christian!

If you’re still not sure and would like to learn more about Jesus click here or here.

We encourage you to dig into the Bible. It’s God’s love letter to you.

A modern translation like the New International Version or the English Standard Version is often helpful for people who are getting acquainted with the Bible for the first time.

Begin in the book of John looking for all the times the word "believe" is mentioned.

Don’t worry about things you don’t understand yet – just hold on to what you do get – there’s more than a lifetime of learning and growing for everyone.

Pray and ask God to reveal Himself to you as you read.

You also need the fellowship and support of other Christians.

We encourage you to find a home church where you will be encouraged and assisted in your walk with Jesus. We’d love to have you at Central but wherever you go, be sure they firmly believe in the Bible as the inerrant Word of God.