The Path to God

If you have come to this website and you have any doubt that you are in a personal relationship with God, or you doubt that you will spend eternity in heaven with him when you die, please read this page carefully. Click here to print out a copy for yourself or multiple copies so you can talk through the document with others.

Imagine you are standing before God, the Creator of all people and things, who reveals himself to us in the Bible. Then consider these questions:

On a scale of 0 to 100%, if you died today, how certain are you that you would spend eternity with God in heaven?
If God were to ask you, “Why should I allow you to spend eternity with me?” what would you say?*
How do you enter a personal relationship with God? Or, put differently, how does someone become a Christian?

Pause to answer these questions. Also consider asking these questions of others.

How can we categorize different answers to the questions from the previous page? See the chart below and “Additional Information” at the bottom of this page.

If you lack assurance that you are in a right relationship with God and will live with him forever, this lesson will clarify how you can begin a relationship with him. If you have assurance of your salvation, this lesson will clarify the proper reasons for assurance of salvation and how you can share these truths with others. Either way, God calls us to understand and embrace the following truths:

1. God is the Creator, Lord, and Provider.

“The God who made the world and everything in it—he is Lord of heaven and earth—does not live in shrines made by hands. Neither is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives everyone life and breath and all things.” (Acts 17:24–25)

As Creator, God made all people and things, and therefore he alone is worthy of our highest love, worship, and commitment (Acts 14:15; 17:24; Rev. 4:11). As Lord, he rules over his creation and commands us to obey his laws, which he reveals to us in the Bible (Ps. 103:19; Acts 17:24; 2 Tim. 3:16–17). And as Provider, he showers us with good things, such as life, food, family, friends, and countless other gifts (Acts 14:17; 17:25; James 1:17). God is perfect in his very being and in all his ways, and we are not (Deut. 32:4; Ps. 11:7; Rev. 4:8).

2. We sin against God. Therefore, we deserve his eternal judgment.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23)
“For the wages of sin is death.” (Rom. 6:23)

All of us have sinned against God and fall short of his glory: we fail to meet God’s standard of perfection (Rom. 3:23). Put simply, sin is disobeying God’s commandments in our thoughts, words, and actions (Rom. 3:9–20; 1 John 3:4). Sin is also an act of rebellion against God and his authority (Isa. 1:2; Jer. 3:13). But the heart or essence of sin is that we value other people and things more than God himself, which is idolatry (Rom. 1:25; Col. 3:5).

Whether we commit sins such as vanity, greed, or lying, every sin we commit makes us worthy of God’s eternal judgment (Rom. 1:18; Gal. 5:19–21; Col. 3:5–6). A wage is what we earn for work that we perform. In light of our sinful thoughts, words, and actions, the wages we earn from God is death—which includes condemnation both in this life and the next (John 3:18; Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:1). Put differently, because God is holy and just, he will give us exactly what we deserve (his judgment), unless we seek and receive his forgiveness (Rom. 2:5; Heb. 9:27).

3. God sent Jesus into the world to die as an atoning sacrifice for sins, and God raised Jesus from the dead.

“If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the Righteous One. He himself is the atoning sacrifice [the one who took the penalty] for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1–2)
“For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: 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.” (1 Cor. 15:3–4)

Either we will stand alone before God to give an account for our sins, bearing the penalty ourselves (Matt. 10:33; John 3:36). Or we will stand before God with Jesus as our advocate, the one who represents us before God (1 John 2:1). Jesus died on a cross as an atoning sacrifice for sins, bearing the penalty that we deserve, and satisfying God’s justice and wrath (Rom. 3:25–26; 1 John 2:2). After three days, God raised Jesus from the dead to declare him innocent and victorious over death, exalting him to his right hand as Lord, Christ, and Savior (Acts 2:24, 36; 5:31; 1 Cor. 15:3–4).

In answer to question #2 at the top of the page, Jesus and his saving work (his perfect life, sin-atoning death, and victorious resurrection) is the only bridge to God the Father, not our good works.

4. We must turn from our sins (repent) and trust in Jesus to enter a personal, reconciled relationship with God.

“Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out.” (Acts 3:19)
“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph. 2:8–9)

God offers forgiveness freely to all, but this free gift must be received in order to be applied to our lives (John 1:12; Rom. 6:23). How do we enter a relationship with God and receive the gift of eternal life?

First, we turn from our sins (repent), including sins like valuing people and things more than God (Acts 3:19; Rom. 1:25; 1 Thess. 1:9). While we should feel sad because of our sins against God, feeling remorse or a sense of regret is not enough. We must proactively turn from our sins to inherit God’s salvation (2 Cor. 7:9–10)—expressing to God that we do not want to continue in our sinful ways. We turn from valuing anyone or anything more than God (which is idolatry), whether we overvalue our family members and friends, entertainment, money, possessions, or our career. Unfortunately, some of God’s greatest gifts often become our greatest idols. And we turn from sins such as self-centeredness, pride, sexual immorality (e.g., pornography and sex outside of marriage), drunkenness, vanity, greed, and lying. Our decision to turn from our sins communicates to God that he alone is worthy of our highest love, worship, and devotion.

Second, we trust in Jesus as opposed to trusting in ourselves (John 3:16; Rom. 3:22, 26; Gal. 2:16). Simply acknowledging (or agreeing) in your head that Jesus died and rose from the dead is not enough, for even demons believe those truths. We must trust in Jesus as a person and what he accomplished at the cross. At the same time, we stop trusting in our own good works for salvation, which we can never earn. We are saved by grace (God’s unmerited favor) through faith (Eph. 2:8–9).

Turning from our sins and trusting in Jesus (taken together) are not good works that earn our salvation before God. Instead, they are the way we receive God’s grace (Acts 20:21).

In answer to question #3 at the top of the page, repentance and trust in Jesus is how we cross the bridge to God the Father—a bridge created by Jesus alone.

Responding to This Summary of the Christian Faith

Now that you have read and reflected on this summary of the core teachings of the Christian faith, which one of the following categories describes you?

You are a Christian, for you have already turned from your sins and trusted in Jesus. If so, hopefully this summary strengthened your faith in Jesus, clarified how you can faithfully share these truths with others, and gave you additional reasons to rejoice in your salvation (Hab. 3:18; Philem. 6; 1 John 5:13).
You are not a Christian, and you are not ready to turn from your sins and trust in Jesus. If so, know that the offer of eternal life with God still stands, but no one is guaranteed life tomorrow (1 Tim. 2:3–4; James 4:13–16; 2 Pet. 3:9).
You are not a Christian, but you are ready to turn from your sins and trust in Jesus—so you can enter a right relationship with God and live with him forever. If so, today is the day of your salvation (Rom. 10:9; 2 Cor. 6:2)! Consider praying a prayer like this:

“Dear God, I confess you as my Creator, Lord, and Provider. I have sinned against you in my thoughts, words, and deeds. I therefore deserve nothing but judgment from you. Jesus and his life, death, and resurrection is my only hope for entering a relationship with you. I accept the gift of eternal life by turning away from my sins and trusting in Jesus. Please forgive me of my sins and give me the gift of your Holy Spirit to lead me forever. Jesus is the Lord of my life from now on. I pray this in Jesus’s name. Amen.”

What is true of all Christians?

1. We have received the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide and empower us.

“Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)
“I say, then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh [our sinful nature].” (Gal. 5:16)

At the moment we turn from our sins and trust in Jesus, God gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide and empower us (Acts 2:38; Rom. 8:14–17). God also forgives us for our sins, adopts us into his family, and sets us apart for himself and his purposes (John 1:12; 1 Cor. 6:11; Eph. 1:7). Each of these blessings come to us instantaneously. But growing into the likeness of Jesus takes a lifetime, so the Spirit will help us struggle against sin until we are with Jesus, at which time he will purify us completely (Gal. 5:16; 1 John 3:2–3). Until then, we quickly confess our sins when we sin and turn back to God in faith (1 John 1:9; 2:1–2).

2. With the strength God provides, we seek to obey him in every area of our lives, including getting baptized and actively participating in a local church.

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything
I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:19–20)
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day [of the Lord’s return] approaching.” (Heb. 10:24–25)

Baptism is an act of obedience that testifies to our new faith in Christ. We are immersed in water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38, 41). All Christians have been “baptized” (or immersed) into Christ’s death and raised from the dead with Christ (Rom. 6:3–4; Eph. 2:4–7). So baptism in water (going down into the water and coming up from the water) is a natural symbol for these deeper realities.

Have you been baptized after you became a Christian? Many people were “baptized” in water
prior to becoming Christians—often at birth or as a young teenager. In other words, they had not truly turned from their sins and trusted in Jesus before they got baptized. Therefore, this was not baptism as outlined in the Bible. God calls us to be baptized after we turn from our sins and trust in Jesus. If you were “baptized” before becoming a Christian through repentance and saving faith in Jesus, consider getting baptized in water—for the first time.

Throughout our lives, God empowers us to grow in our faith, including learning to obey all that Jesus commanded (Matt. 28:19). As part of that obedience, we adopt and pursue Jesus’s mission to “make disciples [followers of Jesus] of all nations” as our own mission in life. In order to grow in our faith, we read our Bibles and pray privately, but we also actively participate in a community of believers (a church). We grow together as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, study the Bible, pray to God, minister to others, and sing to God (Acts 2:42–47; 1 Cor. 11:17–34; Col. 3:16; Titus 2; Heb. 10:24–25; 1 Pet. 4:10–11).

For Reflection and Discussion

1. Prior to reading this summary of how to begin a relationship with God, how did you answer the questions at the top of the page?

2. Now that you have read the summary, would you answer the three questions in the same way or differently? Explain.

3. Do you think Jesus is the only way to God the Father? Why or why not?

4. What does it mean to turn from our sins (as an act of both the mind and the will)? What does it mean to trust in Jesus? Viewed together, have you come to God in this way? If not, what obstacles stand in the way?

5. What is Christian baptism? Were you baptized after you both (1) turned from your sins and (2) trusted in Jesus (as opposed to trusting in your good works) for salvation? Explain.

6. If you are a Christian, what is your plan for growing in your faith (both privately and with other Christians)?

Additional Information: Clarifying Your Own (and Others’) Responses to the Three Diagnostic Questions

At the beginning of this lesson, you were asked these three questions:

1. On a scale of 0 to 100%, if you died today, how certain are you that you would spend eternity with God in heaven?

2. If God were to ask you, “Why should I allow you to spend eternity with me?” what would you say?

3. How do you enter a personal relationship with God? Or, put differently, how does someone become a Christian?

From God’s perspective, as revealed in the Bible, you should be concerned if you answered the three questions in one or more of the following ways:

Your answer to question #1 fell between 0 and 99%, particularly if you are merely thinking about your own moral shortcomings and/or your perceived moral goodness before God. The Bible is clear: We have all sinned against God (in our thoughts, words, and actions) and are falling short of his will for our lives (Rom. 1:25; 3:23). We cannot earn salvation based on our good works (Eph. 2:8–9; Titus 3:5). It is therefore troubling when people say they are “70% sure” or “85% sure” they will spend eternity with God based on their behavior. In their words, they “still have room for improvement” in their behavior before they can earn (or merit) eternal salvation—which no sinful person can do. It is also troubling when people say they are “100% sure” but their answers to question #2 reveal that their ultimate confidence before God is in their good works, not in Jesus Christ. For all who trust in their good works to obtain salvation, they should have no such confidence (Rom. 3:20; Gal. 3:10).
Your answer to question #2 outlined your spiritual résumé (your list of moral qualifications) that you would present to God, such as your church attendance, Bible reading, or care for the poor. This also reveals a works-based view of salvation—a view that ignores (or attempts to add to) Jesus Christ and his saving work. Only Jesus and his death and resurrection serve as the basis by which anyone can be reconciled to God and live with him forever (Rom. 3:21–26; 1 Cor. 15:1–4; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 John 2:1–2).
Your answer to question #3 failed to include both (1) turning from your sins (repentance) and (2) trust in Jesus (as opposed to trusting in yourself to gain access to God). Repentance and trust in Jesus Christ—taken together—is the means by which we enter a relationship with God (Mark 1:15; Acts 20:21; Gal. 2:16). It is the way we accept the gift of eternal life, the way we become Christians. Then, by God’s grace, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, who helps us to grow into the likeness of Jesus (Acts 2:38; Rom. 8:29; Gal. 5:16–26).

* Questions one and two at the top of this page are adapted from D. James Kennedy’s diagnostic questions found in his book and training program called Evangelism Explosion.