MENTAL HEALTH News: How To Become A Christian

Sept. 22, 2012 - PRLog -- Prepared by Daniel Keeran, MSW, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture references are from the New International Version.

This guide is also available for free download at https://www.box.com/lovegod

Read Isaiah 53 (written 8th century before Christ)
Question: Who is this chapter speaking about?

Read Matthew 1: 21-23 ...he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Question: According to these verses, who is Jesus and what was he to save people from?
Do you believe it?

Read: John 1:1-3, 14 ...the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.... The Word became flesh and lived among us.
Question:  According to these verses, who was the Word?
Do you believe it?

Read John 20:28-29 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Question: According to these verses, who is Jesus?
Do you believe it?

Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 ...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....
Question: According to these verses, what must we believe that is of first importance?
Do you believe it?

Read John 1:29 “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Read 1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Question: According to these verses, what did Jesus do?
Do you believe it?

Read Matthew 28:18-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
Read Mark 16:15-16 Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Question: According to these verses, what did Jesus want everyone to do to be saved?
Do you believe it?

Read Luke 24:45-49 “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (ESV)
Question: According to these verses, where would forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name begin to be preached to all nations?
Do you believe it?

Read Acts 2:1-5 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.
Read Acts 2:14,36-41 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven (apostles), raised his voice and addressed the crowd.... “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Question: According to these verses, what two things were the people told to do to receive forgiveness of sins?
Do you believe it?

Read Romans 6:1-4,6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.... 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin...
Questions: According to these verses, how do we enter into Christ and his death, in order to live a new life? When is a person crucified with Christ, to give up sin?
Do you believe it?

Read Acts 8:32-39 32 This is the passage of Scripture (Isaiah 53) the eunuch was reading:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”

The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
Question: According to these verses, what does the eunuch want to do immediately after he was told the good news about Jesus? When does the eunuch rejoice? Why do you think he was so happy?
Do you believe it?

Read Acts 22:16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.
Question: According to this verse, why should one be baptized?
Do you believe it?

Reader: I wonder if you have thought about being baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and to start a new life following the teaching of Christ.

2 Timothy 1:10 ...it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

2 Peter 1:16 For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

1 Peter 1:3-6 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

Question: Do you want to be happy knowing your sins are forgiven and hopeful that you will go to heaven when you die? What will you do?

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