A presentation of the good news of salvation and new life. For people who are in the process of choosing to become believers and followers of Jesus.
Lesson 1—Lost Love
God created the universe and humans to display and experience his love and power. He wanted to have an intimate friendship with humans—his children—and he wanted them to have perfect community with each other.
But humans gave in to the prideful temptation of becoming like God. Our hearts became corrupted and disconnected from God. We lost the ability to love God, love others, love ourselves, and live truly good lives. We became infected with guilt, shame, and rebellion. In others words, we fell and became sinners. And now our hearts have a big hole where God should be. We try to fill it with other things, but we can’t find peace, truth, meaning, value, freedom, or love.
But God still desires to be close to us. He values us and wants to make us whole. II Peter 3:9 of the Bible says that God does not want anyone to be destroyed.
The gospel (which means “good news”) is God’s invitation to restore you. But you must first believe that you really are a sinner—that you do not love God and others as you should. All of us fall short of this standard. Romans 3:23 of the Bible says that everyone has sinned and falls short of God’s glory. Your sins separate you from God, and you need him to rescue you.
God will not force you to accept his gospel and be with him. If you reject him, then you will spend eternity away from him. This is hell, and you will be trapped in misery and unhappiness forever.
Prayer confessing that you are convicted that you are a sinner.
God, I realize you created me to love you and love others. I confess that I do not do this as I should. I have dishonored you by not letting you be Lord of my life. I have been selfish in my relationships with others, and I have hurt others. I know I have pride, anger, and unbelief. I try to satisfy myself with other pleasures instead of with you. I confess the other sins you have convicted me of: (Tell God all the sins you are aware of.) I know I am separated from you, and I need you to rescue me. Please lead me to salvation.
Lesson 2—The Story of God Saving His People
During the Roman occupation of the Jewish nation in the first century AD, a Jew from Nazareth named Jesus began teaching that the kingdom of God had finally come. He taught that we should love all people, even our enemies. We should forgive those who hurt us. We should help the needy and give to others. We should not focus on wealth or being popular with everyone.
Jesus was a living example of his own teaching. He loved all who came to him, even the people society rejected. He did great miracles and healed many people out of his love for them. He promised peace and joy to all who would follow him. He declared that he was the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6 of the Bible). He was the Messiah promised by the Jewish prophets centuries earlier.
But the Jewish leaders were jealous of Jesus’ popularity. So they had him crucified. He was nailed to a wooden cross and hung until he died. But he rose from the dead! He appeared to his followers then ascended into heaven.
Jesus died on the cross for your sins and bought your salvation for you. He took your place. I Corinthians 15:3 of the Bible states that Christ died for our sins. You don’t have to earn your way to salvation; Jesus offers it as a gift. And by his resurrection, he defeated death and offers you new life. This is the incredible good news. Now he invites you to become his follower by repenting of your old life, believing, and surrendering to him.
He not only invites the broken, the lost, the needy, the lonely, the abused, and the rejected, but he also invites all who desire God. He values you and wants to heal your shame and your pain. He offers the gift of forgiveness of sins and a new life with God. He offers peace, satisfaction, truth, meaning, joy, and abundant life deep inside. And he offers a community of love for all eternity.
Prayer of openness to the gospel.
God, I open my heart to you and ask you to plant the truth about your Son there. Help me to know that your Son died for my sins. Thank you for proving your love for me through the cross. I am open to becoming a follower of Jesus.
Lesson 3—Repentance: Turning from Your Old Life
Now you have the opportunity to respond to all God has done, especially Jesus’ life and death on the cross. He wants to give you so much, but he can’t unless you decide to follow his teachings and his example.
Before you decide to begin to follow Jesus, you need to take time to consider what he is asking of you. Perhaps you said a prayer for salvation in the past, but nothing changed in your life. Maybe the problem was that you did not take time to seriously consider repentance, belief, and surrender.
Repentance is the first step. It means turning away from your old life. Acts 17:30 of the Bible states that God is calling everyone to repent. Turning away from your old life is part of the cost of following Jesus. Consider this cost before you decide to follow him.
Repentance includes sorrow for your sins. II Corinthians 7:30 of the Bible says that sorrow for your sins leads to repentance which leads to salvation.
Repentance means turning away from all the ways in which you do not love God and love others. This includes turning away from pride, selfishness, dishonesty, materialism, indulging lusts, and unkindness. And it means letting go of being in charge of your own life. It does not mean you have to stop sinning; that is impossible. Instead, it means you turn away and come to Jesus just as you are and ask him to help you replace your sins with love.
Prayer of actual repentance.
God, I don’t want my old life, and I am turning away from it. I now choose against all my old ways. They include [list ones you are aware of], and I am no longer trusting in them. I am turning away from being boss of my own life. I am a sinner and am coming to you to make me clean. I am changing directions to follow your road to restoration of love and community with you and others.
Lesson 4—Belief and Accepting the Truth for Yourself
God is asking you to believe his message of salvation that Jesus is the Son of God who died for your sins, that he rose from the dead and conquered sin and death. John 3:16 of the Bible says that whoever believes in God’s Son will have eternal life. If you repent, believe in him, and surrender to him, then your sins are forgiven, and you will have new eternal life that begins immediately in his kingdom community.
He is asking you to believe and receive this message and salvation for yourself.
Maybe you have barriers to believing the gospel. Perhaps your family planted other beliefs in you. Perhaps you have beliefs that conflict with what Jesus taught. Please consider which beliefs will lead to a new eternal life with God. It would be helpful to read one of the stories of Jesus’ life (see the book of Luke or John in the Bible) and decide if his teachings are true.
Maybe you are afraid you won’t have any pleasure in life anymore. Actually, you will have different pleasures that will be better than your old ones. Galatians 5:22 of the Bible teaches that one of the fruits of God’s Spirit is joy! You will also have some hard times when you follow Jesus, but he will bring you through them.
Maybe you want to make sure in your head before you believe in Jesus. It is good to take time to consider what Jesus says before you decide. But you can’t make absolutely sure by logic that it is all true. There is evidence that it is true. But that only brings you to the edge of the chasm; you still have to take the step of faith. It’s normal to have some doubts when you take the step. Once you step, God will help your faith grow.
Prayer of belief in the gospel.
God, I am willing to take the step of faith. I believe that Jesus Christ was your divine Son who came to earth and lived a perfect life of love. I believe he died on the cross for my sins, and I receive the forgiveness of sins you are offering me. I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, thus conquering sin and death. I believe that you give an eternal life of love with you and your followers in your kingdom to those who repent, believe, and surrender.
And Lord, when I say “I believe,” I don’t just mean that I agree in my mind that these things are true. I mean that I believe in my heart and that I receive these truths and your Son into my spirit. And even though I may have some unbelief, I still believe, and I ask you to help me with my unbelief.
Lesson 5—Surrender by Letting Jesus Be Your Leader
The last stage in the process of salvation is surrender. This is not about cleaning up your life before you are saved; rather, it is deciding to start following Jesus and the way he lived life and letting him clean up your life. It means you are asking him to be your boss. Romans 10:9 teaches that if you believe and declare Jesus as Lord you will be saved.
Actually, he will be a much better leader of your life than you are. He is all-powerful and all-knowing, and he loves you more than you love yourself. He leads with kindness and a servant’s heart. He will listen to you and value what you think and feel. He created you and knows what is best for your life. In John 10:10 of the Bible Jesus said that he came that we might have life and might have it abundantly.
If he is moving in your heart, then don’t be afraid to follow him. Take the step.
Baptism is important because in baptism you are declaring that you are dying to your old life and surrendering to God so he can give you new life. It is a physical experience of a spiritual reality.
Remember that you will die eventually, perhaps sooner than later. Then it will be too late to come to Jesus. God will judge your life, and if you choose not to follow him on earth, you will spend eternity away from him. The things you cling to here will pass away when you die. Why cling to them when you can surrender to Jesus and have an eternal new life beginning now?
Prayer to surrender to Jesus and receive salvation.
Lord Jesus, I have taken the time to count the cost of following you, and I want to begin to follow. I give up being in charge of my own life. I give up my control of everything, including my hobbies, habits, entertainment, money, sexuality, image, status, career, and especially relationships. I surrender them all to you and accept you as leader over my whole life. Help me to continue to more fully surrender everything to you.
I now fully receive you as my Savior and Lord. Fill me with your Holy Spirit.
Now that I have received the gospel with repentance, belief, and surrender, I thank you for my salvation. Thank you for eternal life. Thank you for adopting me as your child, bringing me into your kingdom community, and uniting me with you and your followers. Thank you for baptism, in which I will experience this new reality.
(These lessons are based on the 5 Stages of Salvation, which comes from the book The Road to New Life. The kindle is available here on Amazon. You can view or download this book free from http://crupressgreen.com/the-road-to-new-life . (After you click on it put your cursor at the bottom right and hit the save button to download.) There are no copyright restrictions on these lessons or the electronic version of the book so spread them!