God did something--something extraordinary and wonderful. He sent us Jesus.

Man has chosen his own way—eternal separation from God—and daily suffers the evil “fallout" from his choice. Powerless to help ourselves, God came Himself to give us a way of escape. He came as Jesus Christ that we may have life and have it to the FULL (John 10:10). He came preaching and demonstrating the Kingdom of heaven, in contrast to the kingdom of this fallen world. He went about healing every sickness and disease. He performed miracles. He brought the dead back to life. He taught the highest values and standards. He was full of grace and truth, full of love and wisdom. He lived a perfect life. Jesus was and is the Son of God. He said, "I and My Father are One" (John 10:30).

Through the miracles that he performed, Jesus demonstrated His power and authority over nature, pain, sickness, disease, and death. He triumphed over all the evil in the world! And through faith in Him, so can you! Through faith in Him, a person may become spiritually reborn and experience “Kingdom living,” even in this life (John 3:3), and thereafter eternal life in Heaven. God has given you a way of escape. Take it!

The Bible teaches that man is a spirit being that inhabits a physical body. After physical death, he still lives on, but in the unseen spirit realm. The issue is: will he spend eternity with God (in heaven) or will he be without God (in hell)?

The Bible also teaches that man has a sinful nature and cannot therefore have eternal fellowship with God, who is absolutely pure and holy, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Therefore, man needs saving (salvation) for heaven to be his eternal home. Nothing in the Bible indicates hell to be the destination of popular choice; it’s a place of torment, punishment, and outer darkness.

No mantra, no amount of introspection or meditation, can reveal God inside a man, for God does not live in us until we are “saved,” i.e., made brand new spiritually by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5-7). (For that to occur, terms and conditions apply: see “What must I do to be saved?”) The Bible does not support serial reincarnation until spiritual perfection may be achieved because, as already explained, man can never attain spiritual perfection or salvation by his own best efforts. He will always fall short of God’s glory because he always sins. The least unkind thought is a sin, and anything contrary to God’s will is a sin.

Man’s sense of what is good and holy, and of what is and is not sin, has been dulled by his fallen nature, even to the point that he often does not recognize his own fallen state. “I’ve lived a good life. I’ve never hurt anyone. I’m kind to animals. I give to charity.” These are things people often say, but how does the way they live their lives measure up to God’s standards of purity and holiness? The Bible declares our good deeds are but filthy rags:

"We are not godly. We are constant sinners, so your anger is heavy on us. How can people like us be saved? We are all infected and impure with sin. When we proudly display our righteous deeds, we find they are but filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:5-6).

As we have seen in the answer to the previous question, man cannot earn his salvation (be saved) by good works; he always falls short of the glory of God because it is in his nature to sin. God is love, but He is also justice. Therefore, He must, in righteousness, judge our sins, but He Himself has paid the penalty for our sins by placing it on His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus, though innocent, died on a cross to pay the supreme price for the sins of the whole world. This was His life’s mission and purpose, and He knew it. Read about it in the Bible (John 12:27).

Do you know of any human judge who has pronounced a death sentence on an accused and then the judge’s own son has taken the punishment and died in his place, the accused going free? This is what God has already done for you because of His great love for you!

To be saved, you simply choose to believe this. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16) Salvation is a gift of God’s grace (a favor we cannot earn or deserve) that is received through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. 

Not only do you go free and receive eternal life, as if that were not enough, but you receive a new start and benefits galore, for: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1Corinthians 2:9).

These are the steps, so why wait? Please take them now and mean them in your heart:

1. Speak to God as you would a trusted friend. Confess your sins (wrongdoings) to God—those you can remember and those you’ve forgotten!

2. Thank Him for sending Jesus to pay the price for your sins. Tell Him you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose from the dead for your salvation.

3. Tell Him you choose to forgive all those who have ever hurt or offended you, and ask Him to help you really mean it.

4. Ask God to forgive you for all resentments and bitterness, or ‘unforgiveness, that you may have towards anyone or anything.

5. Tell God that you will turn your life over to Jesus to obey and follow Him. Ask Jesus to come into your heart as your Savior and Lord. Thank Him for doing so. And ask Him to show you how to live your new life in ways that please Him.

6. Now you must tell someone you have become a Christian.

For it is with your heart that you believe, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:10)

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We pray that God will lead you to the right person and that you will be led to a good church. Get yourself a Bible and begin reading it regularly. Start with the New Testament and John’s Gospel.

If you have taken these steps, please let us know so that we can support and encourage you! (See also the next question: How may I receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?)

The simple answer is to remind God of His promise and ask! And then exercise your faith to believe you will receive! God wants you to have it.

“If you, then, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (Luke 11:13)

It’s always wise to first confess your sins and ask God’s forgiveness. Forgive anyone who has hurt or offended you. Ask God to forgive you for all unforgiveness, resentment, and bitterness towards anyone or anything. If you have had any involvement in the occult, you should not seek this baptism without counsel and supervision from Christian leadership.

Then, simply ask and believe that God has done for you just as He promises in Luke 11:13. Say, “Thank You, Father!” even before you feel anything happening. Ask in faith, believing!

You can ask for this baptism immediately after receiving salvation. The sooner you receive this baptism, the better.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit supplies the power to live the Christian life in all its fullness. The gifts of the Spirit come on stream. The Bible comes alive with new understanding. You receive a personal, private prayer language that the Holy Spirit prays through you. Praying in this language is powerful, and it empowers and emboldens you. It is an important tool in spiritual warfare.

After asking, believing you have received, and giving thanks, try out your new heavenly language, even if you’ve sensed nothing happening. I believe you have it.

It’s not your native language. It’s not saying hallelujahs over and over again. It’s a language you've never spoken before. It’s simple faith that as you supply sounds, inarticulate words, or silly syllables, like baby talk, to your vocal chords, God will take over and turn them into a coherent language that you’ve never heard before. He does! Try it in faith, believing.

Bypass your intellect; don’t think, just do it! Count 1, 2, 3, and go for it! And don’t stumble in unbelief; speak those silly syllables and those incoherent sounds fast and furious, and keep on going. Refuse to doubt. Press on. Persistence pays dividends.

It’s the Holy Spirit that prays, and He is in your spirit, not in your mind. God will not use your intellect to speak this new language through you. Don’t think about it! Just do it! If you don’t utter some sounds from your mouth, nothing will happen. It’s up to you. God doesn’t take you over. It’s entirely within your own control whether you choose to speak or not.

If you notice you are saying a few of the same words over and over again, this is OK; your vocabulary in your new language will grow as you practice it in the days ahead.

You can also sing in your new language. Try doing that too.

Try going back and forth between your new language and your native language; you should find that this really enhances your prayer life.

If nothing happens, do try again, perhaps after spending quality time in prayer, fasting, and worship; but if still nothing happens, don’t feel bad! You’re not a second-class Christian; there’s no such thing! God loves you! This is a far bigger subject than we can fully cover in just this answer, and if you are one who is disappointed, we would recommend you seek wise counsel from those in Christian leadership who have this baptism.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in tongues, is essential to the Christian’s walk and prayer life in order for him or her to walk in the fullness and empowerment that God intends. It is a separate and distinct experience from the experience of being born again, although the two can be ministered to and received together.

A person is born again by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit the instant they are saved. Being born again is a salvation experience. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is an empowering experience.

The Gospel is simply the Good News that Jesus Christ has borne our punishment for sin, and by accepting and following Him, we can start brand new and exciting lives and later spend eternity with Him in heaven.

The Good News is that God loves us and sent His Son as the atonement for our sins, guaranteeing us eternal life if we choose to believe it.

In John 11:26, Jesus asks, “Whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” The world responds with: “Prove it; then I’ll believe.” God answers: “Believe it [i.e., exercise faith], then I’ll show you.”

Religion says that man is still trying to reach up to God through works. Salvation is knowing that God has already reached down to man through Jesus Christ. That’s the good news!

The Good News is also that this salvation is complete, i.e., it includes our total physical, spiritual, and emotional wellbeing.

Therefore, by believing, we can be healed from sickness and have our needs met in Jesus’ name today, in this life. Just read the Gospels and see the things Jesus did during his ministry. Then, in Acts, read about the things the disciples did following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Disciples of Jesus still do such things today.