|
|
Saddleback Valley
church of Christ
How do I become a member of Christ’s church?
Excellent question! Since our goal is to offer you every opportunity to accept Jesus as your savior, please follow closely to the scriptures below.
Hearing: In order to have faith, you must first hear the word of God. You are doing that now. How could you believe or have faith in Jesus without hearing about him. None of us inherently understands what God expects of him, so God has made certain that his word is available to all those who seek him.
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
Romans 10:17 NAS
Believe/Faith: This can be more difficult for some due to many different experiences in life or religious upbringings and/or the lack thereof. Many people may have hardened their heart to Christ because they see the hypocrisy in certain people's lives who claim to wear the name of Christian. Although it is unfortunate to see this behavior in a so-called "religious" community, it does not excuse any one of us from fulfilling our duty to Christ.
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek him.
Hebrews 11:6 NAS
Repent: Strange word, but what does it mean? To repent simply means we need to make a U-turn and go in the opposite direction. We must realize that we have been living in sin, and the result is a separation from God. We must be willing to let Christ guide our lives. This doesn’t mean we will change overnight into perfection. We have spent our entire lives learning bad habits, but we need to have a willingness to let the power of Christ change our lives and to commit do his will, and not our own.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 3:23 NAS
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23 NAS
And after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching he gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
Mark 1:14 & 15 NAS
Confess Jesus is Lord: We cannot be ashamed that Jesus is the Christ our Lord. He suffered and died so our sins might be forgiven. Christians proudly wear the name of Christ!
For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."
Mark 8:38 NAS
That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you shall be saved;
Romans 10:9 NAS
Be Baptized / Immersed in water: Jesus died and was buried for three days before he arose. We must also be buried with Christ and arise a new creature through baptism. When we look at the scriptures of each conversion in the early church, every instance they were baptized for the remission of their sins. Baptism is how a person is added into the church of Christ. Here are just a few of the many scriptures giving us this example:
Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" And Peter said to them, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
Acts 2:38 NAS
He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
Mark 16:16 NAS
Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:3 & 4 NAS
And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you – not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience – through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
I Peter 3:21 NAS
Back to the Saddleback Church of Christ Homepage