Follow Jesus

Believe

Following Jesus begins with belief. The central belief of the first followers of Jesus was in His resurrection. Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying." John 11:25 Believe that Jesus is who He said He was, and did what He said He came to do. That He is the son of God who came to live, die, and rise again to give us freedom from the power of sin and New Life in Him.

The amazing part is that God did not because we deserved it, and not because we are good or have proven ourselves worthy, but because He loves us. "But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." Romans 5:8 Believing that God has done this for us through Jesus is the starting point of faith -another word for belief.

Here's a summary of the good news of Jesus, also called the "gospel." Click here to download The Gospel resource

Receive

It is by God’s grace, and through our faith (belief) that we can be transformed and be raised to new life in Jesus. This is not through our effort (good behaviour or religion), but through Jesus life, death, and resurrection.  Our sinfulness separated us from God and living out His purpose for us, but receiving forgiveness for our sin  (salvation) brings us into a right relationship with God. The new life we live in Christ is in His power and through His leading, and He has a purpose and plan for our life.

"God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2:8–10

Grace can be defined as both God’s favour towards us when we don’t deserve it, and His ongoing power in us to be in relationship with Him. Grace isn’t just God’s full system for treating the problem of sin, it is the ongoing power of God to fully deal with it in our lives and His enabling for us to obey Him.

Follow

Belief in Jesus, receiving forgiveness and new life, and deciding to follow Him is how we become a Christian. It's the beginning point to a journey of becoming more and more like Jesus. This beginning point can happen over a period of time or in a moment where we decide to believe in Jesus, receive forgiveness for sin, and choose to live new life by following Him.

You can do that right now in your heart by talking to God and expressing your belief, confessing your sin, and choosing to follow Jesus. We follow Jesus by getting to know Him through reading our bible, learning to pray, and being a part of a church family who can help us grow. Reach out to one of the people you know who follows Jesus or one of our Pastors for more information, guidance, and prayer.

Here's a great resource you can use on your own or under the guidance of a friend.

Multiply Movement