The Gospel Next Steps

So, Jesus is the answer to the Problem, but it is the Holy Spirit that is given as Proof of what God has done in your life. If you are saved it is because you have been given the Holy Spirit, if you are not, it is because you don’t have the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the Proof. Keep that in mind. (See Scriptural Support at Bottom of Page: Ephesians 1:13-14)

So, 

• If you realize that you have sinned against God and you see your sin as evil and a terrible act against the Lord (Sin is defined in the section below this one)
• And you know that you can’t pay the price for any sin against such Holiness as God
• If you acknowledge that Jesus is indeed the payment 
• And you are willing to submit under His authority and become His for all eternity then all you have to do is say it.

I call it a prayer of Thanksgiving. (This prayer is not a work towards salvation and it does not save you.  However, acknowledging before God that you believe that you have sinned against Him, that you can't pay the price of that sin, that only God can and has paid the price in Jesus and that you want to thank Him and submit to Him as Lord is the best first step in acknowledging the saving work of God in your life.) 

It goes something like this as obviously there is not an exact wording: 

Father in heaven I believe that I have sinned against You, Holy God, and am worthy of eternal punishment that I cannot pay. I also believe that Jesus is the real payment and that for Your glory and my good You sent Your son, Jesus, to be born, to live, to die, and to rise again that I might be free from my sins and worship and glorify You forever. I confess that Jesus is Lord and gladly acknowledge the receipt of the Holy Spirit as my seal and proof of my salvation in Jesus. I submit to You, the God of Heaven and earth and call Jesus my Lord, my King, and my God, forever. Thank You, God the Father, Thank You God the Son, and Thank You God the Holy Spirit, in Jesus name I pray this. Amen. 

If you believe that God has saved you and you have acknowledged this in a prayer of Thanksgiving, or something similar, then I invite you to walk the most amazing journey anyone can walk.  Click Here for more information on the greatest Journey.  

Sin is defined as, an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law.  In the book of Exodus God gives us a way to measure whether we have sinned against God.   That measurement was called the law and in Exodus 20:1-17 God gives us the Ten Commandments.  They are basically a summary of the Spirit of the Law.  The why of the law.  The Law which is a reflection of God's holiness and nature tells us how to live so that we will not sin against God or our fellow man and woman.  Now some of the law given in Old Testament books like Exodus did not carry over into the New Testament and we are not required to keep those.  For example the dietary laws (What could and could not be eaten), the civil law (how they dealt with disputes among each other), or the ceremonial law (primarily for the priests)  However, the moral law which reflects the character of God is still in full force and the ten commandments are the foundation of the moral law.  (See Exodus 20:1-17 at the bottom of this page in the Scriptural Support section)  

Ephesians 2:1-5, And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— (ESV)

Romans 5:8, but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (ESV) 

Revelation 21:3-4, And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." (ESV) 

 Romans 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ESV) 

Ephesians 2:8-9, For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (ESV) 

Ephesians 1:13-14, In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (ESV) 

Exodus 2:1-17, And God spoke all these words, saying, 

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 

3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 

4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. 

7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. 

8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 

12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. 

13 “You shall not murder. 

14 “You shall not commit adultery. 

15 “You shall not steal. 

16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 

17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” (ESV)