Teen Talk II, Lesson 4

This personal relationship with the God who created the universe can meet every need in your life. Jesus said,

"...I am come that they might have life,
and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10

Five Wonderful Steps

We can think of our life as a long journey. We have been going away from God, but when we repent, we turn to God. We can think of salvation in terms of taking five steps. Let us see what these steps are.

These five steps show us what it means to take Christ as our Savior. Start at the bottom and read each step.

Now let us talk about each step and what it means. We will have a Bible verse for each step.

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23

What does this verse tell us? It tells us that we have all sinned. This means that we have all said wrong things and done wrong things.

Are you truly sorry for your sins? Are you sorry enough for them that you want to stop doing them?

Because we are sinners we need a Savior, and God has given His Son to us to be our Savior. The Bible says,

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish (be lost), but have everlasting life." John 3:16

Read this verse again carefully. Whom does God mean when He says "the world"? He means all the people in the world. That includes you!

Read the verse now with your name in it. There, that is good news, isn't it? This verse tells you that God loves YOU and that He has given a wonderful gift to YOU.

What is God's gift to you? God's gift to you is His Son! God loves you and He has given the Lord Jesus to you to be your Savior.

"God commended (God showed) His love toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

This verse tells us that God loved us even though we were sinners and that He gave His Son to die on the cross for our sins.

The Bible says that God laid all of our sins on His Son on the cross. Jesus had no sins of His own, but He bore our sins. When Jesus died, He cried out, "It is finished! " He had finished the work He came to do. He had paid the penalty of our sins.

Because Jesus died for our sins, God can now forgive us of all our sins when we take Jesus as our Savior. God does not overlook our sins, but He forgives them because He sees the blood of His Son which was shed for them.

Not only did Jesus die for our sins, but He rose again to be our living Savior and Lord. He ascended back into Heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father. God has given the Lord Jesus all power in heaven and in earth. He has the power to forgive your sins and make you a child of God.

Our next verse tells us how to become a child of God. The Bible says,

"As many as received Him (as many as took the Lord Jesus as their Savior),
to them gave He power to become the sons of God...." John 1:12

You become a child of God by taking the Lord Jesus as your Savior.

Salvation is not merely a matter of believing certain facts about Jesus Christ; it is coming into a living relationship with Him by receiving Him. A great woman of God used to say, "To become a child of God, there is something to believe and Someone to receive. " That Someone to receive is the Lord Jesus Christ.

God has given the Lord Jesus to you to be your Savior, but you must take Him. When you take Him as your Savior, you become a child of God.

"How do I take the Lord Jesus as my Savior?"

You take Him as your Savior by inviting Him to come into your heart. Your heart is like a house with a door. The Lord Jesus said,

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man (anyone) hears My voice.and opens the door. I WILL COME IN...." Revelation 3:20

"He that has the Son has life (everlasting life)...." I John 5:12

This verse tells you that if you have the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you have everlasting life. Say the verse to yourself - "He that has the Son has life (everlasting life)."

Now that we have explained the five steps, are you ready to take the Lord Jesus as your Savior? You can do this right now.

Since this is just between you and the Lord, it will be best if you can find a quiet place where you can be alone for a few minutes. So right now, before you read the next part, find a quiet place where you can be alone with the Lord.

Now you are ready to talk to the Lord Jesus. Think carefully about each step and say the words softly.

What did Jesus say that He would do if you asked Him to come into your heart? He said, "I WILL COME IN." Does He keep His word? Yes, He certainly does. If you asked Him to come into your heart, and you really meant it, He came in. Now you belong to Him, and He belongs to you - forever!

"Thank You, Lord Jesus, for coming into my heart and for being my Savior. Thank You for making me a child of God."

When you believe that Jesus died for your sins and you take Him as your Savior, you have everlasting life. You are saved. Your sins are forgiven. You are a child of God. It is just as simple as that.

How do you know that you have everlasting life? You know because God says so in His Word. The Bible says, "He that has the Son has life (everlasting life)..." I John 5:12

When we believe God's Word and rest on the finished work of Christ, we have peace in our heart. We know that God has forgiven our sins! The Bible says,

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 5:1

We were not saved by depending on anything that we have done, but by depending on what Christ did for us. We did not save ourselves. We simply came to Jesus and laid on Him the burden of our sins. We have nothing to boast of. The Bible says, "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8, 9

Being a child of God is the most wonderful thing in all the world, but let me tell you a secret. It will not always be easy while we are here on earth.

We will have many troubles as we travel to our home in Heaven. But we do not have to be afraid.

Why? Because the Lord Jesus is living in our hearts. He has promised,

"I will never leave you." Hebrews 13:5

We have said that one of the deepest needs of every person is the need to be loved and accepted. Most of us go to great lengths to be liked and accepted by other people. We try to be on our best behavior. We try to impress others with our good points. We try to hide our weaknesses and failures. We are afraid that if other people find out what we are really like they will reject us.

God knows our need for love and acceptance and He has made a way for us to be totally loved and accepted by Him. The moment we take Christ as our Savior, God puts us IN CHRIST. The Bible says, "Of Him are you in Christ Jesus."

Because we are IN CHRIST, we are loved and accepted by God. When God looks at us, He sees us IN CHRIST. We are fully and forever loved and accepted because we are in Him.

Even after we are saved, we sometimes find it hard to believe that God really loves us. Our enemy, Satan, likes to confuse us and make us doubt God's love. He especially likes to torment us when we fail God in some way.

The truth is that God knew all about us when He saved us. He has seen us at our very worst, and yet He loved us enough to give His Son for us.

If God loved me, sought me out, and brought me to Himself when I was rebellious and at enmity with Him, surely He will not stop loving me now that I belong to Him.

There will be times when we may feel that no one loves us, not even God. But feelings are not facts. We walk by faith in God's Word and not by our feelings. Let us therefore believe God. Feelings or no feelings, whatever God says, it is so! The Apostle John said, "We have KNOWN and BELIEVED the love that God has to us..." I John 4:16

The believer is loved and accepted by God because he is IN CHRIST.

You may want to take the Lord Jesus as your Savior, but something seems to be holding you back. Let us consider some problems you may have.

"I think it's for somebody else, not me."

You read John 3:16, and you say, "Yes, this is true, but it is for someone else, not me."

But it is for you! When the Bible says, "For God so loved the world," it is talking about you. You are in the world! And when it says, "whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life," that means you also. God loves you, and He gave His Son to die for you. He urges you to receive Him as your Savior.

"If I take Christ as my Savior, won't I miss out on a lot that life has to offer?"

No, not at all. There is nothing in this world more exciting and more satisfying than having a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Life doesn't have to be a lonely, go-it-alone struggle. It's exciting when Christ is in control. And that's the way He wants it. Jesus said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

"I don't think I can become a Christian in my situation."

You may be saying, "I know that I should take Christ as my Savior, but I don't think I can be a Christian in my situation."

Taking Christ as your Savior is a transaction of the heart, and it can take place anywhere and in any circumstances. When Christ saves you, He comes to live in you. He can give you power to live for Him in any situation.

"I've been involved in sexual sins. Do you think God can forgive me?"

People who have been involved in sexual sins often have great difficulty believing that they can be forgiven. Noted psychiatrist Paul Tournier says, "In the privacy of my counseling room, men and women of all ages have told me that they believe in God's forgiveness for every sin except sexual sins. For such sins, they feel that God can never forgive them, but only despise them forever."

You may have fallen into deep sin, but God can lift you up. When you take Christ as your Savior, God forgives you of your sins-all of your sins. The Bible says,"...the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from ALL SIN." 1 John 1:7

God wants you to be truly sorry for your sins, sorry enough that you turn from them.

God also wants you to know that you can be forgiven of your sins by confessing them to Him and trusting in Jesus' blood which was shed for them. The Bible says,

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness." I John 1:9

"I am afraid of what my friends may think."

"Peer pressure" is the pressure you feel from your friends and associates to say and do things that please them so that you will be accepted by them. Peer pressure is a powerful thing. Even in Jesus' time there were those who wanted to confess Him as their Savior, but they were afraid to do so because of peer pressure. The Bible says that "they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.''

The remedy for peer pressure is to realize that your relationship to Jesus Christ is far more important than any other relationship you can ever have. Your eternal destiny depends on your relationship to Him.

It is downright tragic to reject Christ because of what your friends may say or think. Remember, your friends can laugh you into hell, but they cannot laugh you out of it.

The famous evangelist, D. L. Moody, once spoke in a meeting in which 5,000 atheists were present. An atheist is one who does not believe in God. At the conclusion of his message, when Moody gave an appeal for "whosoever will" to take Jesus as Savior, a man stood up in the middle of the room and shouted out, "I WON'T!"

Mr. Moody explained that every man in the audience had to make the choice as to whether he would say "I will" to God or "I won't!" He explained the consequences of those choices. Those who said "I will" and took Christ as savior would spend eternity in Heaven with God. Those who said "I won't" would spend eternity in hell with the rebellious and disobedient.

Then Moody said, "Men, you have your champion in the middle of the hall, the man who said "I won't!" I want every man here who believes that man is right to follow him, and to rise and say, "I won't!" Not a man responded .

Then Moody asked for those who wanted to say "I will" to stand and come forward. With thousands of their atheist friends watching, some 500 men boldly went forward to take Jesus Christ as their Savior.

"I will take Christ as my Savior some day but not now."

The Bible tells us to come to Jesus now. We do not know what the future holds for us. No one can be sure that he will be alive next year, next month, or even the next day. The Bible says, "Behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2b

The following is the story of Diane Patmont. When God spoke to Diane's heart, she took Christ as her Savior right then. Her story has touched the hearts of hundreds of thousands of young people.

Do as Diane did. If God is speaking to your heart, take Christ as your Savior NOW.

Fifteen year old Diane Patmont was one of the popular drum majorettes at
Skyline High School in Oakland, California. Not only was she pretty and vivacious,
but Diane was an outstanding student and she had many friends.

Diane was peppy and full of life, but she had a serious side also. She wanted to know the answers to the big questions in life: Where did I come from? Why am I here? What happens after death? She once said, "There are so many roads open to follow in this life how do Iknow which one to take?"

Two girl friends took the lead

One evening two girls sensed Diane's need for a real Christian experience and they invited her to attend church with them. There God spoke to Diane's heart, and she realized her lost condition and her need of a Savior. After the service, she went back to talk with the pastor. Pastor A opened the Bible and pointed her to the One who said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.'' (John 14:6) Diane knelt in prayer and asked the Lord Jesus to come into her heart and be her Savior.

The Word of God gave Diane full assurance that her sins were forgiven and that she had everlasting life. "He that believeth on the Son hath (has) everlasting life..." (John 3:36) Diane had God's Word that she was saved and her joy knew no bounds.

Then came spring vacation, and her family had planned a trip back to visit relatives in lowa. Somehow, Diane had a premonition about the trip and she confided to several of her friends, "I have a feeling that I won't come back from our trip. " No one took her seriously. "See you in a week!" they called.

As Diane packed for the trip, she said to herself, "What if I don't come back? How will all my friends hear about what Christ has done for me?
I must write a letter."

To make sure that her letter would be found if something did happen to her, Diane called her best friend and said, "Lynn, if I don't come back from this trip, will you please get this letter on my desk and read it to everyone? "

The next day, the weather was abominable as the family drove on curving roads through the mountains of Nevada. In a blinding rain, the car suddenly went out of control and skidded over an embankment. Diane and her older sister had just changed places in the car; and as the car plunged over the embankment, Diane became the target for much flying glass. As soon as possible, help arrived; but the ambulance had to drive 53 miles in a heavy downpour to get to the nearest hospital.

Though in a state of shock, Diane spoke again and again of her Savior. Then she asked her father, "Daddy am I dying?" Her father said, "You're going to be all right, honey." But somehow Diane sensed that death was near and she said triumphantly, "I'm not afraid to die. I know where I am going." Shortly before the ambulance reached the hospital, Diane passed from this world into the presence of her Savior whom she loved so much.

Diane's greatest desire

Diane's greatest desire in life was that everyone might hear what Jesus Christ had done for her. Just before she died, she made one request, "Tell everyone." Her wish has been carried out in a wonderful way.

Questions