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Repent
This is tough for people as well. Repenting simply means
apologizing and promising to do better. None of us are perfect.
None of us live perfect lives. But the key to salvation through
Jesus is saying you’re sorry for your sin and telling God you
want to change. Note this is different from actually changing.
If you could actually change yourself, you wouldn’t need God. By
repenting, you are saying that you are sorry for your sin, and
that you want to turn away from it. You are acknowledging you
need God’s help to do that.
For God can use sorrow in our lives to
help us turn away from sin and seek salvation. We will never
regret that kind of sorrow. But sorrow without repentance is
the kind that results in death.
—2 Corinthians 7:10
If we say we have no sin, we are only
fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if
we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to
forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.
—I John 1:8-9 [NLT]
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Invite Christ In
Don’t skip this part. God never forces Himself on anyone. Most
people think God holds a gun to our heads: do what I say or go
to hell. That’s not quite right. It’s more about free choice:
it’s all up to you. You can either accept God in your life or
reject Him and do things your own way. By rejecting Him, you are
saying you don’t want to be with Him, and God never forces
Himself on us.
Look! Here I stand at the door and
knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come
in, and we will share a meal as friends. —Revelation
3:20 [NLT]
...although the world was made through
him, the world didn't recognize him when he came. Even in
his own land and among his own people, he was not accepted.
But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the
right to become children of God. They are reborn! This is
not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan –
this rebirth comes from God.
—John 1:10-13 [NLT]
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Be Baptized
This is more ceremonial than anything else, but God wants us to
do this. He wants us to publicly proclaim our new life, our new
relationship with Him. Whether you are baptized in the name of
The Father, The Son and the Holy Ghost (or Spirit), or baptized
in the name of Jesus, is a matter for church folk to argue over.
Just get baptized. Like a wedding, it is a public
acknowledgement of your turn in the road. It changes your
thinking and the way others see you, as you leave the Old Man or
the Old Woman beneath the water, dead to this world, and rise
above the water as a new person in Christ Jesus.
After dark one evening, a Jewish
religious leader named Nicodemus, a Pharisee, came to speak
with Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "we all know that God has
sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are proof enough
that God is with you." Jesus replied, "I assure you, unless
you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God."
"What do you mean?" exclaimed Nicodemus. "How can an old man
go back into his mother's womb and be born again?" Jesus
replied, "The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God
without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can
reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new
life from heaven.
—John 3:1-6
[NLT]
A Sinner’s Prayer
The first and only effective prayer anyone who doesn’t know God
can make is often called the “sinner’s” prayer, which is
actually
An Invitation To Christ. You should talk to God.
Talk to Him just like you’d talk to me. You don’t have to speak
in the King James and you don’t need to know a lot of fancy
words. It is helpful to get down on your knees. This isn’t for
God but for us as it humbles is. Kneeling is something many of
us are simply too proud to do. Humbling ourselves physically
often puts us in the right emotional and mental state to speak
to God with humility and grace.
If you've never prayed
the Sinner's Prayer, or something like it, it's possible you've
never formally invited Christ into your life. If you've never
invited Him in, He's still waiting for that invitation. Your
many years of service on the usher board or the van ministry are
certainly appreciated, but works alone, church membership alone,
will not get you to heaven.
If you've never prayed a prayer like this, or if you can't
remember or aren't sure, you should take this time, this moment,
to invite Jesus into your life. Use your own words, but a sinner’s prayer might be something
like this:
Lord Jesus,
I’ve done a lot of wrong things in my life. Things I’m not proud
of. Things I wish I could change. I’m sorry for those things
I’ve done, and for those things I am now doing. Lord, I don’t
want to live this way anymore.
I believe that You died for me. I believe that You rose again,
according to the scriptures, and that You live today. I believe
You want to be my friend. I want to be Yours.
You are welcome in my life. In my heart. In my choices. In my
values. Please breathe on me and breath through me. Change me as
only You can. Lord, I will let You lead the way. I will follow
You and I will trust you.
I believe that, through You, I can have a new life. A better
life. I’m tired of trying to make things better on my own. I
want You to lead the way.
Thank You, Lord, for answering this prayer. For coming into my
heart and my life. Please let your Holy Spirit lead me, guide
and protect me as I spend the rest of my life, from this day
forward, serving only You.
I count this done in the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.
What’s Next?
There’s got to be follow-up. We are shamefully weak here, as
well. New believers, new in the Word, are like lambs. They are,
largely, defenseless against their old habits and old ways.
Against demonic attack. Many if not most black churches here
have absolutely no follow-up programs. These folks are simply
cut loose and many, if not most, either fall back into sin or
never escape sin in the first place.
Get a Bible. Get a good one. I
recommend the Zondervan NIV Student Bible. It’s a collegiate
Bible, good for high school and college students, so it’s not a
“kid’s” bible but an extremely well-edited learning tool for new
converts. Start in the Book of
Mark—the shortest of the four Gospels—and get acquainted with
who Jesus is. Whatever you do, don't
try reading the Bible
from Genesis through Revelation right off the bat. Trust me,
you’ll get bored somewhere in Deuteronomy and you’ll end up
putting the thing down.
Get a Prayer Partner. Somebody you trust. Somebody who’s not a
busybody or a big mouth. Someone who will check on you and make
sure you’re okay. Someone you can share your strugle with.
Don’t Skip Prayer Meeting. Prayer meeting is, typically, the
least attended function of the black church. If there’s no choir
singing, no preacher hooping, we’re exponentially less likely to
set foot in there. But the prayer meeting is your power station.
The prayer meeting is like a good workout at a health club. It
helps get you focused and keep you focused. It brings you nearer
and closer to God.
Bible Study is simply essential for you, for all of us. Find a
good one if not several good ones and attend regularly. The more
your learn about this great book, the stronger you will be.
Find A Support Group or groups for new Christians. People who
can answer questions and pray with you—without judging you or
your lifestyle or your choices. People who can be there for you
during the exciting times and difficult challenges a new
Christian faces.
Finally,
Find A Good Church Home. You will note I place this
last among my recommendations. Not that it’s not important—it
really is important to belong to a church family—but that, in
our tradition, church membership is the only thing we strongly
advocate, when we should be strongly advocating Jesus.
When you find a church home, go slow. People will try and drag
you into all manner of activities and recruit you to all manner
of auxiliaries. A new Christian needs time and space to grow. A
new Christian should not be standing on the door ushering the
very next week or leading songs in the choir right away. A new
Christian need support and patience and time. Church folk need
to not turn up their nose at a new Christian who still smokes or
parties, who’s still shacked up, who still has habits that need
changing. Stop waging a finger and let God do His job [John
16:13].
And, there you are: on the road to a new life and new
experiences like one you’ve ever known. Learn to love and trust
God, and you’ll find a life more full and rewarding than you’ve
ever known. This is the most important thing you can ever do
with your life.
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