Becoming Who God Intended You To Be

By Harold J. Sala, Ph.D.

What do you need to do to be born again and have a relationship with Jesus Christ?  Simply put, three steps are necessary.  They are the same steps whether you have grown up in a church or have never darkened the door of one, whether you are religious or have no faith at all.

Step #1: You must acknowledge your need.  What need?  The need for forgiveness of the sins that have separated you from God and have driven a wedge between you and His mercy.  The Bible says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).   Most of us understand this.  We know that our best efforts are not enough.  That's why we try so hard to do the right things to prove we are better than others. 

We sin for two reasons: we choose to sin, and we can't help sinning.  That's why Jesus Christ became God's provision for our failures, our shortcomings, and the wrongs that keep peace from our hearts and lives. Paul puts it, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). 

Step #2: You must believe that God will forgive you, receive you as His child, and give you new life spiritually.

 You can pray a simple prayer as this: 

God, I know I'm a sinner and I need forgiveness. I need to be born again spiritually.  Please forgive me of my sins.  Lord Jesus, come into my life and be my strength and help. I believe you took the punishment I actually deserved when you allowed yourself to be crucified on the cross, and now I freely receive the free gift of eternal life which you promise. 

The Bible says that what Jesus Christ did when He died on the cross is God's free gift to you.  You can't buy it.  You can't earn it, but you can receive it by faith.  God treated Christ as you should have been treated so for all eternity you can be treated as Christ should have been treated.  Here's the great promise:  "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8, 9).

Step #3:  Confess (that means to proclaim) Jesus Christ as your Savior. The Bible says, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).  That’s what being born again is about.

John 1:12 says, "But to all who received him, he gave the right to become children of God. All they needed to do was to trust him to save them" (John 1:12, Living Bible).  OK, friend, would God lie to you?  "Of course not!" you say.  Then based on what God says in His Word, the Bible, you have become His child.  You have been born again! 

Now tell someone that you have trusted Christ as your Savior!  I would like to hear from you as well.  Get in touch with me and let me know you have prayed the “Born again prayer.”  You can send an E-mail to us at the following address: guidelines@guidelines.org or you can write to us at one of these addresses:

Dr. Harold Sala
Guidelines International
26076 Getty Drive
Laguna Niguel , CA 92677
(949) 582-5001

Guidelines Philippines
Box 4000
Makati City, Metro Manila
Philippines
687-4127

ONE FINAL THOUGHT 

Welcome to the family of God!  Find a church that preaches and teaches the Bible and go get acquainted.  A church is like a “sinners anonymous.”  None are too bad to come in and none are so good they can stay out.  A church is a living fellowship of people just like yourself where you'll be strengthened by brothers and sisters who can be an encouragement and help to you.