God created us for His glory (Isaiah 43:7; Matthew 5:16). His will is for us to delight and trust in Him, and to reflect His goodness by loving others as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40; 1 John 3:23; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

We don't live for His glory. We willingly disobey the will of God. This is sin. We have all sinned (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:10-11; 3:23). We live with our back toward God and follow the lusts of our flesh (Isaiah 53:6; Ephesians 2:3; Mark 7:21-23). We seek satisfaction and security in other things and treasure them more than Him. We wrong our fellow human beings that God created in His own image (Genesis 1:27).

The consequence of sin is separation from God and eternal punishment (Isaiah 59:2; Matthew 25:46; Romans 6:23; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).

The good news is God loved us so much that He gave Jesus, His only Son, as atonement for our sin so that we can be forgiven and have everlasting life in Him (John 3:16)!

Jesus has existed with God since the beginning (John 1:1-2). Jesus humbled Himself and took on human flesh by being born of a virgin (John 1:14; Philippians 2:5-8). Jesus is fully man and fully God. He is love personified (1 John 4:8-9). He healed the sick and raised the dead (Mark 2:1-12; John 11:17-44). He was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). But He was despised and rejected (Isaiah 53:3). He was hated without cause (John 15:25). Out of envy and to protect their position, the Jewish religious leaders unknowingly acted out God's foretold plan and crucified Jesus by the hands of the Romans (Matthew 27:18; John 11:48; Acts 2:23; Acts 3:18).

Jesus willingly died on a cross to satisfy God's wrath toward us for our sins (Isaiah 53:7,5; Luke 22:42; Mark 10:45). As the sinless Son of Man, He could receive God's wrath for another person's sin (John 19:4; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 9:22). As the Son of God, He is the greatest value, sufficient to atone for the sins of everyone (1 John 2:2).

Three days later, Jesus arose from the dead as the victor over sin and the grave, validating Himself as the Son of God and signifying God's acceptance of His atonement for our sin (Isaiah 53:10-12). Jesus lives making intercession for us before God (Hebrews 7:25; Romans 8:34).

The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in His followers (Romans 8:11). When we trust in Jesus, we are born of the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). The Holy Spirit guides us and empowers us to live for God's glory (John 16:13; 1 Corinthians 12:4-7). The Spirit produces love, joy and peace (Galatians 5:22-23).

If you aren't right with God, you can be.

The hard part has been done. Jesus accomplished what we couldn't do for ourselves. He died on a cross to provide atonement for our sin (1 Peter 3:18).

The rest is up to up you. Isaiah 45:22 says "Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other."

We turn to God by humbling ourselves (James 4:6), repenting of our sin, trusting in Jesus, and committing ourselves to live for His glory. "God is most glorified is us when we are most satisfied in Him" - John Piper.

God's grace is a gift. It can't be earned through good works so that we can boast. It is a gift so that God receives the glory rather than us. (Ephesians 2:8-9).

In Luke 13:3, Jesus says "... unless you repent, you will all likewise perish".

In John 3:36, Jesus says "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on Him.". God's wrath is being stored up for those who won't repent (Romans 2:5).

Romans 10:9 says "... if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.".

To begin your new life with God, pray a prayer like the following. "Dear God, I humbly come before you. I have sinned against you. Thank you for sending Jesus to die on a cross for my sin. I repent of my sin and turn to you. Please forgive me and make me new. I trust Jesus as my savior and will follow Him as Lord. Empower me by your Spirit to live for you. Thank you for answering my prayer and saving me."

Begin to live out what you believe (James 2:17; Romans 12:1).

Publicly declare your faith in Jesus by being baptized (Matthew 10:32-33). When you are baptized, you are symbolically portraying the transformation that happened in your life (Romans 6:4). When you are immersed, it symbolizes dying to sin and burying it with Jesus's death. When you come out of the water, it symbolizes being raised to a new life in Him.

Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.