Next Steps

Biblical principles for following Jesus and living the life God called you to live, ALL IN.

Audio of the Text Below: Listen As You Read

If you recently decided to follow Jesus, we are so thankful and thrilled for you!

Welcome to the abundant life (John 10:9-10 | Col. 3:1-4).

Before we move on to the next steps, take a moment to EXAMINE YOURSELF to see if you are in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5). Let’s quickly recap the Biblical gospel to make sure you are truly born again (1 Peter 1:3-5), a child of God (1 John 3:1-2 | Matt. 12:48-50), and have passed out of death into life (John 5:24):

—No one except God is good (Mark 10:18).

—We have ALL sinned (Rom. 3:23) because we have broken God’s commandments (Exod. 20:1-17 | Matt. 22:36-40).

—Sin is extremely serious in God’s eyes and the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). God’s standard is perfection and ALL of us JUSTLY deserve Hell which is separation from God who is holy (1 Sam. 2:2 | Deut. 32:4).

—However, God is also love (1 John 4:16), rich in mercy (Eph. 2:4), and wants NO ONE to perish (2 Peter 3:9). God provided a way for us to be forgiven of our sins by sending His only begotten Son into the world. He lived a sinless life and willfully took our place, paying the penalty we deserve (John 3:16 | Eph. 2:4-5 | 2 Cor. 5:21).

—Jesus was unjustly crucified on a cross, but on the third day, He rose from the dead confirming ALL His words are truth; including that He is the Messiah (John 4:25-26; 10:24-25; 13:19) and the ONLY WAY to the Father in Heaven (John 14:6).

—To accept God’s FREE GIFT OF GRACE (Eph. 2:8-9), you must REPENT and fully put your FAITH/TRUST IN JESUS ALONE as Savior for the redemption of your sins (Acts 20:21 | Rom. 10:9-10). This is a covenant pledge with God (like a marriage vow). You are choosing to make Jesus Lord of your life and follow Him forevermore.

—As a result, you are made right with God through the blood of Jesus (Romans 5:8-9 | Rev. 1:5-6). Because of His substitutional sacrifice on the cross for your sins, God can extend His compassion and lovingkindness toward you if you are IN CHRIST. God removes your transgressions from you as far as the east is from the west (2 Cor. 5:17-21 | Psalm 103:8-22 | Lam. 3:22-24). ALL praise to Him forever and ever! (Rev. 5:13 | Lam. 5:19 | Psalm 96:1-13; 117LSB

Biblical Gospel Overview

Now that you know the GOOD NEWS, let’s dive into five principles that are applicable for all Christians. These Biblical principles will help you to live out the life God has called you to live if you are right with God and truly born again (1 Peter 1:23 | Heb. 6:1-2):

Transformation | Relationship (Bible & Prayer) | Water Baptism | Community | Fruit & Evangelism

Principle #1: Transformation and Fleeing From Sin

One of the results of being born again is transformation in your life. You should now live by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:14 | 2 Cor. 3:12-18). God gives you a new heart that desires to obey Him and do His will (2 Cor. 5:17).

The Holy Spirit will dwell in you guiding you into ALL TRUTH (John 16:13NKJV; 14:26 | Rom. 8:9 | 1 John 4:4; 13-15 | Acts 5:31-32), and helps you to seek after righteousness (Gal. 5:16-26 | Matt. 5:6; 6:33), which is a miracle and evidence of a true conversion.

If someone ever tells you that miracles do not happen today (not true), you should be able to simply point them to your own life and how God has TRANSFORMED YOU from the inside out (Matt. 23:25-28). He takes sinners who love their sin, and transforms us into saints who desire righteousness. Disciples of Jesus that desire to be obedient while becoming more like God, our Creator (Col. 3:10, 11 | 1 Peter 1:14-16 | Genesis 1:1-31; 2:1-3).

This does not mean you will no longer experience temptations once you are born again (James 1:13-16 | 1 Cor. 10:13). However, you should now have a new relationship with sin. You should no longer want anything to do with sin and FLEE FROM IT, just as God calls you to do (2 Tim. 2:22 | John 8:10-11 | Gen. 4:7). If you do fall back into sin, you must confess and forsake your sins before God and return to Him, just as we see in many places throughout scripture (Prov. 28:13 | Isa. 55:6-7 | 1 John 1:8-10 | Acts 3:19; 26 | Luke 22:31-32 | Psalm 51:1-17).

Your Christian life should be one of ongoing repentance and faith in Jesus. You need to continue to choose God daily, similar to a spouse continuing to choose their husband or wife daily in a marriage. Pursue Jesus wholeheartedly. Deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Him—ALL IN! (Luke 9:23-24).

Keep in mind, make sure you DO NOT use God’s grace as an excuse to keep sinning (Luke 17:3-4 | Rom. 6:1-14). God calls you to be holy, just as He is holy (1 Pet. 1:14-23 | 1 John 1:5-7). And without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14NKJV | 2 Thes. 2:13-14).

Here are several additional verses regarding the importance of fleeing from sin and being a doer of the word. Always making sure your life and actions are congruent with your faith as a new creation, in Christ (made right with God):

Additional Note: After you finish reading this page, there is a video below titled, “Are You Really A Christian.” Give this a watch as it does a great job highlighting the importance of your life showing evidence of your conversion and how you must continue to repent and trust Jesus for salvation until the end of your life here on Earth (Matt. 24:13 | Phil. 2:12-13 | John 15:1-2; 4-11 | Heb. 3:12-14; 6:4-6; 10:26-31 | Luke 21:36 | 1 Cor. 10:12 | 2 Cor. 12:19-21 | Rev. 2:10-11; 1-29; 3:1-22; 14:12-13).

Principle #2: Relationship (Bible and Prayer)

As a born again Christian, God is your heavenly Father. As a father who loves you, He wants to have a relationship with you. God has revealed and preserved His word through scripture (2 Tim. 3:16). God uses scripture to speak to you, you just need to make it a priority. How can you say you love God if you do not read His word and know/obey what it says?

Just as newborn babies need milk to grow, you need to feed on the word to grow spiritually (1 Peter 2:1-3). Reading and/or listening to the Bible daily will not only help you grow closer and become more like God, but will also keep you from sin. A famous quote by D.L Moody, “The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.” David treasured God’s word in his heart so that he may not sin against God (Psalm 119:11). You need to do the same.

Moreover, the Gospel of John and 1 John refers to Jesus as “the Word” (John 1:1-5; 14-18 | 1 John 1:1-4). Make sure you are always obeying what Jesus says and following Him, ALL IN (Mark 1:17 | Matt. 10:38 | John 14:6).

Here are several additional verses about the power of God’s word and the importance of feeding on it daily:

Heb. 4:12; 5:12-14 | Psalm 18:30; 19:7; 119:9; 105 | James 1:16-18; 21-27 | Luke 6:46-49; 11:28 | Isa. 40:8 | Matt. 7:24-27; 24:35 | Col. 2:6-7 | 2 Tim. 2:15; 4:1-8 | Phil. 1:9-11 | Rom. 15:4-6

Along with diving into scripture daily, prayer is essential in your walk with God. The Bible is God speaking to you, prayer is you speaking to God. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 tells us to “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.“ God wants to hear from you and give you good gifts, just as an earthly father wants to give good gifts to his children (Matt. 7:7-8; 11). You simply need to ask. However, when you ask, ask in faith without any doubt (James 1:5-6) and make sure to examine your motives (James 4:3).

Answered prayer is also a gift from God. He may not always give you what you are asking for various reasons, but His ways and thoughts are higher than your own (Isa. 55:8-9). God’s answer to your prayers is sometimes yes, sometimes no, and sometimes wait and see. Remember, God is outside of time and is the creator of it. “…with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day“ (2 Peter 3:8, 9). He knows what is best for you, and others, all within His perfect timing because He sees and knows all things (Prov. 15:3 | Heb. 4:13). Who are any of us to question this? (Rom. 9:20; 11:33-35).

This is also very important to note: God hears the prayers of the righteous but does not listen to the prayers of the wicked (Ps. 66:18 | 1 Peter 3:12 | John 9:31 | Prov. 28:9). Furthermore, the Bible says God is angry with the wicked every day (Psalm 7:10-11NKJV). Make sure you are right with God not only for salvation, but also so your prayers are not an abomination to God.

Here are several additional verses about the power of prayer and the importance of talking to God daily:

Phil. 4:6 | Mark 11:24 | John 15:7; 14:13-14 | Matt. 6:5-13; 7:7; 21:21-22; 26:41; 5:44 | Rom. 8:26-27 | James 5:13-18; 1:5 | Eph. 6:18 | Col. 4:2 | Psalm 34:17; 145:18 | Jer. 29:12 | 2 Chr. 7:14 | 1 Tim. 2:8 | 1 John 5:14-15 | Heb. 4:16 | 1 Peter 5:7 | Luke 1:37, 21:36

Principle #3: Water Baptism

Water baptism is a commandment from Jesus after you are born again. Within part of the Great Commission, Jesus says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19-20). When you get baptized, it is an act of obedience and pledge of a good conscience toward God (Titus 3:5-7 | 1 Peter 3:20-21). You are making a public declaration that you have turned to God in repentance and made Jesus your Lord and Savior who you will follow for the rest of your days (Eph. 4:5-6 | 2 Peter 1:10-11NKJV).

Water baptism [Greek word: baptizō (to immerse – make whelmed, fully wet)], symbolizes spiritual cleansing. You are identifying yourself with Jesus (Gal. 3:26-27). Going underwater symbolizes the death or burial of your old life, while coming up out of the water symbolizes a new or resurrected life in Christ (Col. 2:9-12 | Rom. 6:1-14 | 1 Cor. 10:1-4). As a disciple of Christ, this aligns you with the work of Jesus (Luke 12:50 | John 19:30), marking the reality that you have received forgiveness of sins and typically, the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:44-48, 2:37-38).

Important Note: Biblically, it is possible to be filled with the Holy Spirit before (Acts 10:44-48), during (Acts 2:38), or after (Acts 8:4-24) water baptism. The book of Acts presents a pattern that includes repentance, faith, baptism, and receiving the Holy Spirit, although the exact sequence seems to vary based on context and purpose. This suggests that while baptism is a very important act of obedience as a disciple, it is not the physical act that makes a person right with God or grants the Holy Spirit. Similar to how circumcision did not save in the Old Testament, but rather was used as a sign of a covenant with God for those who were justified by faith. For example, Abraham’s faith was counted to him as righteousness even before circumcision or other outward acts (Gen. 15:6 | Rom. 4:1-25).

Today, initial justification before God comes through having a repentant faith toward Yahweh & Christ Jesus because of His heroic sacrifice on the cross for your sins (Rom. 5:1 | Acts 20:21 | Luke 18:9-17). The Holy Spirit may be received at various points of the justification/sanctification process, as God knows the heart and responds to genuine faith according to His will (1 Sam. 16:7 | Rom. 8:27, 2:28-29 | Matt. 9:2).

In Matthew 3:13-17 under the Old Covenant, Jesus was baptized before his public ministry began which was significant in many ways. Jesus now calls His disciples to follow His example and do the same under the New Covenant (Matt. 28:19-20). It is evident that baptism was made a priority for new believers throughout the book of Acts (Acts 8:35-38, 9:17-19, 10:47-48, 16:14-15, 18:8-9; 12-17, 19:1-5). The promptness of these early Christians should increase the urgency for you to be baptized as well (Acts 22:16, 16:22-34). No reason to wait, make it a priority to be water baptized by immersion after you have become right with God.

Important Note: If you were baptized as an infant, this is not the same as what Jesus commanded because no personal choice was made by the individual. Make your own choice to follow Jesus, become born again, and be baptized after you have made your own personal decision.

Principle #4: Community and Fellowship

Each of us are not meant to do life alone. This also applies to running the race for Jesus (Heb. 12:1-3). If you claim to be a follower of Christ, you should want to surround yourself with other born again Christians who are running in the same direction (Heb. 10:24-25).

Fellowship with other believers not only allows us to encourage one another to grow closer to God and follow Jesus (1 Thes. 5:11), but also helps each of us stay strong in the faith and not fall away (Ecc. 4:9-10, 11-12 | Prov. 27:17). We can strengthen one another by praying for each other (James 5:16), studying God’s Word together (2 Tim. 2:15), partaking in communion (Matt. 26:26, 27-28), and even washing each other’s feet (John 13:3-17), just as Jesus did with His disciples. We can also simply do life together by eating, working, and playing together, and even sharing our burdens and possessions with one another (Gal. 6:2 | Acts 4:32-35).

We, the church, are one body in Christ made up of many different parts (1 Cor. 12:12 | Romans 12:4-5). Each part has different gifts and different roles within the church body (1 Cor. 12:14-31). However, when each part is working properly, it allows the body to grow building itself up in love (Eph. 4:16). Moreover, loving our brothers and sisters in Christ is also further evidence of a true conversion (1 John 3:14 | 1 John 4:7-21).

Step into your role within the body of Christ. Find a local church that soundly teaches the Bible in context and preaches the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:25-27NKJV | Romans 2:1-16) which includes the full gospel and how we are made right with God (Acts 20:20-21). Get plugged in and use your gifts to build up the body of Christ and reach those still lost outside the church (see Principle 5 below).

To dive deeper on the whole counsel of God, view this article for an overview of God’s character and attributes seen throughout the Bible.

Principle #5: Good Fruit and Evangelism

God also calls you to produce good fruit, not as a means of earning salvation, but to prove that you are a disciple of Jesus (John 15:8 | Matt. 3:8; 7:16-18, 19-20 | Acts 26:20). Along with fleeing from sin, a few examples of producing fruit for God include having the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23), putting on the armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18), and fulfilling the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20).

Additional Verses: Matt. 25:14-46; 5:1-48; 6:1-34; 10:40-42; 23:23 | Luke 6:27-49; 10:25-37; 12:1-48 | John 15:12-17

God has given His disciples the task of reconciling people to Him through the message of the gospel (2 Cor. 5:18-21). Jesus taught His disciples to become fishers of men (Matt. 4:19) and wants us to follow Him and do the same (see “The Parable of the Sower” in Matthew 13:1-23). God does not need us, but chooses to use us as Christ’s ambassadors for His glory and to spread His fame across the world (2 Cor. 5:20-21 | Eph. 6:19-20).

If we truly love our neighbor (Mark 12:31), we must have a heart for the lost and a desire for them to be saved, just as God does (1 Tim. 2:3-5 | Rom. 10:1-4). We reach them by speaking the truth in love (Eph. 4:15) and showing the truth by our actions (1 John 3:18). A quote by Charles Spurgeon, a famous preacher in the 1800’s, says, “Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself, be sure of that!” Desiring for others to be saved and obeying Jesus to go make disciples of ALL nations (Matt. 28:19-20), is evidence of a true conversion.

Important Note: In order for someone to become a disciple of Jesus, they must first hear the gospel.

Isaiah tells us to lift our voice like a trumpet (Isa. 58:1) and Paul tells us to, “Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2). If we stay silent, how will the lost know how to be saved? “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him, for ‘Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? And how will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim good news of good things!'” (Rom. 10:12-17).

Jesus calls His disciples the light of the world, like a city on a hill that cannot be hidden (Matt. 5:14). He continues by saying anyone does not hide the light from a candle under a basket, but instead, they put the light on a lampstand for ALL who are in the house to see (Matt. 5:15). In the same way, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 5:16). Do not hide your light. Be an example to those around you to point them to Christ. There are also people in your life that need to hear the gospel, and you can be the one to bring it to them (1 Cor. 9:16-27).

If you have fear or anxiety (2 Tim. 1:7) when it comes to sharing the gospel with the lost, the following should help you. There are three outcomes when we share our faith with others:

1) the person can accept Jesus 2) the person can reject Jesus 3) we can plant a seed

ALL three are successful outcomes though. These Bible verses explain why, respectively:

1) James 5:19-20 | John 3:36 2) 1 Peter 4:14 | Luke 6:22, 23 3) Isa. 55:11 | 1 Cor. 3:6-8

As a reminder, you are not doing evangelism or any other good works to earn or add to your salvation. It is because you are born again and have a right relationship with God that you desire to be obedient to His commandments (1 John 5:2-3 | Ecc. 12:13-14). Jesus makes this very clear in Matthew 7:21-22, 23, that having a genuine relationship with God is the most important thing. And then from there, as you draw near to God, you will naturally desire to align your actions with God’s will as you seek to be more like Him (James 4:8).

Your primary motivation for ALL that you do should be to glorify God, but an added bonus for faithfully serving Him is that He will reward you for your obedience (Matt. 10:32-33; 5:17-18, 19-20 | Mark 10:29-31 | Rev. 22:12 | 1 Cor. 3:8-15 | Luke 6:22, 23, 35 | John 14:1-3 | 2 Tim. 4:7-8).

Moreover, seeking after the praise of God rather than the praise of men (Rom. 2:28-29 | Acts 5:28-32) is another sign that you have been genuinely transformed into a new creation from the inside out (Gal. 6:15 | Rom. 12:2 | Eph. 4:23-24 | Luke 12:8-9 | 1 John 2:28-32).

10 million years from now, the only thing that will matter for every human here on Earth is who is in Heaven (with Christ) and who is in Hell (separated from Christ). We need to make evangelism the priority of our temporary lives if we truly trust Jesus and believe this is reality.

Jesus says the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few (Matt. 9:37-38). Will you step out in faith (Heb. 11:6; 1-40), unashamed of the gospel (Rom. 1:16), and be one of them?

Be Bold. Seek Truth. Go, ALL IN!

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