A Personal Word from GRHE
The Board of Greater Roanoke Home Educators, as a Christian organization, desires that all members be Christians. Belonging to this group, or any group, or a church does not make a person a Christian. What does? What does a person have to do in order to become a Christian?
The answers are simple. That which needs to be done has been accomplished by Jesus Christ. What is it that He has done and why did He do it?
There are a few things that we all need to admit. Each needs to admit that he is a sinner and therefore, has fallen short of what God commands. Being sinners, we would seem to be in a hopeless position. Having offended God, what can a person do? Nothing. The justice of God has found us guilty. The penalty for sin is death.
But, of course, the story does not have to end in that dismal state. God is also a God of grace and mercy! What we cannot do for ourselves, He has done for us because of His great love. The penalty must be paid. This is what Jesus Christ has done; He has paid our penalty through His death on the cross. We could not do anything to rectify our sinful condition, to please God, or to gain eternal life. But Jesus Christ, the One without sin, is able to do all of this.
Since this has been done for us by Jesus Christ, what we must do is take advantage of His offer. This is called faith. In order to become a Christian, to be saved, a person must believe (have faith in) Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and trust Him to save him from death and hell. By receiving Jesus Christ, a person admits his sinfulness and helplessness and casts himself upon the grace of Christ who alone can save.
The Bible contains what we need to know. Here are a few verses that make the way of salvation (the way to become a Christian) clear: