The Bible explains that there is only one true God. He made the universe, the earth, and filled the earth with life. His name, “Yahweh,” in English means: “I Am Who I Am.” 

Because He is the only true God, whenever human beings worship something or someone else as God, it greatly displeases Him. 

The short answer is that God reveals Himself to us and the truth about ourselves through the Bible. 

Those who become Christians are people who read the Bible and find in it words of Life. Words that are unlike any other teachings about God, the world, or human beings that are found in other belief systems.

The Bible is a collection of many smaller books. For this reason, it is not necessary to start on the first page and read from cover to cover. 

A good place to start, in fact, is with “The Gospel According to John.” This is the fourth book of the New Testament, otherwise known simply as “John.” 

Use your Bible’s table of contents to locate the book within the Bible, or take advantage of the many free Bible reading tools and apps available on the internet with easy-to-use search functions.

Every nation on earth has laws. This is because human beings do things that hurt others, both intentionally and unintentionally.

Just as nations have laws, so does God. God has a way that He wants the world to run that conforms to His character and values and He expects us to obey.

But instead of obeying God, human beings have rebelled. We each decide on our own what is right and wrong and live accordingly. We also justify ourselves for the wrong things we do in defiance of God's law. Our rebellion is what the Bible calls “sin,” and the ways we transgress God’s law are “sins.”

There are many consequences for sin. One of the biggest is that when we die, we are separated from God for forever.

God is holy, therefore He cannot let sinful people who have lived their lives in rebellion against Him into His presence in heaven.

The Christian message that was announced by Jesus Christ is that those who believe in Him can receive forgiveness for their sin. This is because Jesus takes their place before God. Jesus lived a perfectly righteous and holy life, and he died for them in order to pay the penalty for their sin. 

When a person believes in Jesus, and thereby belongs to Him, God forgives them of all their sin. In turn, Jesus’ death, resurrection, obedience, righteousness and glory belong to the believer.

Imagine that you owed someone so much money that no matter how hard you worked, even for the rest of your life, you would never be able to pay off this debt. This is the reality of our relationship with God, because of our sin. Yet Jesus is able to pay our debt by having lived a perfect life and died on the cross in our place.

When we believe in Jesus, God appropriates His obedience and his death to us and declares us debt-free. In the Bible’s terminology, we are declared “righteous.” This means that in God's sight, all of our sin is washed away. In its place, God only sees the perfect holiness and righteousness of Jesus.

Those who believe in Jesus receive eternal life now in the form of a new heart, a new spirit, and a new mind. This is called regeneration in the Bible and it is accomplished by the Holy Spirit when we believe.

At some future date, Jesus will return to earth to judge everyone who has ever lived. When this happens, God will raise everyone from the dead physically just like Jesus, and give them bodies that do not perish. Believers will then dwell with God forever in the new heavens and new earth.

The spirits of believers who die before Jesus returns ascend to heaven and remain with him there in perfect peace and happiness until the Day of Judgment.

Believing in God begins with a decision and prayer. When you are ready to give your life to God, pray to Him. Pray in whatever language is most comfortable and natural to you.

Here are some suggestions to help you pray and commit your life, and your eternity, to God:

Acknowledge your sin, that you are a sinner, and the ways you have not lived as God wants you to live. Admit that your sin makes it impossible for you to deserve eternal life. 

Confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Ask God to forgive you and give you new life in Jesus. Tell Jesus that you love Him and will follow Him all the days of your life.

Thank God for all that He has done to save you and for how much He loves you. Praise Him for His mercy and grace. 

Commit your life to God and ask Him to enable you to trust whatever His will is for your life. 

End your prayer, “In Jesus' name, amen.”