Steps to Peace with God
Adapted from a Billy Graham tract

Step 1 -- God's Purpose: Peace and Life

God loves you and wants you to experience peace and joy. God also wants you to have life that is abundant and eternal. Here's what the Bible says:

• "We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 5:1
• "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
• "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10:10

Why don't most people have this peace and abundant life that God planned for us to have?

Step 2 -- The Problem: Our Separation

God created us in His own image to have an abundant life. He didn't make us as robots to automatically love and obey Him. God gave us a will and freedom of choice. We chose to disobey God and go our own willful way. We still make this choice today. This results in separation from God. Here's what the Bible says:

• "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23
• "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" Romans 6:23

People have tried many different ways to bridge this gap between themselves and God. But the Bible says:

• "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death" Proverbs 14:12
• "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." Isaiah 59:2

Step 3 -- God's Bridge: The Cross

Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the grave. He paid the penalty for our sin and bridged the gap between God and people. This is the good news: through Christ, we can be saved from sin and eternal separation from God (which is hell), and have the assurance of going to heaven! The Bible says:

• "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 1 Timothy 2:5
• "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." 1 Peter 3:18
• "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Step 4 -- Our Response: Receive Christ

We must trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and receive Him by personal invitation. Here's what the Bible says:

• "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." Revelation 3:20
• "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." John 1:12
• "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

Will you receive Jesus Christ right now? Here is how you can receive Christ:

1. Admit your need ( "I am a sinner" ).
2. Be willing to turn from your sins ( repent ).
3. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross and rose from the grave.
4. Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to come in and control your life through the Holy Spirit. Receive Him as Lord and Savior.

How to pray:

Dear Lord Jesus,
                    I know that I am a sinner who needs your forgiveness. I believe that You died for my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I now invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as Lord and Savior.
                                                        In Jesus' name, Amen.

If you have sincerely prayed this prayer and have put your faith in Christ, you are no longer separated from God but you are a part of God's family, and the Bible gives assurance that you will be with God in heaven when you die.

• "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:13
• "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
• "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life." 1 John 5:12-13

By receiving Christ, we are born into God's family through the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit who indwells every believer. This is called regeneration, or the "new birth."

This is just the beginning of a wonderful new life in Christ. To deepen this relationship, you should:

1. Read the Bible every day to know Christ better. A good place to start is the gospel of John.
2. Talk to God in prayer every day.
3. Tell others about Christ.
4. Worship, fellowship, and serve with other Christians in a church where Christ is preached and the Bible is faithfully taught.
5. As Christ's representative in a needy world, demonstrate your new life by your love and concern for others.

If you have just committed your life to Christ, I would strongly recommend that you contact the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association to get free Christian materials!

Above is the gospel of Christ in a nutshell. I sincerely hope that you would seriously consider these claims. This is not merely some "religious experience"; rather, the gospel is of utmost importance in life, since it concerns our relationship with God and our eternal destiny. I pray that you will begin a new relationship with Christ and receive true peace in knowing that you are right with God.