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If you're new to the Bible, or not sure where you stand with God, this page is for you. It covers two things: how a sinner is made right with God, and why the Bible can be trusted to tell us.
Jump to: The path to salvation · Why you can believe the Bible
The path to salvation
1. God is holy, and He made you
There is one true God. He is holy, good, and just. He made you, and He made you for His glory.
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
Genesis 1:1 ESV
2. We have all sinned
Sin is more than bad habits. It is rebellion against the God who made us. It reaches every part of us, our thoughts, our words, our wants. Left to ourselves, we don't seek God.
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Romans 3:23 ESV)
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 6:23 ESV
3. Jesus Christ did what we could not
Jesus is God the Son, who became a man. He lived the perfect life we haven't lived. He died on the cross in the place of sinners, taking the punishment their sin deserved. On the third day He rose bodily from the dead. His work is finished. Nothing can be added to it.
"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV
4. Repent and believe
God commands everyone to turn from sin and trust Christ. Repentance means turning away from your sin and toward God. Faith means resting on Christ alone, not on your good works, your church attendance, or a prayer you once said.
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:15 ESV)
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV
5. God gives new life
When God saves someone, He changes them. Good works don't earn salvation. They are the fruit of it. A Christian still fights sin, but now fights it on God's side.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."
2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
What now?
Talk to God. Tell Him you know you have sinned, that you turn from it, and that you trust Jesus Christ alone to save you. There is no magic in the words. God looks at the heart.
Then take three steps:
- Read the Gospel of John, a chapter a day.
- Find a church that preaches straight from the Bible, and tell the pastor what happened.
- Keep listening. A daily reading helps you keep going.
Why you can believe the Bible
Before you trust what the Bible says about God, it's fair to ask whether the Bible can be trusted at all. Peter answers that question in his second letter. Here are four reasons, drawn from 2 Peter 1:16-21.
1. It is history, not myth
The Bible doesn't present itself as legend. It names real kings, real cities, and real dates, and it invites you to check them.
"For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty."
2 Peter 1:16 ESV
2. It was written by eyewitnesses
The New Testament writers saw what they wrote about, or wrote down the words of people who did. Paul lists over five hundred people who saw the risen Christ, most of them still alive when he wrote (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). Anyone could have checked his story.
3. It reports miracles that fulfilled prophecy
The Bible makes specific promises about the Messiah centuries ahead of time, then records them coming true in Jesus. Jesus Himself walked two disciples through those promises after He rose.
"And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself."
Luke 24:27 ESV
4. It claims to come from God
The Bible says its words were given by God through human writers. That is a big claim, and the first three points give you good reason to take it seriously.
"For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter 1:21 ESV)
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,"
2 Timothy 3:16 ESV
How do we test history?
We can't repeat history in a lab. We test it the way a courtroom does: by reliable witnesses whose stories agree and are backed up by other evidence. By that test, the Bible stands.
Go deeper
This outline follows the shape of Voddie Baucham's message "Why I Choose to Believe the Bible." The wording above is mine. Watch the official upload from Grace Family Baptist Church, where he served as pastor of preaching, for the whole argument.
Topics
Go deeper, one question at a time
Each page starts with Scripture, explains it in plain words, and points you to free, trusted resources. Where faithful Christians disagree, the page says so.
Apologetics
Reasons for the hope that is in you
Gospel & Last Things
What saves, and what comes next
Family & Culture