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How I Began A Personal Relationship with God on January 17, 1971 Based a visit with Campus Crusaders the night before on at the home of Pastor Beau Matthews in Manlius, New York:

7/9/2018

(original text & contents please click on the image above)

This version Adapted & Edited by Bob Bonnell, 53 years later, for the purposes of understanding the message in 2018 in the light of my new book: "Be Bold Believe, The Miracle of CommunionFire" Available now on Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble and other outlets worldwide. Origin: Bill Bright, Founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, wrote his original tract (the basis for the Classic Booklet pictured above) in 1952. It was 1965 before the first booklet was printed and distributed as seen above. I personally accepted Christ as my personal Lord and Savior, January 17, 1971 the day after being presented the 4 Spiritual Laws by 4 Campus Crusaders at the home of Pastor Beau Matthews in Manlius, New York.

The text below is what I have adapted based on my 47 years of my journey with Jesus.

1. God loves you & created you to know Him personally, one-on-one.

God's Love
"God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

God's Plan
"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3, NIV).

What prevents us from knowing God personally?

2. Our sinful nature separates us from God, so knowing Him or experiencing His love personally seems out of reach.

A sinful nature is a condition we are born with and rules our decisions and life path"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

But God: created us have fellowship with Him and because we have our own stubborn self-will, without Him, we choose to go our own way and this keeps us from fellowship with God. This began with the first humans when, through disobedience, fellowship with God was broken. This self-will, over the centuries has become characterized by an attitude of active rebellion and indifference. This attitude becomes a lifestyle and is evidence for what what the Bible calls sin.

Our Sin Can Separate Us from Knowing God's Love until Death. "The final payout of sin is death" [our spiritual separation from God] (Romans 6:23)....

(Those) who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus...will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from ever being in the presence of the Lord..." (2 Thessalonians 1:8,9)

This diagram illustrates that God is holy and man is sinful. So, a great sin-space separates us. The arrows illustrate that man is continually trying to reach God and establish a personal relationship with Him through his own strength and efforts, such as personal goodness, science or religion - but he inevitably fails.

The third principle explains God's only way to bridge the separation

3. Jesus Christ is God's only provision for man's sin.
Through Jesus Christ alone we can know God personally and experience His love.

Jesus is God's only Son; clean, pure, holy and free our sinful nature...

Jesus alone was qualified by His Father to take our sin upon Himself & to pay the death penalty alone for each one of us. So, God's Son, Jesus Christ, became a man and was named Jesus born of His mother, Mary. He was raised as a man and had been born to tell this good news to the world. He demonstrated God's love, through many signs, wonders and miracles. Then at God's appointed time Jesus Christ carried all our sin upon Himself to pay the death penalty demanded by the Law of Moses.

God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinful and separated from Him, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

He descended to hell and took back the keys of Sin, Death and Hell from the devil and took back the absolute eternal authority to offer eternal life to all who believe His message, the Gospel of His Eternal Kingdom.

"For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living." (Romans 14:9)

He Confirmed His authority when He Rose From among the Dead and revealed Himself to those who were on the earth.

"Christ died for our sins...He was buried...He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred..." (1 Corinthians 15:3-6).

Jesus is the Only Way to God

Jesus said to us, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me'" (John 14:6).

This diagram illustrates that God has bridged the gulf that separates us from Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sins.

However, it is not enough just to know these truths...

4. When you personally receive Jesus Christ as your Savior & Lord; then you will encounter Him personally and intimately and experience His love forever.

We Must Receive Christ

"As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12)

We Receive Christ Through Faith"By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).

When We Receive Christ, We Experience a New Birth (Read John 3:1-8.)

We Receive Christ by Personal Invitation[Christ speaking] "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him" (Revelation 3:20).

Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive us of our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of our will.

These two circles represent two kinds of lives:]
Which circle best represents your life?
Which circle would you like to have represent your life?
The following explains how you can receive Christ:

You Can Receive Christ Right Now by Faith Through Prayer

(Prayer is talking with God)

God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:

"Lord Jesus, I want to know You personally.

Thank You for carrying the weight of all my sin and for taking the penalty of my death sentence by your suffering and death on the cross for me.

I open the door of my life to welcome You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving me of my sins and giving me eternal life. I invite you to take control of the throne of my life. May your love transform me to become the person You always intended me to be.

"Did you just pray this prayer?

I still have questions

How to Know That Christ Is in Your Life

Did you receive Christ into your life? According to His promise in Revelation 3:20, where is Christ right now in relation to you? Christ said that He would come into your life and be your friend so you can know Him personally. Would He mislead you? On what authority do you know that God has answered your prayer? (The trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word.)

The Bible Promises Eternal Life to All Who Receive Christ "The witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:11-13).

Thank God often that Christ is in your life and that He will never leave you (Hebrews 13:5). You can know on the basis of His promise that Christ lives in you and that you have eternal life from the very moment you invite Him in. He will not deceive you.

An important reminder... Do Not Depend on Feelings

The promise of God's Word, the Bible - not our feelings - is our authority.

The Christian lives by faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word.
This train diagram illustrates the relationship among fact (God and His Word), faith (our trust in God and His Word), and feeling (the result of our faith and obedience) (John 14:21).

The train will run with or without the caboose. However, it would be useless to attempt to pull the train by the caboose. In the same way, we as Christians do not depend on feelings or emotions, but we place our faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God and the promises of His Word.

Now That You Have Entered Into a Personal Relationship With ChristThe moment you received Christ by faith, as an act of your will, many things happened, including the following:

1. Christ came into your life (Revelation 3:20 and Colossians 1:27).
2. Your sins were forgiven (Colossians 1:14).
3. You became a child of God (John 1:12).
4. You received eternal life (John 5:24).
5. You began the great adventure for which God created you (John 10:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17 and 1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Can you think of anything more wonderful that could happen to you than entering into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Would you like to thank God in prayer right now for what He has done for you?

By thanking God, you demonstrate your faith.
To enjoy your new relationship with God...

Suggestions For Christian Growth

Spiritual growth results from trusting Jesus Christ. "The righteous man shall live by faith" (Galatians 3:11). A life of faith will enable you to trust God increasingly with every detail of your life, and to practice the following:

G Go to God in prayer daily (John 15:7).R Read God's Word daily (Acts 17:11) - begin with the Gospel of John.O Obey God moment by moment (John 14:21).W Witness for Christ by your life and words (Matthew 4:19; John 15:8).T Trust God for every detail of your life (1 Peter 5:7).H Holy Spirit - Allow Him to control and empower your daily life and witness (Galatians 5:16,17; Acts 1:8).

The Importance of Baptism

The view of most evangelical Christian scholars is that salvation is by grace through faith alone. This is especially indicated by Ephesians 2:8-9, John 3:16, 1 John 5:1. It is important to understand that baptism is a result of salvation, not a cause.

There are different baptism methods. They may include the sprinkling of water over the head of the professing believer or the total immersion of the person under water (Greek: "Baptismo" = to immerse). However, the procedure is not as important as the individual's understanding and motivation to seek baptism.

Some cite Mark 16:16 as their proof text that baptism is necessary for salvation, but they only quote the first half of the verse and typically leave out the second half, which indicates the necessity of belief as being the prerequisite to the salvation issue.

The way to resolve most problems pertaining to the issue of baptism is to look at the whole of Scripture. When we do, we find that there is absolutely nothing we can do as humans to earn salvation. Romans 6:23 tells us that salvation is a "free gift." Free means that there is nothing we can do to deserve it. On the other hand, baptism is something we choose to do. If baptism or any other human work or activity (such as going to church regularly, going on a pilgrimage or visiting a "holy site") contributed to our salvation, we could boast that we did something and contributed to our salvation. However, Scripture says that no one should boast before God Ephesians 2:8-9 .

We come to Christ though grace by faith, and our public baptism brings glory and honor to God. Baptism is an act of obedience, not to obtain salvation, but because of it -- because we love Him and want to obey Him. The motivation to pursue baptism should originate from a desire to show to the world an outward demonstration of the person's decision as well as the inward work the Holy Spirit has already begun in us. An unsaved person would not likely want to be baptized, because he would not have the Holy Spirit indwelling him to prompt his desire to follow Christ in obedience (unless a sect or cult group has erroneously taught him or her otherwise.)

The fact that one even wants to be baptized (being assured that only faith alone in Jesus Christ saves) is evidence that the Holy Spirit already indwells that person, a result of being born of the Spirit by faith alone.

In the book of Acts, baptism is typically the outward response to coming to faith. It was seen as part of a process which includes:

1) hearing (or reading about) the gospel,

2) being convicted and led by the Holy Spirit to confess one's sins (Greek: "Homologeo" = to agree with, to speak the same),

3) coming to faith in Jesus Christ as Savior,

4) beginning the progress of growth (which includes repenting from known sin),

5) joining a group of believers or church fellowship, and

6) being baptized. The last two parts are where there are different opinions among believers or churches.

Where some churches differ with what has been stated above chiefly centers on whether a person is saved if they have not been baptized (or if they have not been baptized the "right" way). In our understanding a person is saved when they put their faith in Christ. Of course, we all want them to join a church which exalts Christ and be baptized.

Fellowship In a Good Church

God's Word admonishes us not to forsake "the assembling of ourselves together..." (Hebrews 10:25). Several logs burn brightly together; but put one aside on the cold hearth and the fire goes out. So it is with your relationship with other Christians. If you do not belong to a church, do not wait to be invited. Take the initiative; call the pastor of a nearby church where Christ is honored and His Word is preached. Start this week, and make plans to attend regularly.

Have You Heard of the Four Spiritual Laws?

Written by Bill Bright. © 1965-2013 Bright Media Foundation® & Campus Crusade for Christ, International®. All rights reserved. Used by permission. No part may be changed in any way or reproduced in any form without written permission from CCCI and BMF.
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. To see the original see http://www.4laws.com/laws/englishkgp/default.htm
(Variations from Bob Bonnell, adapted for CommunionFire Ministries)

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