Restoration Studies:

THE RESTORATION AND YOU

Are you a Christian in the same sense and in the same way as were Peter, James and the other disciples in that first church in ancient Jerusalem? If you are not, or if you are not sure, please take five minutes to examine the New Testament teaching on how to become a true follower of Jesus.
RECOGNIZE that all men are sinners and therefore lost apart from Christ (Rom.  3:23 & 6:23). Recognize further the fact that just being religious is not sufficient.  Jesus taught that one must do the will of the heavenly Father to be acceptable to him (Matt. 7:21).
UNDERSTAND that apart from the Bible you can have no dependable knowledge of how to be saved and how to live acceptably to God. Faith cometh by hearing the word of Christ (Rom. 10:17).

BELIEVE with all your heart that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:16; John 8:24). Your faith must be more than mere assent, it must be an obedient faith that gladly does God’s will (Gal. 5:6).  Your faith must be strong enough to confess before men your acceptance of Christ as Lord (Matt. 10:32; Rom. 10:9-10).
RESOLVE in your heart to turn away from all your sins in genuine repentance. Without repentance you will surely perish (Lk. 13:3). True repentance is necessary unto salvation(II Cor. 7:10).

SUBMIT yourself to the Lord’s command to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 2:38 & 10:48). The baptism of Christ is a burial or an immersion in water (Rom. 6:3-4; Acts 10:47).

BE FAITHFUL. When you thus take up your cross to follow Jesus, it must be a life-time commitment (Matt. 16:24).  Only those who are faithful unto death will receive the crown of life (Rev. 2:10).

This simple plan of salvation is as old as the New Testament and as reliable as the Holy Spirit of God who gave it.  Yours acceptance and submission thereto will guarantee the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 22:16); your membership in the Lord’s true church (Acts 2:38, 41, 47) and thus your place among the redeemed as a child of God (Gal. 3:26-27).

As a fellow mortal, soon to meet the Lord in judgment, I urge you to take your stand with Christ today, on the infallible Word of God, to be a Christian and only a Christian. Could such a commitment possibly be wrong?