This is the story of how I became a Christian
I grew up in a small town in Texas called Krum. As I grew up, we went to church intermittently at Krum First Baptist Church - more often as I was younger and less often as I got older. When I was elementary age, while the good news from God was probably taught in church, I thought you got to Heaven by walking up the aisle while everyone was praying at the end of the service. I was too chicken to walk up the aisle, so that put a little weight on my elementary shoulders.
As time went on though, I guess my thoughts had changed because I recall an activity in a Sunday school class when I was in middle school. The teacher asked everyone to write down the "reasons people think they go to Heaven but do not" and "the real reason people to go Heaven". While I didn't have an answer to question #1, I understood the reason people went to Heaven was because they acted good. The teacher opens up the floor to question #1 and I found being good wasn't the right answer - my #2 answer fell into the #1 category - so I hurriedly erased my answer and paid attention. Again, I am sure the good news from God was taught, but all I gathered was that you got to Heaven by believing in God.
I pondered on this a good deal. I introspectively questioned myself if I believed in God. I concluded that I did sincerely believe there was a God who created the heaves and the earth. However, I had this thought in the back of my head, that if I "really" believed in God, He would be in the forefront of all my thoughts - I would think, act, and speak in ways to always make Him happy. I had this image of a holy man who was very serious and did all things to God's pleasing. It was funny - earlier I thought I was good enough to go to Heaven, but knowing I had to believe made me feel like I had fallen short. I knew I could never be that serious holy person - it was not in me. So, a different weight was added to my middle school shoulders.
I continued to read by Bible as I grew up - I think primarily seeking to justify myself. And when I was a Senior in high school, I got into a Tennis/Bible Study group. Again, I am sure the good news from God was taught in this group, but I was a very reserved person by this time - everyone was a snake oil salesman. But, the leaders provided a pamphlet that explained the good news from God. It was a simple read and gave me time to digest and think things through. While I probably already had all the pieces available to me, this is when I accepted the simplicity of the gospel and became a Christian. The following is what the pamphlet said about the good news from God, the gospel.
First, God is holy and righteous, and we have fallen short of that standard. The Bible says "Therefore, you are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" [Matthew 5:48] and "we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" [Romans 3:23]. Hence, I was right with that image of a holy man - I was not what I should be.
The second is the consequence of falling short - judgement awaits. The Bible says, "and inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgement" [Hebrews 9:27] and "for the wages of sin is death" [Romans 6:23]. I will obviously die a physical death, but after that, God will judge me (we exist in body and spirit) and I will then be forever separated from God. There is a chasm between God and myself - a problem I cannot resolve by my own merit and strength.
The problem was resolved by God through the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and the Son of Man. He is a person who can mediate between God and man. Jesus was the holy man that I had imagined I should be. Jesus had no need to die even physically since he never sinned. But he did die on our behalf as a sacrifice to bridge the chasm between God and man. The Bible says,
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"We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way. But, the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him" [Isaiah 53:6]
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"For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God. Having been put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit" [1 Peter 3:18]
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"He made Him who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" [1 Corinthians 5:21]
So, Jesus died in the flesh for us and was raised from the dead for our justification. So, we too in likeness, might be raised in the same way after our death. We can avoid God's judgement because of Jesus's righteousness. We are reconciled to God because of God's love found in Jesus Christ.
So, I also had the last piece of the puzzle as well in that you had to believe God. The problem was I thought this meant you had to acknowledge the existence of God. Instead, you must believe in who God is specifically and what He did. You believe in the love of God, the sending of His Son Jesus Christ, and the work of Jesus Christ in offering Himself as a sacrifice to take on God's wrath that you deserve. You get to Heaven by simply accepting God's love and becoming a vessel of mercy by looking upon Jesus Christ and holding fast - by putting your faith, trust, belief, and hope in Jesus Christ. The Bible says, "but 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]
So, you don't get to heaven by a spiritual experience or duty - walking up an aisle, confirmation, etc. And you don't get to heaven by your own merit and strength of being a good person. You get to heaven by faith in God alone. But, a skeptic might say, "So, I just say in believe in Jesus Christ and I get to go to heaven - that doesn't seem right". The key item is it isn't just "saying" you believe, it is "actually" believing. This action will begin a transformation called sanctification that will be driven by the Spirt of God. You can read more about it in the article
Pay It Forward.
So, if you want to become a Christian as well, you just need to talk to God - tell Him that you accept Him and His gift of righteousness in Jesus Christ. Then, you can begin the spiritual journey of knowing Him even more - read your Bible, pray, go to church, and tell others of God's goodness and blessings. The Bible says, "So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord"
[Hosea 6:3] and "Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness. Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, until He comes, to rain righteousness on you".
[Hosea 10:12]