Sin

Sin is the heart of the gospel.  The Bible tells us that “We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”  Sin is not a new thing, it has been around for as long as man has been around.  Anything that violates God’s commandments is a sin.  We have the 10 commandments and The Bible.  Over the course of a lifetime, if you have committed any sin such as lying, stealing, using God’s name in vain, etc., you are guilty of sin.  It is not about if you are better than someone else, you probably are.  If you have committed any sin, you have violated God’s law.  “If you say you have no sin, you have deceived yourself and the truth is not in you.”  It is not about being better than someone else.  It is about whether you have sinned or not.  In the days before Christ, you would have to offer a sacrifice, such as a goat or a lamb, to cleanse yourself of sin.  Today, because God sent his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for us to atone us of our sins, we do not have to sacrifice animals to cleanse ourselves.  Christ Jesus did this for us on the cross.

Repent

Ask for forgiveness.  We can be forgiven of all sins, no matter what type of lifestyle you previously lived. Repent of your sin and lead a new lifestyle.  “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

Believe

You should believe the truth of the gospel and proclaim it.  “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is the Christ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

You should now be “born again” or have a new heart and mind to serve God.  

The objective here should not be to see what the minimal requirements are for salvation and follow those.  But instead, flee from your past, live a new path that does not align with the world, travel down the narrow gate, not the broad path that leads to destruction.  Leave the sin of your past in the past and chase after the heart of God.  Strive for holiness and obedience.   Read his word.  (stay away from paraphrases, use a trusted version such as KJV, ESV, NASB, RSV, amongst others).  Endure till the end, endure in the faith.  Christ Jesus promises both blessings and persecution.  You will need to learn to rely on walking hand and hand directly with the Father, reading his word, following his direction and rely less on following what some other people may have to say.

A basic prayer to start with: 

DEAR JESUS, I AM A SINNER. I BELIEVE YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD AND DIED FOR MY SINS ON THE CROSS. FORGIVE ALL OF MY SINS. JESUS, I REPENT AND GIVE YOU MY LIFE. HAVE MERCY ON ME, A SINNER. HELP ME TO FOLLOW AND OBEY YOUR COMMANDMENTS AND TO LIVE FOR YOU. I ASK IT IN THE NAME OF MY LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST. AMEN.

There are numerous healthy, strong, prosperous churches across America.  Likewise, there are also dangerous and unhealthy churches run by carnal and apostate men across America.  If you can find a good doctrinally strong church, then go to it.  You can learn, grow, and enjoy fellowship at a healthy church.  But going to church is not a requirement for salvation.  The church itself is not the enemy, but the enemy has put some of his people in place to lead some churches.  The Bible warns us of great apostasy in the last days.  If you are in such a place, pray, read the bible, and you can find doctrinally strong preachers online if you enjoy listening to messages.  Or create your own messages.  Or just read and meditate from the Bible.

It’s not about works, yet a transformed life should yield good works.

It’s not about legalism, yet you should live a life that follows God’s commandments.

It’s not about religious activity, it is following after the heart of God.

It’s not about giving money to the church, but about giving your life to Christ

It’s not about being a member of an institution, but rather a member of God’s kingdom

Salvation is not about a magic formula, going to church, completing religious activity, saying a prayer, or walking forward to an altar call.  It is about giving your heart to Jesus, having a transformed life, and honoring God.

“Love the Lord thy God with all of your heart, mind, and soul”

If you are on this new narrow path, you will find there are really two ways to communicate with God through the Holy Spirit..  Pray and read the Bible (find a good version, KJV, NKJV, ESV, NASB, YLT, NYLT, RSV, NRSV, etc., seem to be the best, stay away from the paraphrases)  cleanse yourself from the world and the sin of the world, learn to walk hand in hand with your Father in heaven.  Be aware of deception.  Many deceivers use religious language to trap more new believers.  

The Bible tells us that those that we are to be the most afraid of are the wolves.  And these wolves aren’t going to do the obvious.  They are going to dress like the sheep, talk like the sheep, and use religious lingo like the sheep.  They are going to look and act like the sheep, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

“But, take heed of the false prophets, who come unto you in sheep's clothing, and inwardly are ravening wolves.” Matt. 7:15 YLT