Choosing to trust Jesus is the beginning of an incredible new life. This is the first in a six-part series adapted from Dana Morey’s discipleship guide Your New Life, written to walk new believers through what happens next.

The first thing you need to understand is what happened when you prayed to receive Jesus.

Jesus said, “The time promised by God has come at last! The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” (Mark 1:15, NLT). That is exactly what you did. You turned away from sin and turned toward God, which is called repentance, and you believed the good news.

The Good News is this: Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay the penalty for sin and give us eternal life. He did this so you could be forgiven and receive all the privileges of being a child of God.

When you believed this and asked Jesus to forgive you, He came into your life and you were born again. The Bible says, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT).

Let me say this again: you have been given a new life.

You Are a Child of God

God heard your prayer and has made you a promise: “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12, NLT). You are now a child of God.

Now that you belong to God, everything in your life has begun new, and He has great plans for you. He has a purpose for your life and important things for you to do. He will work with you to learn to hear His voice and to follow His leading day by day. God did not save you only so you could go to Heaven. He saved you so you could know Him, walk with Him, and be used by Him to impact others. Your life now has eternal purpose. God wants to work through you to share His love, bring hope to others, and help people come to know Jesus. As you grow in your relationship with Him, He will guide you, strengthen you, and lead you into the abundant life He has prepared for you.

Because of what Jesus has done for you, one day when you die, you will not receive the penalty for your sin. Instead, you will live forever with Jesus Christ. Hallelujah! You have been given the gift of eternal life.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23 (NLT)

Don’t you agree that this is worth shouting your thanks and praise to God?

Now it is very important for you to understand this: this new life is a free gift. You did nothing to earn it. God did not give you eternal life because of anything good you have done. The Bible says, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NLT).

You Are Forgiven

The Bible is clear: it was not your good deeds that caused God to save you. God saved you because He loves you. And He did not wait for you to become holy or deserving before rescuing you. The Bible says, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8, NLT).

God saved you by what He calls grace. Grace is God’s blessing given to those who do not deserve it. Jesus died on the cross to give you this grace. God did this because He is good, and because He loves you. He is a gracious and loving God, and He wanted to forgive your sins and now wants to have a real relationship with you.

It is very important that you understand this next truth: because of what Jesus has done, you have been totally forgiven. God says, “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins” (Hebrews 8:12, NLT). God has forgiven you for all the wrong things you have ever done, even the sins you may commit in the future. He has paid the price for you to be completely forgiven.

You are now clean in the eyes of God. When He looks at you, He sees a child He loves, one He gave His life for. Let that sink in. You can now begin to live as a brand new person. You are clean. You are righteous. You are holy. Even if you do not feel holy, God says that because of Jesus, you are.

If you do sin, simply confess it to God. Tell Him you are sorry, and thank Him that Jesus has already paid the price for all your sin.

This is the foundation for everything that follows. In the next lesson, discover what it means to become a true disciple, a follower who grows in relationship with Jesus for the rest of your life.