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Christ’s voluntary death at the cross is the only answer to the sin and the spiritual need of each person.  The full payment for sin was made by Christ’s death and we become children of God by receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.

(John 1:12-13, John 3:16, Acts 4:12, 1 Timothy 2:5-6, 1 Peter 3:18)

How can this conversion experience be described?

It is repenting and turning to God (Luke 13:3, Acts 20:21).
It is believing the message of the gospel (John 5:24, Acts 16:30-31).
It is accepting the gift of salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 6:23).
It is depending on Christ’s finished work (John 19:30, Hebrews 9:26).
It is confessing Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9, Philippians 2:11).
It is reconciliation to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-21, Colossians 1:20-22).
It is the possession of eternal life (John 10:28, 1 John 5:11-13).
It is the justification of the guilty sinner (Luke 18:14, Romans 3:26).
It is the salvation of the lost (Luke 19:10, 1 Timothy 1:15).

The Steps Of A Christian:
Salvation :: Discipleship :: Fellowship

Salvation:
Salvation involves a rescue or deliverance from some tragedy and a savior is necessary.  In the physical realm a loving mother sees the danger and snatches her child from the busy street and the harm of oncoming traffic.  A concerned father pays the fine for his son who has transgressed the law and faces criminal charges.  His son is delivered and free from a debt he couldn’t pay.

There is a far greater spiritual danger.  All have sinned and deserve punishment from a holy and just God.  All need to be rescued from the fearful doom of everlasting destruction.
“There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10).
“The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

By the love and grace of God, salvation has been provided through the Lord Jesus Christ.  The Lord Jesus willingly died at the cross, took all the punishment, and made full payment for sin.  All who receive Him as their personal Savior, by an act of simple faith and apart from human effort, are born again.
“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
“For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.  Not of works lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

The believer receives divine forgiveness of sins, obtains the gift of eternal life, and becomes a child of God.  All His children are saved and will never perish.  This wonderful gift of salvation is found in the Lord Jesus Christ.
“In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
“The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
“I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand” (John 10:28).
“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).
“Jesus said unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no man cometh unto the Father but by Me” (John 14:6).
“Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Discipleship:
Discipleship commences when a person is saved and they become a follower of the Lord Jesus.  You are not saved by good works but you are saved for good works.  You do not become a Christian by living the Christian life.  The Christian life is lived through the power of the Holy Spirit who resides in each believer.  Discipleship is surrender to the Lord Jesus and a willingness to take up the cross and obey Him.
“Then said Jesus unto His disciples, if any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross  and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).
“For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (Ephesians 2:10).

“When I survey the wondrous Cross
On which the Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an offering far to small,
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my heart, my life, my all!”
- Isaac Watts

In taking up the cross the believer chooses to live their life to please the Lord Jesus.  The cross is not some physical infirmity or some burden to bear, but it is a deliberate choice to be identified with the Lord Jesus.  This could lead to a path of dishonor, reproach and suffering for the cause of Christ.
“All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).
“I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

The disciple will ask, “Lord, what will you have me to do?” and the simple answer is, “Love, obey and follow”.  The believer will love His Savior and want to obey His word, and not model himself after the fashion of this world but rather after the Lord Jesus who is holy.  Obeying God is not a burden.
“By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one to another”
(John 13:35).
“If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).

One of the first steps of obedience for the disciple is baptism.  This is a public declaration that the believer belongs to the Lord Jesus and is identified with Him in death, burial and resurrection.  The evidence of true discipleship is expressed by willing obedience to the Lord Jesus and to His word.
“Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).

Faith without works is dead and the life of the disciple is filled with good works which others can see.  The disciple is not bogged down or strapped by the temporal things of this life, but is occupied with what is eternal.  The desire of the disciple will be to live out the life of Christ and exhibit the fruit of the Spirit.
“Faith without works is dead” (James 2:20).
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peach, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control, against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).

Fellowship:
Purity of heart begins when a person puts their faith in Christ and is cleansed from their sins.  Following salvation there is a necessity for daily cleansing in order to enjoy unbroken fellowship and communion with our Heavenly Father.
“You are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you” (John 15:3).
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

It is important that believers have fellowship with the Father and with one another.  Fellowship in the life of the believer is interrupted by sin.  Therefore confess it to the Father and enjoy His forgiveness.  If there has been failure towards others then confess it to them and live with a good conscience.  Christians should not live like the world or have fellowship with anything that would bring dishonor upon the name of the Lord Jesus.
“Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness” (Ephesians 5:11).
“For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?  And what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).

A believer should enjoy church fellowship and come together for meetings whenever possible.  A special privilege of church fellowship is the Lord’s supper or the breaking of bread.  This meeting is to remember the Lord Jesus in the eating of the bread and the drinking of the cup and to show the Lord’s death until He comes again.  Finally, it is important to have fellowship with others through the spread of His word and the gospel.  Believers are commanded to spread the good news and share their faith.
“Then they that gladly received His word were baptized….And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers”      (Acts 2:41-42).
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord’s death till He come” (1 Corinthians 11:26).
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).

Available Tract - "The Steps Of A Christian"

Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers
"And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ" (Ephesians 4:11-12).

The apostles and prophets were both foundational and historical (Ephesians 2:20).

In these verses the Spirit of God is stressing the great responsibility of evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. The emphasis is not in gifted men doing the work of the ministry, but rather in preparing believers to do the work. God’s ways of doing things are always right and best. When they are experienced, practiced and carried out, they result in blessing and fruitfulness.

The evangelist preaches the gospel to the lost and his sphere is the world. He will in turn discharge his responsibility in teaching the saints how to evangelize. The pastor, in his role of nurturing and caring for the saints, will exercise his gift. In addition he will instruct the saints so that they will be able to do the work of the pastor more effectively. The teacher would not only teach and edify the saints through the Word of God, but he would also show them how to teach among the believers. The believers would be equipped to do the work themselves.

The gifts, evangelist, pastor, and teacher, are given to perfect or equip all Christians to serve the Lord, and in turn the body of Christ is built up. God would have every believer to be a participant, to act rather than to be acted upon. This is the primary lesson in these verses.

The Wonderful Gift of Salvation
A) The Source of Our Salvation
No Saviour but Christ - John 14:6, Acts 4:12
Door of Salvation - John 10:7-10, Matthew 1:21
Message of Salvation - Acts 13:38-39, Acts 20:21
One Sacrifice - John 10:11, Hebrews 9:26, 10:12
Sent by the Father - John 3:16, 1 John 4:14
Resurrected Saviour - Romans 1:4, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
Total and Unconditional Forgiveness - Mark 2:5,7,10, Ephesians 1:7

B) Faith and Our Salvation
Saved by Faith - Luke 7:50, Ephesians 2:8-9, Galatians 3:26
Justified by Faith - Romans 3:25-28, 5:1, Galatians 3:24
Declared Righteous by Faith - Romans 3:21-22, 9:30, Philippians 3:9
Holy Spirit Indwells by Faith - Galatians 3:2,14
Walk by Faith - 2 Corinthians 5:7, Hebrews 11:6, James 2:17-18
Live by Faith - Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17, Galatians 2:20
Overcome by Faith - 1 John 5:4, Hebrews 11

C) The Assurance of Our Salvation
Free Gift - Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5
Promise - John 1:12, John 6:37, 1 John 5:11-13
No Judgment - John 5:24, Romans 8:33-34
Sealed by the Holy Spirit - Romans 8:9, 2 Corinthians 1:22, Ephesians 1:13
Kept - John 10:29, John 17:12, Ephesians 2:6, Philippians 1:6, 1 Peter 1:5, Jude 24

D) The Duration of Our Salvation
Eternal Life - John 3:16, John 10:28, Romans 6:23
Born Again into God’s Family - John 1:12-13, John 3:3,7, 1 Peter 1:18
Transforming Power - Romans 1:18, 8:28-30, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Colossians 1:13
Eternal Ages - Ephesians 2:4-7,3:9-11, 2 Peter 1:11,3:13, Revelation 11:15,21:1-7

E) The Evidences of Our Salvation
Witness of the Holy Spirit - Romans 8:15-17, 1 John 5:10
Love One Another - John 15:12, 13:35, 1 John 3:23, 4:7-8, 11-12, 21
Spiritual Appetite - Matthew 5:6, 1 Peter 2:2
Willing Obedience - Mat. 4:19, John 13:17, Acts 9:6, Romans 12:1-2,1 John 5:2-3
Life of Holiness - Eph. 1:4, 1 Cor. 5:7, 1 Thess. 4:7, Heb. 12:14, 1 Peter 1:15-16