You are currently viewing What Does It Mean to Know Jesus? (How to Become A Christian) | Bonus Episode Show Notes

What Does It Mean to Know Jesus? (How to Become A Christian) | Bonus Episode Show Notes

Are you curious about who Jesus is, how to start a relationship with Him, or what it means to be a Christian? Are you a Christian wondering how to better understand or communicate your faith to others? In this episode, I get into those questions, share my personal story of coming to know Jesus, and I’ll lead you in a prayer to become a Christian if you’re ready to take that step too. Whether you’re exploring faith or looking for a resource to help introduce people in your life to Jesus, this conversation is for you.

See below for episode notes and Bible passages.

Episode Outline and Bible Passages

Misconceptions About Being A Christian

Being a Christian is not:

  • Inherited from family or by cultural association (Romans 2:28-29)
  • Only about going to church (Acts 2:42-47)
  • Only about doing good deeds and trying to be a good person (Ephesians 2:8-10; Romans 3:9-20)
  • Only about believing in God in a casual or theoretical way (James 2:19-20; Hebrews 11:6; John 20:31)

In my episode What Does It Mean to be A Christian? I dig deeper into these misconceptions and what Bible verses address them.

The Gospel

The gospel is the Good News message of who Jesus is and how He saves us from our sins so we can have a relationship with Him.

God created this world and He created people to know Him and have a personal relationship with Him.

  • Genesis 1:26-28
  • Acts 17:27
  • 1 Timothy 2:3-4


But our sin creates a rift in our relationship with God. Sin is breaking/disobeying God’s commandments. We all have sinned against God, falling short of His standard, and strayed from His paths to follow our own.

  • Genesis 3
  • Isaiah 53:6
  • James 2:10-11
  • 1 John 3:4
  • Romans 3:23
  • Romans 6:23


Example of sinful actions (wrong things we should not do)

  • Romans 1:26-31
  • 1 Corinthians 5:10-11
  • 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
  • Galatians 5:19-21
  • Ephesians 4:17-32
  • Colossians 3:5-9
  • 1 Timothy 1:9-10
  • 2 Timothy 3:1-5

Examples of righteous actions (right things God says we should do):

  • Romans 12:9-21
  • Galatians 5:22-23
  • Colossians 3:12-17
  • Ephesians 4:17-32
  • Titus 3:1-2

The wages of sin is [spiritual] death, which is separation from God in this life and in eternity in a place called Hell.

  • Romans 6:23
  • 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
  • Galatians 5:19-21

God doesn’t want anyone to be separated from Him in this life or eternity, or to have to bear the eternal consequence for our sins. So He did something to rescue us from our sin and separation from Him, and to repair our broken relationship with Him.

God loved the world so much that He sent His Son Jesus–God in the flesh–into this world to live a life of perfect obedience to God’s commands without ever sinning. Jesus willingly sacrificed His life on our behalf to pay the price for our sins so we would not have to. He was crucified and died on a cross and rose from the dead three days later, and He ascended back to Heaven. And He is alive in Heaven today. Jesus conquered the power of sin and death on our behalf and made a way for us to be reconciled to God.

  • John 1:1-14
  • John 3
  • Romans 5:6-11

Jesus did all this so anyone who would repent (turn from) their sins and believe in Him could be saved.

What happens when we are saved?

  1. Your sins are forgiven.
  • Colossians 1:20-22
  • 2 Corinthians 5:18-21

2. You have new live spiritually.

  • John 1:12-13
  • 2 Corinthians 5:14-17
  • Ephesians 4:21-24
  • Luke 4:18-21
  • Matthew 11:28-30
  • Romans 8:31

3. You have a friendship with Jesus.

  • Romans 5:10-11
  • Colossians 1:9
  • Romans 5:5
  • Ephesians 3:16-19

4. You have eternal life.

  • John 3:16
  • 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

What Jesus did makes salvation available to anyone who would trust in Him, but He gives us free will because He wants us to love, obey, and follow Him by choice, not force. So we each have to personally choose to RECEIVE His free gift of salvation in order for it to apply to us.

What the Bible consistently teaches about how to take that step to become a Christian and receive salvation: Repent of your sins and turn to God, and have faith in the Lord Jesus.

  • Acts 20:21
  • Acts 3:19
  • Mark 1:15

Admit that you have sinned against God, and you need a Savior

Believe that Jesus is that Savior and that He died on the cross and rose from the dead for the forgiveness of your sins.

Repent of your sin and Confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior

Repenting of your sins and putting your faith in Jesus means now that you’ve heard and believe the Good News about Jesus, in response to that, you are making a decision to turn away from living for sin and for yourself and instead you’re now turning towards Jesus, to believe in Him, trust in Him for salvation, and choosing to follow Him with your life from now on, as He helps you and teaches you how to do that. 

Becoming a Christian is not a decision you make in a moment and then forget about. It’s the beginning of a daily, lifelong relationship with Jesus and it’s the first step in a daily, lifelong journey of following Him.

  • Luke 9:23

Salvation Prayer

  • Romans 10:9-13

Jesus, I recognize that I am sinner and that you are the Savior. I believe You died on the cross for my sins and rose again from the dead. I repent from my sins and turn away from them, and I ask You to forgive me. I receive You as my Lord, my Savior, my God, and my Friend, and I choose to follow You from this day forward. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit and teach me to follow You. Thank You for loving me. Thank You for saving me. In Your name I pray. Amen.

Resources for New Christians – Next Steps!

If you prayed with me to give your life to Jesus for the first time or to recommit your life to Jesus after a season away from following Him, leave a comment on the podcast episode and let me know! You can also DM on Instagram or TikTok @jasminonsocial or contact me HERE. I’d love know about your decision to follow Jesus so I can celebrate with you and be praying for you!

Below are a few tips and resources to help you begin your journey with Jesus!

1. Harvest.org/knowgod + You Version Bible App (Free Bible)

Click HERE to view the Know God page curated by Harvest Ministries. You can enter your address and they will mail you a free Bible (with some special study notes in it written by Pastor Greg Laurie) if you need one. They also have some great blogs and video content to help you understand what your new faith in Jesus means and help you know what to do next as a new follower of Christ.

If you want to buy a Bible on your own online or at your local Christian bookstore, I recommend you get a New Living Translation, New International Version, or Christian Standard Bible. They communicate the truth of God’s Word in easy-to-understand, contemporary language. You can also download the You Version Bible App for free and have access to a digital version the Bible anytime! They also have a bunch of Bible reading plans and devotional studies you can do to encourage you in your faith.

2. The New Believer’s Guide to Effective Living by Pastor Greg Laurie

This is a short, easy-to-read book that you can read in less than a day. It explains what it means for you practically now that you are a Christian, and the key things you need to do to help you grow in your faith like reading the Bible, prayer, dealing with challenges in life, living a new life, and going to church. Get the book HERE.

3. Devoted To Jesus: From First Steps to Fully Surrendered by Alex and Stephen Kendrick

Similar to the New Believer’s Guide to Effective Living, this book is designed to take new Christians or Christians wanting to start taking their faith more seriously through the main concepts you should know about being a Christian–what we believe about Jesus and salvation, how to read the Bible and pray, the purpose of going to church, how to handle temptation and problems in life, and all kinds of other good teachings and practices to help you start growing your new relationship with Jesus.

It’s broken into 52 short chapters you can read over 52 days or over a full year (52 weeks), ideally, but you don’t have to keep that exact pace. I recommend reading one chapter a day for 52 days so you can get an overview of your new faith, and then reading it again going through one chapter a week to dive deeper. It’s also great–but not required for you to benefit from the book–to have someone who is a little further along in the faith than you read through the book with you so they can guide you through it and you can discuss it together! So, feel free to ask a trusted Christian in your life who wants to invest in your spiritual growth if they would help walk you through the content in the book.

This is an incredible resource, and I highly, highly, highly recommend! Get the book HERE.

4. The Purple Book: Biblical Foundations for Strong Disciples by Rice Broocks and Steve Murrell

And lastly, The Purple Book is an interactive workbook that guides you through the essential doctrines (teachings) of the Christian faith. This will help you understand the key things Christians believe and how we live. Each chapter focuses on a topic and and poses questions to help you grasp the topic and points you to Bible verses about that subject so you can look up the answers for yourself.

This one is great (and might be more helpful) for a more mature Christians to go through the content systematically with you. I highly recommend going through this book early on in your Christian journey because, in addition to doing a great job covering the topics the other two books teach through, The Purple Book goes deeper into helping you understand the work of the Holy Spirit in your Christian life than the others and that is a very important topic to understand and experience in your Christian life.

Get the book HERE.

I hope these help! If you’re a new Christian, welcome to the family of God! And if you’ve been a Christian for a while use these resources to help you share the gospel with others and to help new Christians in your life grow in their faith.


LET’S TALK! What did you learn about what life with Jesus is like from this episode? If you prayed with me to become a Christian either for the first time or to return to your faith in Jesus, let me know in the comments! Discuss this episode in the comments below.

Jasmin Patterson

Hey, I’m Jasmin Patterson! I’m a minister, Bible teacher, content creator, singer-songwriter, and worship leader with a passion to help both seekers and believers discover and grow a genuine relationship with Jesus. To that end, I host the Everyday Walk podcast, serve as a staff writer at Christian music website NewReleaseToday, and work in college ministry. I live in Kansas City, MO with my pug, and love all things music, entertainment, and pop culture. So, you might find me covering some of my favorite Christian and mainstream songs from time to time, and having thoughtful conversations about arts and faith. The Everyday Walk podcast provides practical Bible teaching to guide and equip your everyday walk with Jesus. Each episode will clarify biblical topics, answer your questions about the Christian life, and equip you to faithfully follow Jesus in everyday life. My debut EP, All For You, is available now on all music streaming services. Follow me on social media: @jasminonsocial

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