The Man Who Said: The Dead Do Not Rise
He was a man who thought with a scientific mind, and he said: the dead do not rise; the resurrection is the one thing that cannot be. So he supposed that the accounts of Christ's resurrection must be explained some other way: as a legend, a theft of the body, or a group hallucination. So it seemed to him that rejecting the resurrection was the only reasonable position, since it contradicts all we know of death. But one day he read how the Bible presents the resurrection: not as a doctrine asserted, but as an event many witnessed, who saw Him alive, handled Him, and ate with Him: "To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs" (Acts 1:3). And he paused: if this is eyewitness testimony to an event, not a mere assertion, then perhaps honesty requires that I examine it rather than reject it in advance.
The Bible's answer to the question of the resurrection is a single sentence, and once it is grasped it changes the view: the resurrection is not a doctrine asserted, but an event foretold in advance, predicted by Christ Himself, seen alive by many witnesses who handled Him and ate with Him, and the ground of the believer's hope. As for the supposition that the resurrection is explained by theft or hallucination, it is overturned by the fact that the disciples do not die for a lie they know to be a lie, and that a hallucination cannot be touched, cannot eat, and is not shared by hundreds; and the empty tomb and the women as first witnesses confirm this. So the thing you suppose impossible is supported by a testimony hard to explain by anything but the resurrection; and honesty is to examine the alternatives, not to reject in advance.
What the Atheist Assumes in His Question
Let the position be stated fairly. Many atheists assume that the dead do not rise, so the resurrection is the one thing that cannot be; and therefore the accounts must be explained some other way: as a legend, a theft, or a hallucination. And from this it is understood that the burden of proof lies on the one who believes the resurrection, and that any natural explanation — however far-fetched — is preferable to accepting a resurrection that contradicts the ordinary.
And we acknowledge that the intuition that the dead do not rise is a reasonable intuition, for this is what we see every day, and the critical mind has the right to be cautious. And this we value. The atheist who is cautious about accepting a resurrection without examination is cautious with reason. But the matter is not whether the dead usually rise — that is agreed, for the resurrection is by definition an exception — but whether this particular case requires a natural explanation, or whether the testimony resists every explanation but the resurrection. For honesty does not require us to reject the resurrection in advance because it is an exception, but to examine the testimony and the alternatives. For the Bible does not ask for blind belief, but presents the resurrection as an event many witnessed, and invites examination of the testimony. So if the natural alternatives — theft, hallucination — collapse before the details of the testimony, honesty requires looking at what remains. So the real question is not whether the resurrection is ordinary, but whether the alternatives explain it, or the testimony resists them.
The Resurrection Was Foretold: Christ Himself Predicted It
The first thing that settles the matter is that the resurrection was not an afterthought invented after a disappointment, but foretold in advance. For the Scriptures foretold that God would not leave His Holy One to see corruption: "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption" (Psalm 16:10), and the apostles interpreted this of the resurrection of Christ (Acts 2:31). And Isaiah described that after His suffering He would see His seed and prolong His days (Isaiah 53:10-11).
And the Lord Jesus Christ Himself repeatedly predicted that He would be killed and rise the third day: "And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things... and be killed, and after three days rise again" (Mark 8:31). And He pointed to the temple of His body raised in three days: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up... But he spake of the temple of his body" (John 2:19-21). So the resurrection, then, was announced in advance, not invented after the event to explain a disappointment. For if it were a legend that arose to comfort dejected followers, it would not have been preceded by this repeated prediction. So the One who predicted His death and resurrection before they happened, and then what He said came to pass, presents an event announced beforehand, not a later explanation. So the prior announcement distinguishes the resurrection from a legend fabricated after the event.
Seen Alive by Many Witnesses: They Handled Him and Ate With Him
And the heart of the testimony is that Christ was seen alive after His death, not a private vision to an individual, but a public, repeated, physical presence. For He was seen by Peter, then the twelve, then by more than five hundred at once, most of whom were still alive when this was written: "And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present" (1 Corinthians 15:5-6). So these could be questioned, since they were alive.
And His appearing was not a phantom, but a body that could be touched and that ate. For He invited Thomas to touch His wounds: "Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands" (John 20:27). And He ate before them: "And he took it, and did eat before them" (Luke 24:43). And He showed Himself alive by many infallible proofs over forty days: "To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days" (Acts 1:3). So the resurrection is not a fleeting vision of a grieving individual, but a repeated physical presence, witnessed by a large group, who touched Him, saw His wounds, and ate with Him, over weeks. So this is not the language of a phantom or an illusion, but the language of a tangible, physical presence witnessed by many. So the testimony to the resurrection is not weak nor individual, but abundant, public, physical, and repeated.
Why the Resurrection Matters: The Ground of Hope
And the resurrection is not an isolated historical event, but the ground of the believer's whole hope. For if Christ has risen, His resurrection is the firstfruits guaranteeing the resurrection of those who are His: "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept" (1 Corinthians 15:20). For the firstfruits guarantee the harvest; so His resurrection is a guarantee for the resurrection of those who are His.
And Christ declared that He is the resurrection and the life: "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25). So the resurrection is not a remote historical curiosity, but the ground of the offer made to you: that death is not the end for the one who believes. For if Christ has risen, He has conquered death, and opened the door of eternal life for believers. This is why the resurrection was the center of the apostles' message: for if Christ had not risen, faith would be vain (1 Corinthians 15:17); but He rose, so faith is founded on an event that conquered death. So the question of the resurrection is not academic, but a matter of destiny: for upon it rests the hope that death is not the last word. So if Christ rose, there is a hope that transcends the grave; and this is what makes examining the resurrection more important than any other historical question.
The First Objection: «The Disciples Stole the Body»
Here the atheist raises the first natural explanation: did not the disciples steal the body and then claim a resurrection? And the answer turns on a point before which the theft theory founders: that these disciples gave their lives for their testimony. For a man may die for what he supposes to be true while being mistaken; but he does not die for a lie he knows for certain he fabricated with his own hands. For the thief who knows the body is in his own keeping does not go to his death rather than recant.
For these held to their testimony unto prison and death, saying that they could not keep silent about what they had seen: "For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20), and they testified that they were witnesses of the resurrection: "This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses" (Acts 2:32). For if they had stolen the body, they would know for certain that the resurrection was a lie; and the one who knows his claim is a lie he fabricated does not die for it. So their willingness to die for their testimony does not merely prove they were right, but overturns the theft theory at its root: for a fabricating thief recants when the lie costs him his life. So their steadfastness unto death is evidence that they did not steal a body whose location they knew, but saw alive the One they supposed dead. So the theft theory explains the empty tomb, but founders on the willingness of the supposed thieves to die for what they know to be a lie.
The Second Objection: «It Was a Group Hallucination»
And the atheist raises the second natural explanation: were the appearances not hallucinations, psychological projections of grieving followers? And the answer is that three features of the accounts overturn the hallucination theory. The first: a hallucination is private and individual, not shared by a group; but these appearances were witnessed by groups, and by more than five hundred at once (1 Corinthians 15:6). So five hundred do not hallucinate the same hallucination together.
And the second: a hallucination cannot be touched or handled; but He invited them to touch Him, affirming that a spirit has no flesh and bones: "Handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have" (Luke 24:39). And the third: a hallucination does not eat; but He ate before them (Luke 24:43). So a psychological projection of grief is not gripped by the hands of a crowd, and does not eat fish. So these three features — the group nature, the touch, and the eating — overturn the hallucination theory, for a hallucination is individual, cannot be touched, and does not eat. So it is not enough to say «they imagined Him,» for how does a group imagine the same thing, and touch it, and it eats before them? So the appearances, by these features, resist the explanation of hallucination, as they resisted the explanation of theft. So the major natural alternatives collapse, one after another, before the details of the testimony.
The Empty Tomb and the Women as First Witnesses
And surrounding these two objections are two things that strengthen the testimony. The first: the empty tomb. For neither friend nor foe could fill it with a body. For if the body had remained, the opponents of the message would have produced it and ended the claim at its root; but the tomb remained empty, the angel testifying: "He is not here, but is risen" (Luke 24:6). So the empty tomb is a fact no one could overturn by producing the body.
And the second: that women were the first witnesses. For Christ appeared first to women, and they carried the news: "And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail" (Matthew 28:9). And this is a detail no inventor seeking credibility in that culture would have chosen, since a woman's testimony was not counted of great weight. So if the tellers had been fabricating a story to persuade their contemporaries, they would have made the first witnesses trustworthy men, not women. So mentioning the women as the first witnesses is a mark of truth, not fabrication: for no one invents a witness who weakens his case before his hearers. So the empty tomb, and the women as first witnesses, surround the testimony with two evidences: one that no one could overturn, and another that reveals the truthfulness of the tellers, not their fabrication. So these, together with the collapse of theft and hallucination, leave the resurrection the nearest explanation of what the accounts testify.
The Transformation of the Witnesses: From Fearful Fugitives to Bold Unto Death
And there is another evidence that strengthens the testimony: the radical transformation in the witnesses themselves. For at the crucifixion, the disciples were afraid, they fled and forsook Him, and hid behind shut doors for fear: "the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear" (John 20:19). Then, within a few days, they were proclaiming the resurrection openly, without fear, before the very authorities they had feared, ready for prison and death.
So what explains this transformation? Fearful, fleeing, hiding men suddenly become bold, facing death without wavering. For no stolen body whose location they know could produce this transformation; for the one who hides a body knowing his claim is a lie does not turn into a brave man who dies for it. But an encounter with the risen Lord explains it: for they saw alive the One they supposed dead forever. For Peter, who denied Him three times for fear of a servant girl, came to proclaim the resurrection before the council without fear. So this transformation is not explained by a deception its own authors know, but by a real encounter with the risen One. So the boldness that replaced the fear, even unto death, is a testimony that something real happened — not a lie they fabricated, but an event they witnessed that overturned their lives. So what turns a fearful fugitive into a courageous martyr is not an illusion, but an encounter with One who truly rose.
The Rise of the Church Where It Could Have Been Refuted by the Body
And there is another historical evidence: that the whole movement arose in the very time and place where the resurrection was proclaimed — in Jerusalem itself, where the tomb was, and where the authorities had every motive and every means to end the claim by producing the body. For if the body had remained, the opponents of the message would have produced it, and ended the movement in its cradle. But they could not. So the proclamation began in Jerusalem within weeks, and thousands believed: "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls" (Acts 2:41).
Consider: a movement whose central claim rests on a bodily resurrection arises and grows in the very city where the tomb is, and where producing a body would suffice to refute it instantly. For if the authorities had a body, they would have produced it and ended everything; but the movement did not stop, it spread. So the survival and explosive growth of a movement whose central claim could have been instantly refuted by a corpse is itself a historical fact requiring explanation. For the easiest natural explanation — producing the body — was available to the opponents, and they did not use it, because they could not. So the rise of the church where it could have been refuted by the body, and the inability of its opponents to do so, is a strong evidence that the tomb was truly empty, and that the body was in no one's keeping. So the movement that could have been strangled by a single corpse was not strangled, because the corpse did not exist; rather the risen One was alive.
How to Examine This Sincerely
And if you seek the truth sincerely, there is an honest path: not to reject the resurrection in advance because it is an exception, but to examine the testimony and the alternatives as you would examine any historical claim. So ask: does theft explain the willingness of the thieves to die for what they know to be a lie? And does hallucination explain an appearance that was touched and eaten before and witnessed by hundreds? So if the alternatives collapse before the details, honesty requires looking at what remains.
Then do what the sincere seeker does: seek the truth with an open heart. For God has promised that the sincere seeker finds: "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13). So begin with the Gospel of John, and read the resurrection accounts not as a legend rejected in advance, but as a testimony worthy of examination, asking God to show you the truth. For the Bible itself was written that you might believe and have life: "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name" (John 20:31). So sincere examination, joined to a heart that seeks the truth, reveals that the resurrection is not the impossible thing to be rejected, but the event before which the testimony resists every explanation but it.
Closing — If He Rose, Everything Follows
If you have said that the dead do not rise, the Bible invites you to examine rather than reject in advance: the resurrection was foretold, predicted by Christ, seen alive by many witnesses who touched Him and ate with Him, and the natural alternatives collapse before the details. You are not called to believe blindly, but to examine the testimony sincerely. For if Christ truly rose, everything follows: for by it alone the question of God is settled, and the door of eternal life is opened. For this Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
Come, then, and examine the testimony with a sincere heart, not with a prior verdict that it is impossible. Read the resurrection accounts for yourself, and ask God to show you the truth, confident that the sincere seeker finds. For if Christ rose, He has conquered death for you, and invites you to believe and receive life. So the resurrection is not the impossible thing you reject, but the event which, if you receive it, every hope follows: that death is not the end, and that the One who rose invites you to life with Him.
A Special Prayer
If you have come to see that the resurrection is an event before which the testimony resists every other explanation, and that the risen Christ invites you to life, you may come to Him now, even while you still examine. What saves you is not the words of a prayer, but faith that the Lord Jesus Christ died for you and rose again. So pray from your heart to the living God who hears:
"O great and holy and loving God, the one true God: I said the dead do not rise, and I see now that the testimony of the resurrection resists every other explanation. If Christ truly rose — and I seek the truth sincerely — show me that. I confess that I am a sinner, and that I need Thee. I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. I trust in Him alone as my Saviour. Show me the truth of His resurrection, forgive me, receive me, and grant me eternal life. I pray in the name of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen."
After You Have Prayed
If you prayed this prayer from a sincere heart that seeks the truth, then you have believed in the One who rose from the dead, and you have become a child of God forever. Here are steps to steady you:
First — read the Word of God every day. Know that the King James Version (KJV) is the truest and purest copy of the Word of God in all the world, His true and pure Word, and you will find it on this website (alinjil.com); and in Arabic, read the trustworthy Van Dyck translation. Begin with the Gospel of John, not in haste, but with meditation and prayer, for God speaks to you through His Word.
Second — pray to God directly every day in words from your own heart, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, thanking Him for the resurrection that became your hope.
Third — read the resurrection accounts in the Gospels, and ponder the testimony that resists every other explanation, that you may be steadied in hope.
Fourth — seek a church that honours the Word of God and proclaims the resurrection of Christ and His salvation, join the fellowship of believers, and be baptized in obedience to the Lord.
Fifth — bear witness to others with gentleness and love that the resurrection is a witnessed event before which the testimony resists every other explanation, especially to those who said the dead do not rise.
And keep reading the Word of God in the King James Version, the truest and purest Word of God in the world, and in the Van Dyck in Arabic — both found on this website — that you may grow in the knowledge of the One who rose from the dead.
A Personal Word to You, Dear Reader
Thank you for taking the time to read this message about the resurrection of Christ, and the salvation that God offers through the Lord Jesus Christ. If you have received Christ as your own personal Saviour, you have believed in the One who rose from the dead, who became the firstfruits of your hope, and you have become a child of God forever. "I am the resurrection, and the life" (John 11:25).
We encourage you to begin reading the Gospel of John for yourself, to continue in the Word of God in the King James Version — the truest and purest Word of God in the world — and in the Van Dyck in Arabic, both found on this website (alinjil.com), and to share this good news with everyone who said the dead do not rise. May God richly bless you as you come to know the One who rose from the dead, and conquered death for you.
The Holy Scriptures address this question with the full authority of the one who inspired them — the living God who knows the human heart and understands every objection before it is raised. What He has said on this subject is not the product of human opinion or denominational tradition; it is the preserved and authoritative Word of God, which He has declared will never pass away. The reader who examines this testimony honestly and without a predetermined commitment to reject it will find it both intellectually satisfying and personally transforming.
The cumulative weight of the biblical evidence on this question is not easily dismissed. It draws on multiple independent witnesses across centuries — the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms, the Gospels, and the Epistles all speak consistently to the same truth, each from its own vantage point and in its own manner, together forming a body of testimony whose coherence is itself one of the strongest arguments for its divine origin. The reader who reads these texts carefully will find not a collection of disconnected religious opinions but a unified revelation with a single coherent message.
The practical question that every reader must eventually face is not merely an academic one — it is personal and urgent. The truth about this subject has direct implications for how one lives, how one understands suffering and purpose, and how one faces the certainty of death. The Holy Scriptures do not present these truths as abstract theology detached from daily life; they present them as the most practical knowledge a human being can possess, because they concern the most important realities of human existence and the eternal destiny of every soul.
No honest engagement with this question can avoid its personal dimensions. God calls every person who reads these words not merely to intellectual acknowledgment but to personal response — specifically, to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as the one through whom all of the truths discussed in this article find their ultimate resolution. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is not peripheral to any of the questions the Christian faith addresses — it is central to every one of them. And the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead is the historical event that validates every claim the Christian faith makes.
The invitation that the Holy Scriptures extend through this article is not to religious performance or institutional affiliation but to personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He who addressed every question honestly during His earthly ministry addresses them still through the Word He has preserved. And He who promised to give rest to all who come to Him keeps that promise to every generation. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). This is the personal invitation of the Lord Jesus Christ to you.
Those who have wrestled seriously with the questions raised in this article and have come to genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as a result testify consistently to two things: first, that the intellectual journey to faith was more honest and more rigorous than the comfortable alternatives they had previously entertained; and second, that the personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ that followed transformed not only their understanding of these questions but their entire orientation toward life, death, and meaning. This is not the testimony of credulous people who have abandoned critical thinking — it is the testimony of people who followed the evidence to its honest conclusion.
The great gift that the Holy Scriptures offer to every reader who engages honestly with their content is not a set of easy answers to hard questions but a framework within which the deepest questions of human experience find their most complete and most satisfying resolution. The framework is God Himself — His character, His purposes, His acts in history, and above all the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every question addressed in this article, when examined within that framework, is seen not as a challenge to faith but as an invitation to a deeper understanding of the God who created the mind that asks the questions.
This article has sought to address its subject honestly and from the foundation of the Holy Scriptures, without evasion and without minimising the genuine difficulty of the questions involved. The reader who finds the biblical answers compelling is invited to pursue them further — in the Holy Scriptures themselves, in prayer addressed directly to God, and in genuine engagement with a community of believers who take both the questions and the answers seriously. The reader who remains uncertain is invited to continue the search with the same honesty with which it began. God honours the sincere seeker: "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13).
The Holy Scriptures address this question with the full authority of the one who inspired them — the living God who knows the human heart and understands every objection before it is raised. What He has said on this subject is not the product of human opinion or denominational tradition; it is the preserved and authoritative Word of God, which He has declared will never pass away. The reader who examines this testimony honestly and without a predetermined commitment to reject it will find it both intellectually satisfying and personally transforming.
The cumulative weight of the biblical evidence on this question is not easily dismissed. It draws on multiple independent witnesses across centuries — the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms, the Gospels, and the Epistles all speak consistently to the same truth, each from its own vantage point and in its own manner, together forming a body of testimony whose coherence is itself one of the strongest arguments for its divine origin. The reader who reads these texts carefully will find not a collection of disconnected religious opinions but a unified revelation with a single coherent message.
The practical question that every reader must eventually face is not merely an academic one — it is personal and urgent. The truth about this subject has direct implications for how one lives, how one understands suffering and purpose, and how one faces the certainty of death. The Holy Scriptures do not present these truths as abstract theology detached from daily life; they present them as the most practical knowledge a human being can possess, because they concern the most important realities of human existence and the eternal destiny of every soul.
No honest engagement with this question can avoid its personal dimensions. God calls every person who reads these words not merely to intellectual acknowledgment but to personal response — specifically, to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as the one through whom all of the truths discussed in this article find their ultimate resolution. The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is not peripheral to any of the questions the Christian faith addresses — it is central to every one of them. And the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead is the historical event that validates every claim the Christian faith makes.
The invitation that the Holy Scriptures extend through this article is not to religious performance or institutional affiliation but to personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He who addressed every question honestly during His earthly ministry addresses them still through the Word He has preserved. And He who promised to give rest to all who come to Him keeps that promise to every generation. "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). This is the personal invitation of the Lord Jesus Christ to you.
An Invitation to Receive Divine Salvation — Accept The Lord Jesus Christ as Your Personal Saviour
Dear reader — if these words have touched your heart and you have recognised that you are a sinner in need of a Saviour, know that God is calling you to Himself in this very moment. You do not need a priest, or a human mediator, or a holy place, or rituals or works. The Lord Jesus Christ paid the full price on the cross, and the promise of God is certain and clear:
What saves you is not the words of this prayer — but the faith in your heart that the Lord Jesus Christ died for you and rose from the dead. But if you want to express your faith in sincere words, read this prayer with a humble heart as though you are speaking to the living God:
The Prayer of Salvation
"O Great, Holy, and Loving True God,
I come to You now with complete humility, confessing that I am a sinner. I have broken Your commandments many times in my thoughts, in my words, and in my deeds. I know that my sin deserves eternal death and eternal separation from You. I have no good work I can offer that is able to redeem my soul, and no righteousness of my own to cover my nakedness before Your holiness.
But I believe with all my heart in the testimony of Your Word that Your only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, died on the cross for my sins — bearing in my place the punishment I deserved. I believe that He was buried, and that He rose from the dead on the third day, alive and victorious over death and the grave, and that He is alive now unto the ages of ages.
In this blessed moment, I receive the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour. I trust in Him alone — not in my works, not in my religion, not in rituals or any person or angel or saint. On the Lord Jesus Christ alone, and on His precious blood shed on the cross, I build the hope of my eternal salvation.
I thank You, my Father, that You have now received me in the Lord Jesus Christ, and have forgiven all my sins, and have given me eternal life as a free gift by Your grace. I thank You that You have sent Your Holy Ghost to dwell in my heart, bearing witness to me that I have become Your child. Give me grace to know You more day by day, and to live the rest of my life for Your glory alone.
I pray all this in the name of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Ghost. Amen."
After You Have Prayed — What Now?
If you prayed this prayer from a truly believing heart, the greatest miracle in all your history has happened in this moment: you have passed from death to life, from darkness to light, from the kingdom of sin into the kingdom of the beloved Son of God. You have become a child of the living God, and God's own promise guarantees this to you in His trustworthy Word:
Notice the power of this promise: "gave he power" — a settled right, guaranteed, not a wish or a possibility. And notice "them that believe on his name" — not "those who performed great deeds," not "those who completed rituals," but simply "them that believe." You are now one of them — with absolute certainty.
Here are five simple steps to establish you in your new life with the Lord Jesus Christ:
First — Read the King James Bible every day. Begin with the Gospel of John, then continue through the rest of the New Testament, then the Psalms and Proverbs. God speaks to you through His Word as a father speaks with his son. Do not read quickly — read with meditation and prayer. "The holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation" (2 Timothy 3:15).
Second — Pray every day. Speak to God as a loving Father — not with memorised words, but with words from your heart. Share with Him your joys and sorrows and questions and fears. Prayer is the breathing of the Christian life. "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Third — Join a Bible-believing church. Do not walk this road alone. Faith grows in the fellowship of believers, where the Word is preached faithfully and baptism and the Lord's Supper are practised according to the King James Bible. "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together" (Hebrews 10:25).
Fourth — Be baptised according to the King James Bible. Baptism is not a condition for salvation, but it is the first step of obedience after faith. It is a public declaration that you died with the Lord Jesus Christ and were buried with Him and rose with Him to a new life. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16) — faith first, then baptism as its natural fruit.
Fifth — Witness to others about the Lord Jesus Christ. What you have experienced of salvation and love cannot remain hidden. Begin with your family and friends. Tell them simply and honestly how the Lord Jesus Christ changed your life. "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you" (1 John 1:3).
And finally, remember always that your salvation is not built on your feelings or on any work you perform — but on the unchanging promise of God:
"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life."
— 1 John 5:13
Notice: "that ye may know" — not "that ye may hope," not "that ye may wish," not "that ye may wait in anxious fear." But that ye may know with complete, unshakeable certainty that you have eternal life. This is the difference between all the world's religions and the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ: religions say "work and perhaps you will be saved" — and the Word of God alone says: "believe and know that you are saved."
✉ Share Your Testimony of Salvation
"Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." — Luke 15:10