Who is

Jesus?

We Believe

Jesus christ is

1. god

When nothing else was, Jesus was. He was before all things. He is described as being present in the beginning with God and that He actually was God. He is described as the one who was and who is and who is to come. He is the beginning and the end.

The Bible also teaches that Jesus created everything. Everything we see and everything we can’t see was made by Jesus for His own glory. And Jesus didn’t just make everything but He also holds everything together.  When Jesus was on earth, He claimed to be God. On one such occasion, Jesus described God as the Father and then said, “I and the Father are one.” All the fullness of God is present in Jesus. He said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” Jesus came to show us what God is like.  In fact, one of the names given to Jesus was Emmanuel, which means God with us. 

John 1:1-5; Revelation 1:4; Colossians 1:15-20; John 10:30; John 14:9; Matthew 1:23; Isaiah 6:3

3. Savior

God is without sin and all people are sinners to the core. Because we are sinners, there is nothing we can do to repair our broken relationship with God. We are under the just penalty of death because of our sin. Thankfully, what is impossible with man is possible with God. God loved man so much that He sent Jesus, His only Son, to die in our place for sin’s penalty.

This was the whole reason Jesus came to earth. Jesus offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin. He did this by dying on a cross on behalf of sinners. On the cross, Jesus became sin for you.  He gave up His life so that you might have life through Him.  Yet, death had no claim on Him and on the third day after He was buried He rose again from the dead.

Only because of Jesus’ death and resurrection can mankind now be reconciled to God. Only through Jesus we can have right standing before God, though we are sinners. Jesus can be your Savior, too. You must believe that God raised Him from the dead and confess that Jesus is Lord.

Matthew 19:26; John 3:16; II Corinthians 5:21; Romans 6:9; Titus 2:14; Romans 5:18; Romans 10:9

2. Man

The eternal Jesus put on flesh and became a man. He experienced all the joys and sorrows of life, including the temptations that we face.  Jesus was like us in every way, except that He never sinned. Every person that has ever lived has broken God’s law. This is called “sin”.  Just one sin is enough to separate us from our perfect God. Sadly, every human being is born sinful. We are naturally slaves of sin. But, Jesus doesn’t share this sinful condition with us. Instead, He is the perfectly righteous man; the one who has never broken God’s law. Jesus lived a perfectly sinless life so that he could do something no man had ever been able to do before – save sinners.

John 1:14; Matthew 8:20; Matthew 21:18; John 11:35; Hebrews 4:15; I Peter 2:22

4. lord

Jesus Christ, having conquered sin, death, and the grave, now lives forever as the Lord of all things. He has defeated all His enemies and He has absolute authority. There are many people today who believe they have a right relationship with God who do not obey Him in their daily lives. They don’t really care to live under the Lordship of Jesus. They want His free gift, but they don’t want to give up their freedom. If this is you, please know that to love Jesus is to obey Jesus.

There is no way to be saved and not give everything we have, including all that we are, to Jesus. Really following Christ is a complete and total surrender to His authority and control over us. He has a great plan for each of His people and can be trusted with every part of your life. When we truly believe in Jesus, we will be truly submitted to His Lordship.

Acts 2:36; I Corinthians 15:24-27; John 14:15; Philippians 1:6; Ephesians 2:10

What now?

start the relationship

Perhaps as you have encountered Jesus Christ, you are cut to the heart. Perhaps you are aware that you are a sinner and need salvation from your sin. What should you do? The consistent message of the Bible is to “repent” and “believe”. (See Isaiah 55:7; Mark 1:15; Luke 13:3-5; Acts 2:37-38; Acts 16:30-31; Acts 17:30-31).

To repent is to turn away from a sinful pattern and forsake it altogether. As you turn from sin, you must also believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. To believe is to trust Him as the dying and rising Savior for sinners, and your personal Lord. One common way to express turning and trusting is through praying to God. Repeating the words of a prayer do not save you, but the Bible says that whoever confesses Jesus as Lord with their mouth and believes in their heart that He was raised from the dead will be saved (Romans 10:9-13). So, call on the name of the Lord with repentance and faith today! Here is one way that you may express faith in Jesus:

“God, I know I’m a sinner. Please forgive me and make me clean on the inside. I need You to heal the broken places in my life. I believe Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. I’m turning from my sins and trusting in Jesus. Please help me follow You for the rest of my life.”

Next Steps

I know Jesus, Now what?

1. Baptism
  • Follow the Lord’s example in believer’s baptism.

  • The next step after trusting Jesus to save you is to follow His example in believer’s baptism. In obedience to the Lord, we immerse believers in water, symbolizing the cleansing they received by faith alone.

Why be baptized?
      • Because you want to follow the example of Jesus Christ. “At the time Jesus came from Nazareth and was baptized by John in the river.” Mark 1:9

      • Because Jesus Christ commanded it. “Jesus said, ‘Go then, to all people everywhere and make them My disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and then teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.’” Matthew 28:19-20

      • Because it shows you are a believer. “…many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.” Acts 18:8

      • Because obeying Christ’s commands shows you know Him. “We know that we have come to know Him, if we obey His commands.” 1 John 2:3

  • If you are a believer and haven’t been baptized, let us know by emailing info@hillcrestchurch.com.

2. church membership
  • Connect to a local body of believers.

  • God expects every believer to be a member of a local church body. We would love to connect with you in membership at Hillcrest. 

  • If you want to become a member of Hillcrest, let us know, and register for the next Discover Hillcrest membership class.

3. Discipleship
  • Discipling is the work of “teaching people to obey all that [Jesus] commands” (Matthew 28:20). Every disciple is called to make disciples! To take the next step in being discipled, let us know. Join us as obey the Great Commission.

  • Get connected in a Connect Group and Growth Group

  • If you want someone to help you in becoming like Christ by personally discipling you, let us know here at info@hillcrestchurch.com or become part of a D-Group, a small group of people who meet regularly to disciple each other.

Connect with us

SEE YOU ON SUNDAY

We have two campuses in Pensacola, one at the corner of 9 Mile Road and Guidy Lane, and the other at Spanish Trail and Summit Boulevard. Both locations meet Sunday mornings for Worship Celebration, and offer family activities on Wednesday nights and throughout the week.  We are confident there is an area of ministry where you can get connected.

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