Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord. 

John 3:16 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 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not
the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. 

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We deserve death, eternal punishment, the wrath of God. But God, because He loves us, has
provided a means for us to spend eternity with Him. That means is through the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. 
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John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will
of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 

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You must receive him. Nobody is born into salvation. Nobody deserves it.
It's a free gift, you can't even "will" it, God gives it freely. 
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Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in
thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the
heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12
For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is
rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved. 

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There is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved.
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John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2
The same was in the beginning with God. 

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. 

1 Tim 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in
the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed
on in the world, received up into glory. 

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is
the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 

1 John 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life
is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath
not life. 13 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, and that ye may believe on the name of
the Son of God. 

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So pray to God. Tell him you know you are a sinner, tell him you know you deserve to be
apart from Him forever. Tell Him you know that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that he came, in
the flesh, and was crucified for your sins. Tell
Him that you know that the Lord was resurrected three days later, and even now is alive in
heaven. Tell Him that you receive him. Tell him that you accept his sacrifice for YOUR
sins. Believe it. Confess it.  

(Then tell someone about it, because no one that Jesus called was ever called in secret.
We are not to be ashamed of Christ, confess Him, and He will confess you before the
Father. )
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If you prayed that, and meant it, you know that you have everlasting life. Nothing, no
one, not even yourself, can take you away from God now (John 10:28). Now it's time to get
to know God. You do that by reading His Word, the Bible. As a new Christian, you must be
aware that you have a new enemy, Satan.  Satan will do whatever he can to discourage and
confuse you. Don't let him. 

Read God's Word. Don't be deceived.  There are many false teachers and prophets out there.
 If it doesn't line up with God's Word, then run from it.
Satan is a masterful deceiver, and will come as an angel of light, pretending to be of God
(2 Corinthians 11:14). He will do his best to
deceive you into accepting something less that God's words.  Read it and study it (2
Timothy 2:15), and believe it. Realize that God is revealing Himself in the Bible.   

I encourage you to begin reading the Bible by starting in Romans, and then the book of
John.  Of course the entire Bible is alive and powerful and is incredibly profound.
Excluding any part of the Word of God is not wise.  For all scripture is provided for us
to understand God's Plan for Man.  We must balance the Old Testament with it's Law with
the New Testament with it's Grace.  If we exclude one or the other, we miss the point.
For the Law was a schoolmaster to lead us to the grace of Christ. (Galatians)

You also need to find a Church to help you grow spiritually. Finding a good Bible teaching
church is a major challenge. Pray for wisdom and guidance.  If you find yourself in a
church that talks about the Bible, but they don't open it, then find another.   If you
find a church that takes a little from this part, and a little from that part and does a
cut and paste approach to teaching about God, then find another.  You need to find one
that teaches the Word in Context.  The Word of God is it's own best commentary.

As far as which translation to use.  I recommend first the New American Standard, and
secondly the King James Version.  There are others out there that are ok, but these two I
am familiar with and can recommend.  There are translations that are not objective, be
careful of them.  There are also versions that seek to paraphrase.  These are ok, but for
careful study refer to the NASB or KJV.  The Living Bible is an acceptable paraphrase.
The NIV is an open translation, that has some disturbing incorrect translations. It is
far better to read and study a literal translation.  An open translation is subjective,
subject to bias errors and based completely on the translators understanding of a passage. 
It is far better to translate literally and have the reader determine their own understanding 
of a direct translation.  This is especially important in areas of prophecy.