How can I become a Christian?
How can I become a Christian? (by Thom Powell)
That is a great question! First off, I’d like to make sure you know what a Christian is. A Christian is not someone who goes to church, even though Christians usually do go to church. A Christian is not someone who has been baptized, even though Christians do usually get baptized. A Christian is not a Christian based on any particular accomplishment or rite of passage. A Christian is simply a disciple or follower of the ‘Christ,’ Jesus Christ.
As you probably know, Christ is not Jesus’ last name. Christ is who/what Jesus was. In order to get a grasp of who this Jesus Christ is, you need to understand just a little bit of Biblical history. Don’t worry — It’s nothing too complicated. The Bible is a book that Christians believe God has inspired. We don’t need to spend too much time on that in this post. Just be aware that the Bible is a book from God, and that that God is the same God who created the world. He says so in the very first sentence of the very first book in the Bible. (The Bible is not one book, but many… 66 in all actually!)
Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
So, this God created everything. The Bible says that God enjoyed what He created. He made one thing that was different from everything else — man. God created man as something different than the animals. The animals are also living things created by God. God cares about everything He created, but humans are different from the rest. Humans are different than animals, in that, humans were created as souls — not just bodies.
Genesis 2:7 “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
God created humans like himself, with an eternal soul and with the power of choice. Animals cannot choose good or evil, they simply obey their instincts or the training that they’ve received in their lifetime. Humans, however, may be taught to do right, yet choose to do wrong. Humans may be pressured to do wrong, yet choose to do right! This is part of what the Bible means when it says that we were created in the image of God.
Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
When God created man, they had no desire to sin, or even an understanding of what ‘sin’ was. They did have the choice to sin, and eventually they chose wrong. They chose to eat the fruit that God had forbidden them to eat. This is the story of Adam and Eve. You’ve probably heard this story before. The natural consequence of their sin was death. The Bible says:
Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
The Bible says that the situation on earth got worse and worse. It got to the point that God even regretted making humanity.
Genesis 6:5–6 “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”
Since then, God has done a lot of things to reconcile man to himself. The Old Testament (Part 1 of the Bible) shows God sending prophets, working miracles, punishing evil with destruction, writing laws, even separating a people group from the rest of the world and communicating with them directly. This only caused more frustration for God. Mankind continued to serve the ‘gods’ made with their own hands instead of the God who made them. God prefers mercy, but eventually resorts to justice if people refuse his mercy. God said to his chosen people, the Jews:
Jeremiah 26:13 “Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.”
Throughout much of the Bible, God sounds like a pleading parent. He has no desire to punish humanity. He would much prefer that we turn back to him. Take for example these words written by the prophet Ezekiel:
Ezekiel 18:23 “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?”
God is both just and loving. Because He is just, He must punish sin. Because He is loving, He desires to avoid punishing our sins. This is where Jesus comes into the plan.
Ok, so, you remember how I said that Jesus was the ‘Christ?’ That word means the ‘anointed one.’ This is another way of saying Messiah. Many prophets spoke of a coming ‘savior’ or ‘deliverer.’ God promised that from among the Jewish people, there would come a Messiah. The Messiah would be a hero who would deliver them from their enemies. The Jewish people were waiting for a savior. Jesus would turn out to be that savior.
The entire nation of Israel descended from one man, Abraham. God promised that through Abraham, all of the world would be blessed.
Genesis 22:18 “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”
Abraham’s descendants are the Jewish people. They all descended from this one man. So, how was the world blessed through this guy named Abraham? How has the entire globe been touched by Israel? You might be thinking — they haven’t! Sure, Israel is a world power, especially considering their small size, but a blessing to the whole world? They’re just a country… How could God promise that we (non-Jewish) people would be blessed through Abraham’s ‘seed?’
This was an early reference to their Messiah figure. You see, he wasn’t just the savior of Israel. Jesus is the savior of the whole world! Here is what the Bible says about him in the New Testament book called Romans:
Romans 5:19 “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”
This is a reference back to Adam, the very first man. Because of Adam, death entered the world. Because of Jesus, the opportunity for eternal life was given.
This Jesus was the son of God. Though He was God, He became man. He did this, so that He could take our punishment. You remember when I said that God doesn’t want to punish us? That is the exactly the reason Jesus came. Jesus is God! God became a man, so that He could punish himself for us! Because God is just, He must punish sin. Because God is love, He placed our sin on himself. When Jesus died on the cross, it was for you. Take a moment to read these scripture verses, so you can piece it together yourself:
Matthew 1:20–23 “But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
That baby, born on Christmas, was the son of God. His purpose in coming to earth, was to give us eternal life. Here is what he said of himself:
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.”
Many people know that Jesus died, but too few people know why Jesus died. Jesus died as a voluntary sacrifice for you. He said:
John 10:17–18 “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”
Jesus died willingly for our sins, and then he rose from the grave by his own power. He did this so that you could be saved. The Bible says:
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Maybe you are wondering how you can receive this gift of eternal life. Maybe you want to know how to be saved from the consequences of your sin. Let me refer you to a very short but helpful story. There was once a man named Saul. Originally this man Saul was an enemy of Christianity. He persecuted the church of God. Eventually, he himself converted to Christianity and wrote that book called ‘Romans’ that I’ve been referring to. He went from persecuting believers to being a persecuted believer! Once, while Saul was imprisoned, a frightened, shaken man asked Saul (whose name had been changed to Paul) how to be ‘saved.’ This man had just witnessed an unexplainable miracle. That is what prompted him to ask Paul how to be saved. Here is the conversation that they had:
Acts 16:29–31 “Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
This man asked, “What must I do?”
Paul told him, “You must believe.”
God made salvation super easy. All he asks of us is that we believe. Jesus said:
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.”
It is us who have sinned, not God. That means it is He who is in position to make demands. He could have made salvation as easy or as difficult as he wanted. Because he loves us, he made it very simple. He said that all we need to do is believe on his Son.
One of Jesus’ disciples was named John. John wrote of many miracles that Jesus did. Toward the end of his ‘gospel’ book, John tells us why he recorded said miracles.
John 20:31 “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.”
You must understand that this salvation has nothing to do with you. It is dependent on what Jesus did, not on something you can do. The Bible says:
Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Do you think you can do that? Do you think you can believe that Jesus was the son of God? Can you trust him to save your soul?
If you recognize that you are a sinner in need of a savior, why not ask Jesus to be your savior? Jesus said:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” “…him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”
If you have asked Jesus Christ to save you, then you are already a Christian! The Bible says:
Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
If you believe these words, let me just remind you one last time: It is not something you do or even a prayer you pray that saves you. It is the death of Jesus Christ that saves you. Because he died, you can live forever. Because he came back to life three days later, you can believe that he has the power to grant you eternal life!
If you have decided to become a follower of Jesus Christ, could you let me know by commenting below? I would love to pray for you and be a blessing to you any way that I can. It would be a phenomenal encouragement to me to hear from anyone that has decided to become a Christian!
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