BECOMING A CHRISTIAN 1: WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN?
(Message by Tanny Keng)
1. Becoming a Christian
a) What steps are involved in becoming a Christian? Are there particular steps involved in being born again? What comes first and what follows? This question has come up more than you might think.
2. What is a Christian?
a) The best place to start is with the question, what is a Christian? We have heard several definitions. One is to be Christ-like. Another was said to be a little Christ. An encyclopedia might say it is one who is a believer in a Savior or someone whose religion is Christianity. The definition includes anyone who believes in the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Apostles (like in the written Word, the Bible).
b) Is believing in Jesus enough to make you a Christian? Even the Devil and his demons believe and tremble but they surely don’t obey Christ. Head knowledge is not the issue; it is a matter of the heart. To be a Christian is to place your trust in, your faith upon, and fully rely on Jesus to save you from your sins and to believe Him for what He promises; to cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). A Christian’s faith is only as strong as the Object of that faith and the Object of a believer’s faith is pretty strong indeed; it is Jesus Christ Who is God of very God.
c) A Christian is one that we could say has confessed their sins, professed the faith, and has possessed their trust…all in the Savior, Jesus Christ. He is their Lord of whom they obey. If He is not Lord of all, He may not be your Lord at all.
d) Jesus said as much when He told the crowd, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say” (Luke 6:46)? A Christian is one who follows Jesus and does what He says. Jesus does not want more religious people or holier-than-thou people, He really doesn’t want more people coming to Him and saying, “I’m a Christian.” No, Jesus wants disciples after His own heart. To follow Him means to do what He did. To walk with God as Enoch did. To obey, love others, tell others about Him, and to walk humbly before Him and esteem others better than yourself.
e) These steps are not set in stone; each individual who became a Christian has a slightly different process. No two testimonies that we have ever heard were exactly the same and each one is as unique as snowflakes are…and just as beautiful. By the way, this is not a formula to follow; it is not an instruction manual on how to be saved. Truly, salvation is fully a work of God. The only thing that God requires of us is to repent, confess our sins, and place our faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. Of course there is more to it than this but this article was written in the hopes of what a person can expect when they come to saving faith in Christ.
The End ...
1. Becoming a Christiana) What steps are involved in becoming a Christian? Are there particular steps involved in being born again? What comes first and what follows? This question has come up more than you might think.
2. What is a Christian?
a) The best place to start is with the question, what is a Christian? We have heard several definitions. One is to be Christ-like. Another was said to be a little Christ. An encyclopedia might say it is one who is a believer in a Savior or someone whose religion is Christianity. The definition includes anyone who believes in the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Apostles (like in the written Word, the Bible).
b) Is believing in Jesus enough to make you a Christian? Even the Devil and his demons believe and tremble but they surely don’t obey Christ. Head knowledge is not the issue; it is a matter of the heart. To be a Christian is to place your trust in, your faith upon, and fully rely on Jesus to save you from your sins and to believe Him for what He promises; to cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). A Christian’s faith is only as strong as the Object of that faith and the Object of a believer’s faith is pretty strong indeed; it is Jesus Christ Who is God of very God.
c) A Christian is one that we could say has confessed their sins, professed the faith, and has possessed their trust…all in the Savior, Jesus Christ. He is their Lord of whom they obey. If He is not Lord of all, He may not be your Lord at all.
d) Jesus said as much when He told the crowd, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say” (Luke 6:46)? A Christian is one who follows Jesus and does what He says. Jesus does not want more religious people or holier-than-thou people, He really doesn’t want more people coming to Him and saying, “I’m a Christian.” No, Jesus wants disciples after His own heart. To follow Him means to do what He did. To walk with God as Enoch did. To obey, love others, tell others about Him, and to walk humbly before Him and esteem others better than yourself.
e) These steps are not set in stone; each individual who became a Christian has a slightly different process. No two testimonies that we have ever heard were exactly the same and each one is as unique as snowflakes are…and just as beautiful. By the way, this is not a formula to follow; it is not an instruction manual on how to be saved. Truly, salvation is fully a work of God. The only thing that God requires of us is to repent, confess our sins, and place our faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. Of course there is more to it than this but this article was written in the hopes of what a person can expect when they come to saving faith in Christ.
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