How
to Become a Christian
First
of all, I would like to personally ask you this question: How do you
think, one would become a Christian?
MORE
QUESTIONS
The
above is a most vital question. It is your own eternity that is at
stake here! Where will you spend it? Are you absolutely convinced
that you are indeed secure for your eternity? What gives you that
assurance? How holy do you think you would have to be for God to
accept you into His holy presence? What does God say about your sin?
What does God say the penalty for your sin is? How does God say you
are able to become a Christian? Are you ready to stand before Jesus
Christ the Judge of the living and the dead? Let us now examine these
things and make certain that you are indeed a Christian, someone fit
for eternity in God's glorious Heaven!
OUR
VERDICT
Number
one. We must understand that
God is holy! For we read, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1
Peter 1:16) Then we are warned, “Do not be deceived: God is not
mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” (Galatians
6:7) I ask therefore, have you lived a 100% perfect life? Ever told a
lie, cheated, stolen, lusted after another person who was not your
spouse, or desired to kill someone? Well, God calls all these things
sin, in His Holy Word! (See Exodus 20:1-17, Matthew 5:21-22,27-28) We
are then truthfully told, “All have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) We know then, that every single human
being has fallen short of God's holy standard.
One
must come to the conclusion that, “I am a sinner. I am guilty!”
“So,”
you say, “I see that I'm a guilty sinner, but how can I become a
Christian? What if I give all my money to a good cause? What if I get
baptised? What if I try to be a good person? What if I become a
missionary or pastor? What if I try to obey God's Ten Commandments?
What if I...” You see, God is very straightforward about this. He
simply says, “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.”
(Isaiah 64:6) Further to this, we read, “For by works of the law no
human being will be justified in his sight.” (Romans 3:20) We
conclude then, that we can do nothing to help save ourselves –
nothing!
We
must ask now, what is the penalty or consequences of my sin? Again,
the Bible hides nothing! We read, “The wages of sin is death.”
(Romans 6:23) Listen, death speaks of separation from our holy
Creator-God because of our sin. It is our sin that separates us from
Him because He is holy! We are separated from Him now, and our
physical bodies will die and we'll be separated from Him for all of
eternity in the Lake of Fire!
We
see then, that one must conclude: “I am a sinner. I am guilty. I
can do nothing to help save myself! I am in big trouble! I need
someone to come and rescue me!!!”
GOOD
NEWS!
You
ask then, “Is there any hope for me at all?” Absolutely! For it
is written that we, “Are justified by his grace as a gift,
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward
as a propitiation (satisfaction) by his blood, to be received by
faith.” (Romans 3:24-25)
Look,
we see a few critical things in this verse. One, we are made right
with God by His favor as a gift. Two, Jesus made full satisfaction
for our sins by His death on the cross. Three, we receive this gift
by faith – we trust Him as the One who is able to save us
completely! For again, we read, “Everyone who calls on the name
of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13) Jesus is the one who
has come to rescue you!
HE
IS RISEN!
One
must also understand, that this same Jesus who was crucified, is also
risen from among the dead the third day, just as prophesied so many
of hundreds of years earlier! In fact, the Psalm, “They have
pierced my hands and my feet,” was written about 1000 years before
it happened to Jesus Christ! Even prior to that method of execution!
(Psalm 22:16) Then in Psalm 16:10, it is written, “For you will not
abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.”
This too, was written of Jesus the Messiah hundreds of years prior to
it coming about! Look, Jesus is alive! For it is even recorded in
this manner, “That Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas,
then to the twelve [disciples]. Then he appeared to more than five
hundred brothers at one time.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-6) Look, there
were far more people who are witnesses to the fact that Jesus is
risen, than are needed in a court of law to establish something as
factual!
THE
JUDGE
You
see, Jesus is God, was always God, and will always be God! Yet, when
He walked this Earth about 2000 years back, He took on the body of a
human so that he could pay for the consequences of all our sin, which
was death! Indeed, He made full satisfaction for all our sins!
However, He is coming back soon, as the one who is the “judge of
the living and the dead”! Are you ready?! (1 Timothy 4:1) Then we
read, “'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'who is
and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.'” “Then I turned to
see the voice that was speaking to me...one like a son of man,
clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The
hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes
were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze,
refined in a furnace, and his voice was like a roar of many
waters...from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face
was like the sun shining in full strength.” (Revelation 1:8, 12-16)
“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From
his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for
them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the
throne, and books were opened...And if anyone's name was not found
written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
(Revelation 20:11-12, 15)
Yes,
God's judgement is coming soon! For, Jesus said, “I am coming
soon.” (Revelation 3:11) Indeed, these things will shall
transpire shortly: “The Lord Jesus...revealed from heaven with his
mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do
not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord
Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away
from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” (1
Thessalonians 1:7-9)
So,
will God's wrath fall on you? Well, it is really up to you! You see,
God Himself has provided the solution for you. God's solution? He
sent His Son to to receive His wrath for your sin, so you would not
ever need to experience it yourself! How did Jesus receive the wrath
of God? He was nailed to a cross, and for three long, dark hours, the
wrath of God fell upon Jesus Christ! Why did God the Father's wrath
fall upon His Son? The reason being that all your sin was heaped upon
Him! (“And the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Isaiah 53:6b) It was not for Jesus' sin, for He had none, rather, He
was taking the full punishment for all your sin! In fact, the wrath
of God was fully exhausted upon His Son, so that none remains left
over for you to endure! Now, that is love to the maximum!
A
GIFT FOR YOU!
So,
all that remains, is for you to accept what was already accomplished
for you! One could say, the cheque has been written as a gift to you
- all that remains is for you to cash your gift! You didn't earn the
money – it was a gift. In the same way, you could do nothing to
earn salvation or maintain it – it was a gift you did nothing for.
All you can do is accept the gift! Yet, just as a cheque is of no
use, unless cashed. So with Christ's payment for you! He did it all
for you. However, it is of no value unless you receive it for
yourself! For it is written, “For by grace you have been saved
through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Look,
just like a person who is sick, needs to acknowledge that fact, and
seek a doctor for healing. So you also, need to admit that you are a
sinner unable to help yourself, and look to Christ Jesus for
“healing”! For God promises: “Everyone who calls on the name of
the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
IF
YOU HAVE BELIEVED...
For
you who have placed your trust in Jesus alone as your own personal
Savior, hear these words. “For our sake he [God the Father] made
him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin [treated as if he were a
sinner], so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
(2 Corinthians 5:21) Again, “And by that will we have been
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for
all.” (Hebrews 10:10) Also, “I write these things to you who
believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have
eternal life.” (1 John 5:13) Then too, “Who shall bring any
charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to
condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died – more than that, who is
raised – who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding
for us.” (Romans 8:33-34) One more, “For if while we were enemies
we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now
that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” (Romans
5:10) You see, Jesus has come to take up permanent residence in you
by His Spirit to live the Christian life you never could live on your
own in the first place! Let Him work in and through you by His power!
For we must remember that salvation includes: having our sin-debt
paid for, victory over sin in our daily lives, a future in Heaven
where sin is totally absent!
A
LAST WORD
To
summarize then. God is holy. You are a sinner. Jesus is risen, and
coming to judge all humanity! You can do nothing to help save
yourself. Jesus made full satisfaction for your sin upon the cross.
God offers you salvation as a free gift. You need to receive it –
rest in Jesus as the adequate Savior for you! For, “He is able to
save to the uttermost [completely]”!
“EVERYONE
who
calls upon the name of jESUS
WILL
BE SAVED.
ROMANS
10:13
*Scripture
quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV),
copyrighted © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.
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