Are you a Christian? How do you know? There are many misconceptions about how a person becomes a Christian. With more information available and accessible in our world than ever before in history, it is no wonder why someone can be confused or even misguided by what they have read or have been taught by others.
Here are a few examples of very sincere, but misguided assumptions about the Christian faith: “I am a Christian if I go to church regularly. I am a Christian if I help others. I am a Christian if I give money to the church or to the poor. I am a Christian if I read the Bible. If my parents are Christians, it automatically makes me a Christian. Since I believe in God, I am a Christian. I am a Christian because I am a good person.”
The Christian life is about a living relationship with a person, Jesus Christ. Loving, knowing and serving Him is what the Christian life is all about. Jesus is the Christian life. Since God is relational, the Christian life is relational as well. When you begin a relationship with Jesus, you begin a relationship with the Father. Are you ready to begin a vibrant relationship with a God who loves you, and died on a cross to give you eternal life? If so, here are four key words to guide you and help you begin the Christian life: Love, separation, provision, and connection.
1. Love: God loves YOU! Recognize that He loves you just the way you are, unconditionally. He loved you before you were born. His desire is for you to know Him. God wants you to find complete spiritual satisfaction by starting a living relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ.
GOD LOVES YOU: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
2. Separation: Know and admit that your SIN has separated you from God. Knowingly or unknowingly, you’ve broken at least one of God’s 10 Commandments, His standard for perfection. Right now, you stand guilty before God for your sin.
Your SIN separates you from God: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Your personal goodness or ability to help others can’t solve the separation problem. There is NOTHING you can do to pay the penalty of your sins. Morality, religion, generosity, or good works do not satisfy God’s holy standard. The writer of Proverbs reminds us: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12).
3. Provision: Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty of your sins. He is God’s ONLY solution to your sin problem. Jesus died on the cross to connect you to God. He was buried, and on the third day He rose from the grave. Jesus was your substitute, and His death paid the penalty of your sins.
JESUS DIED TO CONNECT YOU TO GOD: Peter wrote, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6)
4. Connection: Connection involves believing, confessing, and receiving. You connect with God through FAITH, by believing in Jesus’ finished work on the cross and confessing your sins directly to Him through prayer. You receive Jesus by personal invitation.
The Apostle John wrote, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).
John promises us “If we confess our sins, He [Jesus] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Paul wrote, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).
Starting the Christian Life: You begin the Christian life through a prayer of faith. Here is a sample prayer to repeat out loud to the Lord if that is your heart’s desire and you are ready to do so:
Lord God, I thank You for Your great love for me. Today I understand how much You love me. I know that I have sinned against You, and broken Your commandments. I’m truly sorry. I ask You, Lord Jesus, to forgive me for all my sins. Cleanse my heart and make all things new. Jesus, I believe that You died on the cross to pay for my sins. I believe that You were buried and on the third day, you rose again from the grave. Today I invite you into my heart and receive you as Lord and Savior. Amen.
The source of this content comes from our book, Walking with Jesus.