Antioch Baptist Church

3988 S. County Rd. 300 W. | Greencastle, IN 46135 | Phone: 765.653.8227 | Email

 

Knowing Christ and Making Him Known

How to Become a Christian

So how does one become a Christian?  Let's consider the basics (the A, B, C and Ds) of the issue.

There is something to Admit

First of all you have to admit that you are a sinner, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Ro. 3:23).  Our natural tendency is not to acknowledge our sin.  We are prone to blame our circumstances on our genes, our background, our parents, our lack of education, etc.  We are keen to gain comfort in the assurance that we are not as bad as some people, but the truth is that each of us has failed miserably when it comes to keeping God’s commandments.  We haven't honored our parents as we should, we have not always been truthful, we have been envious of our neighbors, and while we may not have actually committed murder, we have had murderous thoughts.  All of us have been covetous.

God’s order is that we love Him first, our neighbor second, and ourselves last.  Sin is the precise reversal of this order: we put ourselves first, our neighbor next (but only when it suits out purposes), and God somewhere in the distant background.  Moreover, our sin separates us from God, for He is absolutely pure and holy and unable to do, live with, or look upon evil. 

We need God’s forgiveness and a new start, but admitting to being a sinner is not easy, in fact, it is humiliating.  It would be much easier on the ego to insist that we can manage by ourselves.  But no one with that state of mind will come to Christ.  As Jesus put it, “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous [i.e. self-righteous], but sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17).  Just as you do not go to the doctor unless you admit that you are ill, so you will not go to Christ unless you admit your sinfulness.

In order to be saved you must recognize that you are a sinner who is unable to save himself.

There is something to Believe

Jesus is the only Savior from the sin to which we have just admitted; God has made provision for our sin in the person of His Son, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

Jesus Christ is not a good way to heaven.  He is not even the best way to heaven.  Jesus Christ is the only way to gain eternal life.  Why?  Because Jesus is the eternal Son of God, the one and only God-man, who deliberately and voluntarily laid down His life on the cross to pay the wages that our sin has incurred.  Jesus said that He came, “To give His life as a ransom for many,” (Mark 10:45).  By this He indicated that we are prisoners unable to procure our own escape; the price that He would pay for our release was the sacrifice of His own perfect and holy life.  On the cross He innocently endured what we rightfully deserved.

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,” (Acts 16:31).

             There is something to Consider

We need to come to terms with the cost of following Christ.  Being a Christian means trusting in and following Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.  We have not been given liberty to cut Him in two, responding to one half but rejecting the other.  Christ offers us eternal life, and demands our total allegiance.  Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it” (Luke 9:23-24.)

There is a cost involved in saying “No” to Sin.  Jesus said, “¹⁵The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel…Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men” (Mark 1:15, 17).

Notice that His first call is to “repentance.”  This means to turn from sin to God.  There are certain characteristics which are commonly present in repentance.

1. Shame - such as when David cries to the Lord after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba, “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest” (Psalm 51:3,4).

2. Humility - instead of jumping to your defense or blaming your actions on people or circumstances, you acknowledge your own accountability.

3. Regret – if we had been in the corner of the bedroom of the prodigal son on his first night at home, I think we would have heard the sobs and seen the tears and watched in wonder as he kneeled by his bed and mourned the wasted years and the squandered privileges.  The memory of sin is distasteful to the truly penitent.

4. Recognition – of God's pardon.  It is the kindness and goodness of God which leads us to repentance (Ro. 2:4). 

(While we are emphasizing the need for repentance at the gateway of faith, please understand that this is something which continues through our entire life!)

The Bible says in 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."

There is something to Do

Genuine Christian faith is more than saying, "I believe Jesus is who He claimed to be." (James 2:19). Faith means accepting the facts can be trusted, and acting upon what you believe to be true.

Consider this analogy.  Imagine I am suffering from blood poisoning and there is a bottle of penicillin sitting on my bedside table.  What are my options?  I may accept that this bottle of penicillin exists, or I may trust that it is capable of curing my illness. But I shall never cure my blood poisoning, unless I act upon that trust and take the penicillin.

Acceptance and trust prepare the way for the final component of faith, entering into the promise, and receiving what it offers.  Mere mental assent to these facts without any corresponding action no more brings us to personal faith than memorizing a menu allows us to enjoy a meal.  True faith means moving beyond the awareness of the existence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to a living personal relationship with Him.

If God has shown you your need and given you this desire, then you must forsake everything and trust Christ, NOW!  There's a time coming when it will be too late.