Who is a Christian? And how do I become one?
We'll get to "how to become a Christian" presently. But first let's talk about the importance of being one.
See what Jesus said in Mark 16: 16. Who will be condemned? Who will be saved?
Is it possible that some people might think they were doing all the right things but really not be? See Matthew 7: 21-23. "Not every one that saith . . . "
How decisive will God be about who is going to Heaven and who isn't? Will God be like a forgetful gray-headed old man who will say "yes" to almost anyone who asks to pass the Pearly Gates? See II Thessalonians 1: 6-10. Then see the judgement scene in Revelation 20: 11-15. Now. Tell me if you are still mentally visualizing some inept old man making grandfatherly decisions. If you are, see the judgement scene in Matthew 25: 31-46. Do we have your undivided?
The Judgement will be the most important evaluation you will ever have--period. Not just the most important in your adolescent life, or in your twenties, or even in your whole life on earth. The judgement will be a decision about eternity.
Those who will live in eternity will not be those who just say they are Christians (Matt 7: 21-23), but those who do what Jesus told them to. Period.
What were people told to do in order to become Christians--to start their walk with God while in this life? Please look at these instances of obedience in the New Testament and fill in the blanks. Hint: not every instance is explicit about every step of salvation.
| Instance | Hear? | Believe | Repent? | Confess Jesus as Lord? | Be baptized? | Saved? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acts 2: 37-47 | v. 37 | v.41 | v.38 | implied in v. 38 | Acts 2: 38 | v. 47 |
| Simon in Acts 8: 9-24 | Acts 8: 13 | Acts 8: 13 | ||||
| The Ethopian Eunuch in Acts 8: 26-40 | Acts 8: 35 | 8: 37 | 8: 37 | 8: 38 | "rejoicing", 8: 39 | |
| Saul-Acts 9: 1-19; Acts 22:1-16 | Acts 22: 7; 15 | Proclaimed Jesus--9: 20-21 | "calling on His name" Acts 22: 16 | 22: 16 | ||
| Cornelius--Acts 10, especially v. 44-48 | Acts 10: 44 | "received" 10: 47 | Acts 10: 47, 48 | |||
| Lydia--Acts 16: 13-15 | Acts 16: 14 | 16: 14 "Gave heed" | Acts 16: 15 | |||
| Philippian Jailor--Acts 16: 25-34 | Acts 16: 32 | 16: 31, 32 | "Washed their stripes" 16: 33 | Acts 16: 33 |
We tried to look at these stories of conversion carefully and mark the above boxes literally.
Occasionally the passages about repentance and confession are not explicit in every case. But the case for belief followed by baptism is 100%. The New Testament says other things about faith or belief--that it is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11: 6) and that faith comes only by hearing (Romans 10: 17). Because faith can only come by hearing the word of God, Simon of Acts 8: 13 must have heard the Gospel or he would not have believed it. We found no instances in our Bible study with Bro. Sid and others of anyone being baptized in the New Testament who was not old enough to be taught or to have faith.
Baptism is immersion, being covered completely with water, like a burial (Romans 6: 3-6). A person who has not been baptized has not symbolically died, been buried, or been raised to walk in newness of life with Christ. The person who has not been baptized has not put on Christ (Galatians 3: 27). How would anybody think they had become a Christian if he or she had not put on Christ?
This process is how people in the first century began their walk with Christ.
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