Questions about becoming a Christian
WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN? A Christian is someone whose sins have been forgiven by God, and who knows Jesus Christ personally as his or her friend and king.
IS THERE A COST INVOLVED IN BECOMING A CHRISTIAN? We cannot buy forgiveness of sins. It is a free gift of God. But if you become a Christian it means that in the future Christ must be your King. He will tell you to give up some things which you have done all your life. He will tell you to do other things which you have never done before. People may laugh at you for being a Christian. All this is not easy. Some of it is very hard. This is the cost of being a friend and follower of Jesus Christ.
HOW DO I KNOW THAT CHRIST WILL ACCEPT ME? QUESTION: Am I too sinful to be saved? ANSWER: No! The answer to these questions and all questions like them is that Christ is ready to receive anybody. Whoever you are, whatever you've done, whatever you feel, Jesus invites you, just as you are, to come to Him and be saved. You don't have to come to Jesus pretending that you are a better person than you really are. Christ knows you better than you know yourself, and he has said: 'He that comes to me I will never, never, cast out.' (John 6, V 37)
WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED? In becoming a Christian a person must repent of their sin and believe and trust in Jesus Christ to save them.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO REPENT OF SIN? Without Christ we are all sinful people and are always doing things which make God angry. We willingly go the way of sin. To repent is to turn round and go the other way. It means to hate sin and to seek to finish with it so as to please God
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BELIEVE IN CHRIST? You must believe that Jesus is the Lord, and that He is able to save people from their sins. Then you must put your trust in Him to save you. How do you know if you have put your trust in Him? When you trust someone, you listen to them and do what they say. So it is when we trust Jesus.
FEEL TOO WEAK TO REPENT AND TRUST JESUS; I WOULD GIVE up TOO EASILY; WHAT CAN I DO? None of us by ourselves have the strength and willpower to repent and believe. We are all weak. But God is all-powerful. We must turn from our sin, but we must ask God to make us truly turn from it We must put our trust in Christ, but ask God to make it real trust. God is able even to make us truly repent and believe. He is able to keep us walking with Him in the future.
CAN ANYONE ELSE SPEAK TO GOD FOR ME? Other people can pray for you. But no one else can make you a Christian. Becoming a Christian is something between you and Jesus Christ. It has nothing directly to do with anyone else. Are you sorry for sin and do you want to finish with it ruling your life? Do you want to know Christ as your Friend and King? Then you should find somewhere, where you can be alone, and there pray to God and ask Him to save you.
WHAT SHALL I SAY TO GOD WHEN I PRAY? God is not interested in fine words and speeches. But He will listen to anyone who is sincerely seeking Him, whatever words they use. As you pray you should: Confess your sins to God. Confess that these sins are wicked in God's sight and you deserve to be sent to Hell for them. Tell God that you have no power to save yourself. Ask Jesus to help you repent and believe. Ask Him to save you. Tell Jesus that you want Him as the king of your life. Ask God to hear your prayers because of Jesus Christ.
WHAT SHOULD I DO NEXT? The next thing which you must do as soon as possible is to go and tell a Christian friend what you have done. If you have no friends who are Christians, you should try to find a church which believes the Bible and tell them. It is very important that you find Christian fellowship as soon as possible.
LOOK UNTO ME, AND BE SAVED, ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH; FOR I AM GOD, AND THERE IS NO OTHER.' (Isaiah 45, v.22)
What is a Christian? In Antioch in the first century the term 'Christian' was first applied as a term of derision by the persecutors of those who followed Jesus the Nazarene. 2000 years later many millions of people across the globe still claim to be Christians. Many people define themselves as Christians simply because of their attendance at a Christian church or simply their belief in the Christian God, but how does such a definition stand up to the Bible's definition? When Jesus walked the earth, many men and women followed him. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, these men and women fell at his feet and worshipped him. These people claimed to believe in Jesus Christ, but only a few weeks later these same people were shouting "Crucify him!". Clearly, stating belief in Christ is not enough. If saying you are a follower of Jesus, or saying you believe in God is not enough, then what is a Christian? Let's start at the beginning. Who is Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ was born in Palestine two thousand years ago. The fact of his existence is well supported, not just by the biblical documents but by contemporary independent historians such as Tacitus and Josephus. His strident teachings against the hypocrisy of the religious establishment of the day led to a conspiracy against him. This conspiracy led to an illegal trial and a hasty crucifixion. This would have been the end if Jesus had been a fraud. Three days later Jesus Christ rose from the dead, a fact that has never been refuted. As many as 500 people saw Christ after his resurrection. Jesus' startling claims about himself leave the human race with some difficult decisions to make. Many categorise Jesus Christ as a good moral teacher. This would be fine, except that Jesus never claimed this for Himself. He predicted his own death and resurrection and claimed that he was the son of God. You therefore (as C. S. Lewis pointed out) have to decide whether Jesus was mad, bad or he was the Son of God. Madness or badness would be difficult to claim in the light of the many miracles and acts of incredible mercy demonstrated in the Bible. Some would dismiss the claims of the Bible concerning Jesus as an improbable fiction. However, no author (even Shakespeare) has ever managed to construct a perfect fictional character - flaws always emerge. But in Jesus we see a man whose life was characterized by a perfection that can be seen as none other than divine. Why did Jesus die? Jesus himself gives the reason: "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die" (John 11:25). When we break the laws of the land, we cannot complain when we are punished. So it is when we break God's laws. When we are angry in our hearts, when we lust for another person, when we desire possessions, we break God's laws. God's punishment for those who reject Him and His law so conclusively is an eternity away from him - this is hell. Jesus Christ in dying upon the Cross took that punishment upon himself. Therefore, whoever believes in him will live. Conclusion A Christian does not simply believe in going to Church or in trying to be good. A Christian has believed and trusted in Jesus Christ with all of their life. A Christian lives for Jesus Christ and not for themselves - and this is life indeed.
A good tip for memorizing Scripture is to write the name of a verse on one side of a card (ie John 3:16) and then write the words of the verse on the other. This will help you to say the name of the verses and try to quote it from memory. Then you can turn the card over and see if you got it right.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 - All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Psalm 119:11 - I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
1 John 5:13 - I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
1 Peter 5:7 - Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Philippians 4:6 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
1 Peter 4:10 - Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.
Matthew 28:18-20 - Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
1 John 1:8-10 - If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
Hebrews 10:25 - Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another”and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
2 Corinthians 9:7 - Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me"
Ephesians 2:8&9 - "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not the result of works, so that no one may boast".
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