QUESTION 5

Are you a Christian?

When we read the New Testament, which tells us about the beginning of the church, we get insight into how people become Christians. We see key elements in every case, and they provide a guide for people today who are considering what it means to follow Christ.

The process of conversion always begins with faith.

Abraham, the Old Testament follower of God, gives us a prime example of faith. He was faithful enough to follow God out of his home country and allow God to lead him (Genesis 12). In the New Testament, Paul writes that Abraham was justified by faith, and we need faith if we want to be justified (Romans 5:1). In James 2, we are reminded that Abraham’s faith did not exist only in his mind – it was lived out in his actions. Faith prompts actions. In fact, James tells us that if we don’t have any actions, that is a sign we don’t have true faith.

Conversion also includes repentance.

If you have ever attended worship before, you know there are some terms used in scripture that we don’t use often today. Repentance is one of those words; in scripture it carries a sense of “turning back” to God. It isn’t just changing the way we think about something – it is changing the way we live because of our new thinking. A great modern word picture is a car making a u-turn. It isn’t just that we stop going one way, but we turn around and go another.

Repentance is something that Jesus mentioned often. When desicribing His ministry in Luke 5:32, Jesus states that He has not come to call the righteous but the sinners to repentance. Later in that same book, Jesus describes His mission by saying that He came, died, and was raised so that both repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed (Luke 24:47). In Acts 2, which was also written by Luke, we see Peter preach in Acts 2 and state that people needed to repent and be baptized in order to receive forgiveness

Conversion includes confession.

When it comes to faith in Christ, faith demands expression, both spoken and lived. In the book of Romans, Paul is writing to Christians who lived in the Roman Empire, and he encourages them to remain faithful to Christ in a culture that worshipped many Gods. Paul writes in Romans 10:9 “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” This passage seems to have in mind a public confession.

We need to realize that confession is not just a one-time event. It needs to happen every day. Picture a married couple. What if every time the man left the house, he took off his wedding ring? How would the wife feel? Why would the husband be ashamed for people to know that he was married? In order for that to be a real, committed relationship, both would need to be willing to let everyone know about their dedication to each other. Why is confession so important? Because if I truly have faith in God, I will be willing to let everyone know about it.

Conversion includes baptism.

If we looked up the word “baptism” in a dictionary, we might end up with all kinds of meanings. But what did baptism mean in the New Testament? Remember, that is where we find our guidance, in God’s Word. The New Testament was written in the Greek language, and the term for baptism in Greek literally means “to plunge or immerse.” In fact, it would be fair to translate the term that way each time the word “baptism” is used in the New Testament. When baptism is described in Colossians 2:12, Paul says that those who are buried with Christ in baptism were also raised with him through faith. Romans 6:1-7 reminds us that baptism re-enacts the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The Jewish people, living under the law in the Old Testament, knew about complete, bodily cleansings. Yet the baptism of Jesus is different. It is not something one does for himself or herself, it is a passive action. When we are immersed, we are following the Biblical model.

In Matthew 28, Jesus gives His apostles instructions about their ministry, telling them that they should baptize others, in the names of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This reminds us that when we are baptized, we are participating in the work of God. When Peter preaches in Acts 2:38, he tells the crowd to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of you sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. We need to understand that both of these things happen when we become Christians. The only place I can find true forgiveness from sins is in Christ, and He tells me that the place where my sins are forgiven is baptism. This does not mean that the other elements are not as important, it just means baptism is essential. We also receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, which Paul describes in Ephesians 1:14 as the promise of our eternal inheritance. The New Testament miracles were designed to confirm the message of God, and now that we have scripture, those miracles are no longer necessary. While we don’t receive miraculous Holy Spirit gifts, we do need to understand the gift of the Spirit, provided only in baptism.

The Christian life requires living in faith. Baptism is the place where we come into contact with God’s forgiveness, but our journey doesn’t end there. In fact, that is just the starting line. One of the challenges in making any commitment is staying true to it. We have had our share of diets that were tried and abandoned, career possibilities that we decided against, etc. Even after the enthusiasm that comes from becoming a Christian, it can be challenging to deal with the difficulties that come with faithful living. That might be why so many books of the New Testament are written to Christians struggling to stay faithful. There are real difficulties that they were facing, and they needed encouragement. We want to encourage you, wherever you may be on your spiritual journey. If you would like to learn more about the process of becoming a Christian, please let us know.