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Why Become a Christian?
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Why did
we all get up today and come to worship? What is it about Christianity
that compels us to take time out of our busy lives and come together on each
Lord's Day, and to offer our worship to God? What is it about
Christianity that compels us to live our life in adherence to a higher
purpose? What is it about Christianity that compels us to seek to mold
our lives around that which is good and right and just and to shun behavior
which is opposed to all that is right? In short, why did we choose to
be Christians and why should those who are not Christians choose to become
one?
There
are a lot of reasons why I became a Christian but the main one which drove
me above all the rest is that I recognize that we are living in a material
world that could only have gotten here as a result of the will, actions and
purpose of a creator. In short, I recognize and acknowledge that there
is a creator God who is powerful enough and intelligent enough to bring
about what we can see in the observable universe. It's a big and
complex universe we live in so the creator has to be bigger and more
powerful than our universe and He has to possess the intelligence to
accomplish it. With this acknowledgement of a creator naturally comes
the realization that there was intent and purpose connected to this
creation. In short, what does our creator expect out of His creation?
The writer of Revelation penned this in chapter 4:11, "...thou hast
created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."
Isaiah wrote in 43:7, "Even every one that is called by my name: for I
have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him."
Yes God has expectations of His creation and according to Isaiah's inspired
words, mankind figures prominently in God's purpose.
The
Bible is a composite work containing 66 books written over a period of about
1700 years by about 40 different authors who were separated by centuries of
time and countless miles of territory. Numbered among the writers are
people from every walks of life. The Bible was written by such people
as David and Solomon who were kings; James, the brother of Jesus, who was a
carpenter; Peter and John who were fishermen; Paul who was a Pharisee;
Prophets like Isaiah and Ezekiel who lived lives of poverty and hardship;
and Daniel who was a slave in a foreign land for most of his life.
These writers made prophetic statements by the thousands all of which have
come to pass in their due time. The only prophecies in the Bible that
have not been fulfilled to the letter are the ones regarding the end of time
as we know it and the final judgment of mankind. Mankind is
incapable of the ability to look down the road of time and predict with such
pinpoint accuracy events that we see prophesied in scripture that were
fulfilled. Thus we know this book could not have been written solely by the
intent and purpose of man because it contains things in it that man cannot
achieve.
Throughout the pages of this remarkable book, there is a single theme.
The entire book is about one thing, which is the salvation of man. It
contains within it a historical account of how man came into existence, and
then how man came to fall from God's favor, thus earning for himself eternal
separation from Him. And finally, the Bible contains what man
has to do in order to be forgiven of sin and be reconciled to God so that we
can live with God forever.
The
Bible has one major division in it. We have the Old Testament and the
New Testament. Those who lived under the old testament for the most
part lived under the Law of Moses which was given to Him on Mt. Sinai after
the Israelites were freed from Egyptian bondage. Those who did not
live under the Law of Moses lived under what we today call the Patriarchal
law where God dealt with fathers, or the Patriarchs, of families on a more
individual level. Job lived under the Patriarchal law. The law
of Moses was given to the Israelites both as a national law governing them
as a people and a religious law which provided a means of atonement for sin
through the sacrifice of animals, worship of the one true and living God and
the promise of a coming savior who would put down sin and provide a means of
complete reconciliation to God. Complete reconciliation to God is
something that the law of Moses could not provide because the blood of bulls
and goats could not take away sin (Hebrews 10:4).
With the
coming of Jesus we see the beginning of this new system of reconciliation to
God. Luke 16:16 reads "The law and the prophets were until John:
(speaking here of John the Baptist), since that time the kingdom of God
is preached, and every man presseth into it." With the coming of
John the Baptist and then Jesus and His disciples came the ordinance of
baptism we read of in Luke 3:3, "And he" (John the Baptist), "came
into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for
the remission of sins."
That's
not how sins were forgiven under the law of Moses. Things were changing with
the arrival of John the Baptist and Jesus. Jesus was the mediator of a
new covenant which Jeremiah prophesied of centuries earlier. Jeremiah
31:31-32, "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new
covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not
according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I
took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt..."
This new covenant, this good news was being revealed to the Jews first and
then later to the Gentiles. We learn later that this new covenant was
ratified and came into full force for all mankind at the death of Jesus on
the Cross which accomplished the redemption of sin for both those living
before and after the cross. Hebrews 9:15 "And for this cause he
(meaning Jesus), is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of
death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first
testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal
inheritance".
Today,
two thousand years later, we live under the terms of the new testament.
Under the New Testament all mankind can be totally reconciled to God through
Jesus Christ. Where the law of Moses pertained to the Israelites, the
New Law, the "Law of Christ" as it's called in Galatians 6:2 pertains
to all mankind on earth, Titus 2:11, "For the grace of God that bringeth
salvation hath appeared to all men". Galatians 3:28, "There is
neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male
nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."
We live under the New Testament today and because of it and what Jesus
Christ did for us, we can all be Christians. So why become a
Christian? It's very simple. In John 14:6, Jesus said, "...I am the
way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me".
So that we can come to the Father, our creator. So that we can be
forgiven of our sins and be reconciled to God.
Why is
this a good thing to have our sins forgiven and be reconciled to God?
Because without forgiveness and reconciliation to God, we are dead people
walking. Ephesians 2:1 reads, "And you hath he" (speaking of
Jesus), "quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins".
While writing to Timothy about widows, Paul had this to say about widows who
decided to live in pleasures of the flesh, 1 Timothy 5:6, "But she that
liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth". When we sin, our
lives are forfeit. We don't die in our flesh immediately when we sin,
but our souls are lost, condemned, doomed to everlasting darkness and
separation from God to spend an eternity in the torments and agony of hell
fire. We are dead while we live and those who are spiritually dead are
living without hope.
Who has
sinned? In Romans 3:23, Paul wrote, "For all have sinned, and come
short of the glory of God". And what is the consequence of all
sin? Later in this same letter, Paul tells us in 6:23, "For the wages of
sin is death". No exceptions, no loop holes, no allowances.
When we sin, we are dead even though we are still alive in the flesh.
So why become a Christian? Because Christians are people who were once
dead and were born again. The only way the dead can become alive is to
be reborn, to be resurrected, to be born again. Those who are born again are alive again.
There is hope where before there was only hopelessness. There is
salvation where before there was only condemnation. There is life
where before there was only death. That is a real good reason for
becoming a Christian.
When
speaking to Nicodemus, Jesus said in John 3:3, "...Verily, verily, I say
unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Jesus concluded His conversation with Nicodemus by saying, "Ye must be
born again" (John 3:7). How does one become born again? What
does one who is dead have to do in order to become alive again? How
does one become a Christian?
That is
a question that in this day and age can have a whole host of answers.
Depending on with what group one associates themselves with, one is liable
to get all kinds of different answers to the question of how to be born
again. Some will tell you to pray a prayer and invite Jesus into your
heart and you will become a born again Christian. It's called the
sinners prayer and those who advocate such a thing will tell you all you
have to do is pray that prayer and you got it made. Is this true?
Let's go back to Jesus discussion with Nicodemus and see if we can find a
clue there about being born again that has a bearing on this sinner's
prayer. Recorded in John 3:5, Jesus says, "Verily, verily, I say
unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter
into the kingdom of God." This process of being born again
involves water. We must be born again and we must be born of water and
the Spirit if we want to enter the kingdom of God. Now one has to ask,
where's the water at in the sinner's prayer?
So when
we look around us at all the different denominations out there, how can we
be sure that we are getting the truth about how to be born again? This
is important and we don't want to make a mistake. We're dead and we
want to become living again so that we can have hope, so that we can have
life, so that we can be reconciled to God.
There
were born again Christians written about in the New Testament. If we
can search the scriptures and find out everything they did to become
Christians then that would surely work for us. If we were to do everything
they did to become Christians, then doesn't it make sense that we would be
just what they were? There is no way we could go wrong if we do what
they did, not part of what they did, but all of what they did. So
let's take every example there is in scripture of Christian conversions, put
then all together and we will be absolutely sure of being just what they
were then.
Let's
look at the very first example of Christian conversions. After Jesus
ascended back to heaven, on a day known as Pentecost which was a Sunday, we
see Peter preaching to the Jews in Jerusalem. In Acts 2:36-39, we read
the words of Peter as he preached, "Therefore let all the house of Israel
know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord
and Christ." Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said
to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"
Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit". There are four things there that
need to be focused on.
1)
They heard the word of God preached to them by Peter (V 37).
2) They were pricked in their hearts, meaning they felt guilt for
their sin of killing Jesus (V 37).
3) They were told to repent which means to change their way of living.
4) They were told to be baptized for the remission or forgiveness of
their sins.
OK, so
we have hearing the word of God, guilt over sin, repentance and baptism all
listed in this first example of Christian converts. Is this everything
we need to do? Let's look at the conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch to
Christianity
and see what was required in it.
Acts
8:35-39
"Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached
Jesus to him. 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water.
And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being
baptized?" Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you
may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of
God." So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and
the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him."
1)
The Ethiopian Eunuch heard the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ,
preached to him by Philip.
2) He requested baptism.
3) He had to confess that he believed in Jesus Christ as the Son of
God.
4) He was baptized in water.
In Acts chapter 8 we read of the conversion of the Samaritans.
1)
They heard the word, Acts 8:5-7, "Then Philip went down to the city of
Samaria and preached Christ to them. 6 And the multitudes with one accord
heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he
did."
2) They believed the word of God and were baptized, Acts 8:12-13, "But
when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom
of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized."
Simon
the sorcerer also a Samaritan:
1)
Heard the gospel, Acts 8:5-7
2) Believed the gospel and was baptized, Acts 8:13, "Then Simon himself
also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip..."
Lydia, a
woman of the city of Thyatira
1)
Acts 16:14, "Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us."
2) Lydia believed, Acts 16:14, and gave "...heed the things spoken by
Paul."
3) Acts 16:15, "...she and her household were baptized..."
Cornelius, Roman Centurion heard, believed and was baptized (Acts 10).
The
Philippian jailor heard, believed, repented and was baptized, (Acts 16).
The
Romans
1) Heard, (Romans 10:14-17)
2) Believed, (Romans 10:9-11)
3) Repented, (Romans 6:17-18)
4) Confessed, Romans 10:10, "For with the heart one believes
unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation".
5) Baptized, Romans 6:3-4, "Or do you not know that as many of us
as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore
we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was
raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk
in newness of life."
We also should walk in newness of life. Before we were Christians we
were dead while we are yet alive. Here a newness of life is mentioned.
Here's a new life that Paul says we should walk in. It happened when
we were buried with Jesus Christ into His death through baptism and then
raised from the dead. When we go under the water of baptism, we are
buried with Jesus Christ into His death. When we rise up from that
water, we are resurrected from our former dead state to a new life.
Baptism is much more than a burial, it is also a resurrection. Those
who were dead in their sins are resurrected to a new life; born again of
water.
Paul
went in to say in the next verse concerning baptism, Romans 6:5, "For if
we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also
shall be in the likeness of His resurrection". Jesus Christ was
dead and was resurrected. Through baptism in water, we are likewise
resurrected from the dead.
Remember
what Jesus said to Nicodemus: John 3:5, "unless one is born of water and
the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God". Born again, of
water, through baptism. Baptism is the original language means
immersion.
OK, so
now we see how to be born again, how does this make us a Christian?
Going back to verse 3, we read the words again, "Or do you not know that
as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus". We see
similar words concerning the conversion of the Galatians to Christianity in
Galatians 3:27, "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ
have put on Christ". So those who have been born again to a new
life are therefore in Christ.
What
does it mean to be living in Christ? What do you call someone
who is born in America? You call them an American. What do you
call someone who is born in Canada? You call them a Canadian.
What about someone who is born in Christ? Would we not call such a
person a Christian? Of course we would. A Christian is someone
who has been born again out of death and into life and who lives in Christ.
So what
are the advantages to being a Christian?
1)
Christians have the forgiveness of sins, Colossians 2:12-13, "buried with
Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the
working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your
trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together
with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses".
2)
Christians are alive again, Ephesians 2:4-5, "But God, who is rich in mercy,
because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead
in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ".
3)
Christians are reconciled to God, Romans 5:10-11, "For if when we were
enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more,
having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that,
but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we
have now received the reconciliation."
4)
Christians have Fellowship with God, 1 John 1:3, "...truly our fellowship
is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ".
5)
Christians have their citizenship in the Kingdom of Christ, Colossians 1:13,
God "who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath
translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son".
6)
Christians are the children of God, John 1:12 "but as many as received
Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who
believe in His name".
7)
Christians are secure, Romans 8:38-39 "For I am persuaded that neither
death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present
nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing,
shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord".
8)
God hears His children's prayers, John 9:31-32, "Now we know that God
does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His
will, He hears him".
9) Christians have eternal life, 1 John 5:11-13, "...God has given
us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has
life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life".
Those
are just some of the benefits of being a Christian. What about the
opposite? What are the disadvantages of not being a Christian?
What lies in store for those who remain dead in their sins? Paul answers
these questions with sobering words written to the Christians in
Thessalonica in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10, "and to give you who are
troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His
mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know
God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9
These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of
the Lord and from the glory of His power."
Every
accountable person has a choice to make. We are either going to choose
to be Christians, or we won't. We will either willingly choose to
follow Jesus and serve Him as our Lord and savior or we won't. The
benefits far exceed the consequences. God wants all people to be saved
(1 Timothy 2:4). He wants me to be saved, He wants His children to be
saved and if you have not been born again, He wants you to be saved.
He wants it badly enough that He sent His only Son down here to die in your
place for the sins you committed. All we have to do is obey Him and we
can live again to serve Him in this life and be saved to live with Him forever in Heaven.
I do not
want to spend my eternity with Satan who hates and despises me and seeks to
destroy me. I want to spend my eternity with someone who loved me
enough to give Himself to die for my sins so that I can have a hope of life.
Jesus died so that I might live. I did nothing to deserve it. I
can never be worthy of it, nor can I ever repay it. All I can do is
honor it, accept it, do what it takes to receive it and be eternally
grateful for it.
Jesus
became the author of eternal salvation unto all them who obey Him (Hebrews
5:9). We saw earlier what the 1st century disciples did to become
Christians. How about hearing how to become a Christian directly from the one died for us?
We'll let the one who loved us enough to die for us do the teaching.
Jesus
said, John 5:24-25
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him
who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has
passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is
coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and
those who hear will live."
Is that
all we have to do is mentally believe and we are saved? Is "belief in
and of itself the ticket to heaven? There are many out there that
proclaim that belief is all we have to do, that we are saved by faith alone. Let's just see what Jesus says
about that in Matthew 7:21-22, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord,
Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My
Father in heaven." Those who cry Lord Lord believe in Jesus Christ for
who He is. Jesus emphatically stated that they won't be entering the
kingdom of Heaven based on that alone. Obviously to believe entails
more than a mental acceptance of who Jesus Christ is. Apparently to
believe in Jesus the way He expects us to believe in Him is to believe
everything He taught and everything He said to do pertaining to our
salvation and obey Him. We want to become Christians according to what
the Bible says and not according to what men say.
So we
have hearing and believing. The New Testament Christians were told to
repent. Jesus talked about repentance in Mark 1:15
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and
believe in the gospel." And in Luke 13:3, Jesus says, "I tell you,
no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish".
Repentance is a sorrow of heart over one's sin that leads to a change in
behavior. We have to be sorrowful over our sin just like the
converts on Pentecost who were pricked in their hearts and said, "men and
brethrens, what shall we do?" Jesus says we have to change our behavior. This is a
lifelong process. Repentance is a requirement before one becomes a
Christian, but after that, we spend the rest of our lives striving to finish
what we started the day of our rebirth. Repentance is the hardest
command of them all to obey.
Jesus
commanded us to repent and said that those who do not repent will perish. Do
we believe Jesus meant this or not. Do we believe Jesus teaching about
repentance or do we believe that we can make it to heaven without it.
What a sad thing to be standing at one's judgment, giving an account of
their life to hear Jesus say, "I guess you didn't believe me when I said you
had to repent".
Remember
the Ethiopian Eunuch who confessed His belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of
God at his rebirth? Jesus teaches about this in Matthew 10:32-33, "Therefore
whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father
who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny
before My Father who is in heaven". Do we believe Jesus
teaching about confessing Him as the Son of God or do we believe that we can
make it to heaven without it. What a sad thing to be standing at one's
judgment, giving an account of their life to hear Jesus say, "I guess you
didn't believe me when I said you had to Confess me before men".
In every
single conversion account we have in scripture they were baptized, immersed
in water. Jesus said in Mark 16:16, "He who believes and is
baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned".
Remember that Jesus told Nicodemus that unless "one is born of water and
the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" in John 3:5. Do we
believe Jesus teaching about baptism or do we believe that we can make it to
heaven without it. What a sad thing to be standing at one's judgment,
giving an account of their life to hear Jesus say, "I guess you didn't
believe me when I said you had to be born again of water"
Those who do not obey, do not believe.
So now
we have done everything that the new testament Christians did in order to be
born again and become a Christian. Being Christ means we are saved.
What then? Jesus tells us in John 15:4-6, "Abide (meaning live),
in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it
abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine,
you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit;
for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is
cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them
into the fire, and they are burned." John went on to tell us
exactly how to abide, to live, in Christ.
John
15:9-10
"As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If
you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My
Father's commandments and abide in His love." How long does Jesus
expect us to abide in Him? He teaches us in Revelation 2:10, "be
thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."
That is
how we are born again as Christians and live as saved individuals who at the
end of our earthly lives can inherit from our God and Father eternal life
and a home in heaven with Him. Hear, believe, repent, confess, be
baptized, born again, resurrected to walk in a new life, back alive from the
dead, living in Christ, a Christian, saved from sin and on the road home.
If you
have been born again but have not remained faithful, then there is no good
reason to leave here this day a slave to sin. You can leave here free
from condemnation and back in a saved state. Being saved while still
on earth means living in such a spiritual condition that if you were to die,
you would be in a position to inherit eternal life.
If you
are not a Christian and have not been born again, there is no good reason to
remain dead. There is no good reason to leave this place of worship
today dead. You can take care of that today. Please do not
delay. If you do not want to walk down that aisle in front of
everybody at the singing of the invitation but still want to become a
Christian, then see me after services. I will study with you, I will
help you in any way I can and if it is your desire to become a Christian,
and be born again to walk in a new life, in a new hope, as a Christian and
be added to the brotherhood of the saved, then let that need be known,
either now or after services. 2 Corinthians 6:2 reads "Behold,
now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation".
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