How do I become a Christian? In the Bible we find the same question in different words. In Acts 16:30-31 a jailor asks Paul and Silas the question: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household”. So a very short answer is: You must ‘believe in the Lord Jesus’.
Who is Jesus?
Let’s unpack that a bit. Who is Jesus? He is the Son of God, who was sent by God the Father, to become one of us, a human being (although at the same time still the Son of God). He came to die at the cross for our sins, but rose again on the third day and is now at the right hand of God the Father. Faith in this Jesus Christ is the only thing necessary to be saved.
This is a liberating message! We don’t have to clean ourselves from sins (we can’t). And though we are called to be holy and without sin after believing, we don’t have to despair when we fall into sin. The truth is, we will still sin as Christians (though it will make us sad!), but we are saved and stay saved through our faith in Jesus Christ!
Return to Christ!
What is faith? Actually it is a gift of the Holy Spirit. When we start trusting in the Lord Jesus, that’s because the Holy Spirit recreated us. We become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). This faith, which the Holy Spirit gives us, makes us want to live a holy life. But there is also still our old self, which can quench the Spirit. This is why Christians are still able to sin and will sin many times. Yet, because we have Christ as our new king, we are being called to love and obey Him. True faith will always want to return to Christ.
It is the grace of God the Father, who sent his Son, of God the Son who died for us, and of God the Holy Spirit who dwells in us and pulls us back to Christ over and over again that we have been saved by faith.
How do I become a Christian? ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus’.