01.01. Chapter I - WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN AND HOW TO BECOME ONE
Chapter I - WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN AND HOW TO BECOME ONE A. WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN?
1. One Who Belongs to Christ The word "Christian" is first found in Acts 11:26 - "the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." This name was given by the world to those who acknowledged Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and followed Him. They were identified with the crucified and rejected Christ. A Christian is a "Christ-man", one who belongs to Christ. So 1 Corinthians 15:23 speaks of "they that are Christ’s at his coming" and in John 13:1 the evangelist speaks of the believers as "his own", whom the Lord loved unto the end. What a wonderful privilege to belong to the all-glorious, perfect and eternal Son of God and Son of Man, Christ Jesus!
Dividing the word Christian, we get "CHRIST-Is-All- Now." One who accepts Christ as his all-in-all is a Christian in the true sense of the word.
2. One Who is Born Again A Christian is one who is born again by the Holy Spirit, for John 3:3-5 declares, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God . . . Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." This is a spiritual birth whereby one is born into the family of God by the work of the Holy Spirit. "Born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God" (1 Peter 1:23).
One thus born of God has received a new nature which loves God and hates sin. This is "the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (Ephesians 4:24). He has thus been made "par takers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4). A Christian, then, is one who has been born again and possesses a new, divine nature which cannot sin (1 John 3:9).
3. A Converted Person The Lord said, "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3). To be converted means to change, and one who has been born again by the Spirit of God experiences a moral change or conversion. Such an one proves the truth of 2 Corinthians 5:17 : "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
4. A Child of God A Christian is a child of God by new birth and faith in Christ. "Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:26). He thus knows God as his father, so the apostle John wrote: "I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father" (1 John 2:13). Wonderful privilege indeed!
5. One Indwelt and led by the Holy Spirit In addition to being born again and possessing a new nature, a Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God, the Comforter and divine Teacher. "The Spirit of truth . . . he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you" (John 14:17). "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God" (1 Corinthians 6:19). "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (Romans 8:14). "Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father" (Galatians 4:6). This indwelling Spirit gives the believer the affections of a child and the consciousness of being a child of God, bearing witness with our spirit that we are the children of God (Romans 8:16).
6. One Assured of Sins Forgiven and Eternal life The born-again believer in Christ is assured of the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. "I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake." "To him give all the prophets wit ness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins" (1 John 2:12; Acts 10:43). The Word of God, and the Spirit of God within, assure the believer that "God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son" (1 John 5:10-13). Thus a Christian is one who has the blessed assurance of sins forgiven and eternal life. One may be a believer in Christ and lack this assurance and need help as to this, but such assurance is the true possession of a Christian.
Such, dear reader, are some of the essential characteristics of a Christian. Are they true of you? If not, perhaps you need help as to how to become a real Christian, so we pass on to this subject.
B. HOW TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN 1. Repentance Toward God
Repentance is necessary in becoming a Christian. The Lord said, "repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15), and "that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations" (Luke 24:47). The apostle Peter preached, "Repent ye there fore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out," and the apostle Paul testified to Jews and Greeks "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ," and "that they should repent and turn to God and do works meet for repentance" (Acts 3:19; Acts 20:21; Acts 26:20).
Repentance is a change of mind, a complete reversal of one’s inward attitude towards self, towards sin, to wards God, towards Christ and towards the Gospel. It is to give up one’s own mind and opinion and to accept God’s mind as revealed in the Gospel. One may think that he is a Christian because he has tried to live a good life, belongs to a church, has been baptized and does religious works. Yet none of these and kindred other things will ever make one a born-again Christian, so there must be a change of mind about all this. One must come to God as a repentant sinner and believe on Christ as his Savior to become a Christian.
2. Receive Christ as Personal Savior
"As many as received him, to them gave he power [authority] to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name" ( John 1:12). To become a Christian one must receive Christ by faith into one’s heart as the sent one of God, as one’s own personal Savior. Like Zacchaeus of old, one must "come down" and receive Him joyfully (Luke 19:6).
3. Confession of Mouth and Belief and Obedience of Heart
"If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Romans 10:9-10). Confess Jesus as your Lord and believe in your heart that He "was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification" (Romans 4:25). If you do this, the Word of God assures you that you are saved. Obey from your heart the Gospel of salvation in Christ and you will be made free from sin and a child of God (Romans 6:17-18).
4. Saved by Grace and not by Works
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but ac cording to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Titus 3:5). Accept God’s gift of free salvation through faith in Christ and you will become a real Bible Christian.