Becoming a Christian

Are you a Christian?

It's a simple question, isn't it? And it's a question that only you can answer. I can't tell you if you are a Christian or not. What I can tell you is what I understand a Christian to be.

The word "Christian" was first used as a kind of shorthand to describe a "Disciple of Christ". { Acts 11:26 } A Disciple is someone who learns from a master, and whose desire is to follow the master, in other words the Christian life is not just gaining knowledge about Jesus but also living out what Jesus taught.

And Jesus taught that "no-one can come to the Father except through me" { John 14:6 }. To become a Christian you have to come to Jesus. It's a simple surrender. You acknowledge that you have done things your own way and not God's way, that you have hidden from God, not sought after Him. You have let yourself be "seated on the throne" of your life, taking God's rightful place. And you ask Jesus to forgive you and to establish a relationship with the Father - adopting you as a son or daughter. Jesus earned the right to forgive you your sins when he died on the cross. He died for you - personally!

Jesus said we all needed to be born again to enter the Kingdom of Heaven { John 3:3 }. This takes place when we truly repent of all our sins and surrender our entire lives over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Jesus died for our sins and when we ask Him to forgive us He will forgive us all our sins and the Blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sins { 1 John 1: 7 - 10 }

Jesus said that all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God { Romans 3:23 } . And the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ { Romans 6 : 23 }. God demonstrated His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Jesus Christ died for our sins. { Romans 5 : 8 - 10 }.

God said the word is in our mouths and in our heart ... that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is our personal Lord and Saviour and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead , we shall be saved. And whoever calls upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved { Romans 10: 8 - 14 }.

And when God forgives us our sins we must forgive others who have sinned against us { Matt 6: 14 - 15 }. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven that is given among men , by which we must be saved , apart from the name of Jesus Christ. { Acts 4 : 10 - 12 }

So if you are ready to receive Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour, you could use the following prayer