The How of Being a Christian

The How of Being a Christian

The crew of the submarine Squalus realized that they had taken their last dive and were lying helpless at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, 240 feet below the surface. They sent up smoke flares and a buoy, and colored the waters with dye to attract attention.

Would one of their sister ships find them? If their submerged submarine were located, could they be rescued? All help must come from above. There was no possibility of help from any other direction. There, in agonizing silence, they waited. Every hour seemed an age.

Within less than an hour after that fatal dive, the submarine Sculpin set out in search of them. In a few hours the red film on the surface of the water was discovered, then the buoy. But twenty-four hours passed before any real rescue work could be started. Think of the long, long hours there in the darkness of that submarine!

Then a giant, ten-ton diving bell dipped and rose again and again, each time bringing up several men from those awful depths. At last all thirty-three men who were still alive in the submarine had been rescued. When the great diving bell was lowered, not one sailor refused to be rescued. All were glad to accept the way to safety.

If we are to be saved and have a place in God's kingdom, we must accept His way of salvation. Remember, all the help we ever get will be from above, not from this earth. Salvation is from God.

Do you want to be a Christian? Would you like to be a Christian, but do not know how to begin? Well, this lesson is especially for you. The steps to Christ are few and plain and easy to understand, and we will turn to God's Guidebook now for information.

1. BELIEVE AND BE SAVED

What must one who wants to come to God do first of all? The answer is found in Hebrews 11:6.

“He that cometh to God must BELIEVE that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

We must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.

“BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” —Acts 16:31.

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” —Acts 4:12.

Believe; that's the first step toward becoming a Christian.

But you say:

“I don't have faith. How can I get this faith in God?” Here is the way, as described by the apostle Paul in Romans 10:17:

“So then FAITH COMETH BY HEARING and hearing by THE WORD OF GOD.”

The word of God, then, as found in the Bible, brings faith when we study it and receive it into our hearts. So begin at once to follow the Bible path.

2. REPENT AND BE FORGIVEN

Now we come to the second step, which leads us to a change of life.

“Despisest thou the riches of his [God's] goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that THE GOODNESS OF GOD LEADETH THEE TO REPENTANCE?” —Romans 2:4.

So the second step is repentance. First, belief in God; second, repentance.

But you ask, “Are you sure God will forgive me?” The answer to that question is found in 1 John 1:9:

“IF WE CONFESS our sins, HE IS FAITHFUL and just TO FORGIVE US our sins, and TO CLEANSE US from all unrighteousness.”

We read the same thing in Exodus 34:6, 7:

“The Lord, THE LORD GOD, MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, FORGIVING INIQUITY AND TRANSGRESSION AND SIN.”

So you see, our heavenly Father treats us better than we deserve. Yes, He desires to forgive us.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” —John 3:16.

That's what God's love and goodness led Him to do for us.

So, first of all, we must believe in God. Then we must realize that we are sinners, and repent.

“REPENT ye therefore, and BE CONVERTED, that your SINS may be BLOTTED OUT.” —Acts 3:19.

Now, no one is going to repent if he isn't sorry for his sins.

“Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye SORROWED TO REPENTANCE.” —2 Corinthians 7:9.

Repentance is simply being sorry for our sins and putting them away. It is not a sorrow for fear of punishment, but a hatred of the sin itself because we know it grieves the heart of God.

Is it natural for us, of our own selves, to repent? No.

“Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a SAVIOUR [that is speaking of Jesus], for TO GIVE REPENTANCE to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” —Acts 5:31.

Conviction is not repentance. It is one thing to be awakened at five o'clock in the morning, but it is another thing to get up. As an old slave woman said, “Repentance is being so sorry for sin that you quit sinning.”

Across the great Zambezi River in Africa, just below the Victoria Falls, there is a huge bridge spanning the chasm over the most terrible turmoil of waters on earth. It was built by engineers working from both sides of the river, extending the span from each side until the two arms met above midstream, thus completing the bridge.

Repentance and faith are the arms of the bridge that enable us to pass from earth to heaven. They unite to make our salvation possible. Neither is of itself sufficient. We must believe in God, and we must repent.

It is useless to try to be Christians if we do not repent of our sins. We cannot change ourselves from sinners to believers in any other way.

“Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.” —Jeremiah 13:23.

Repentance is absolutely necessary. One reason why we live such unhappy lives is that we do not repent. Many who carry on a form of Christianity have never truly repented, and therefore have never been happy in their Christian experience. One reason why some religious workers never have a revival is that they have not repented of their sins—they are still unconverted.

Friend, have you repented? Will you repent?

3. CONFESS AND BE CHANGED

Dr. F. B. Meyer tells of a revival meeting that was dragging along with no signs of success. Finally one of the leading elders rose and said, “Pastor, I don't think we'll have a revival here as long as Brother Jones and I won't speak to each other.” Then he went over to Jones and said: “Brother Jones, you and I haven't spoken to each other for five years. It's time now to bury the hatchet. Here's my hand.”

Just then a sob broke the silence. Another elder arose in the audience and said: “Pastor, I don't think there will be a revival here until I repent. We can't have a revival as long as I say mean things behind your back and nice things to your face. I want you to forgive me.”

Soon others arose and confessed their sins and tried to set matters right. It wasn't long before the revival broke out. Then the blessing of God came upon them and swept over the community for three years.

The next step in becoming a Christian is confession.

“CONFESS your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” —James 5:16.

“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: But whoso CONFESSETH AND FORSAKETH them shall have mercy.” —Proverbs 28:13.

Confession that leads to the forsaking of sin is the real kind.

But, in addition to this, what else is necessary on the part of the repentant sinner?

“If the wicked RESTORE the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.” —Ezekiel 33:15.

Real repentance and confession mean not only to stop sinning, but to do everything possible to make past wrongs right. No man can steal ten dollars and expect God to forgive him unless he tries to pay back what he has taken. Otherwise it wouldn't be real repentance or real confession. But when a person truly repents and confesses, God forgives.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” —1 John 1:9.

Forgiveness is God's work, not ours. When we confess, we simply believe that God forgives, and He does. That's the end of it. We may or may not feel that our sins are gone, but they are. We are not to depend upon feeling; we are to believe God.

The son of a minister strayed from the straight and narrow way into a life of debauchery and sin. He made a name and great fame for himself in the world of affairs, but allowed himself to slip down to the lowest places. He described his own condition as that of a drunkard, a drug addict, and a down-and-outer.

After fifteen long years, he gave God a chance to redeem him, and he was gloriously converted. Then he returned home, only to find that his poor father had died of a broken heart, calling his name, but that through all those years his mother had kept a lighted lamp in the window every night and all night.

God has a light in His window for all His wayward children, and while that lamp burns, the wandering sinner may return. Won't you come back now? God will forgive you.

4. BAPTIZED INTO A NEW LIFE

The next step in becoming a Christian is baptism, and the proof for that is found in Acts 2:38, 39:

“REPENT, AND BE BAPTIZED every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord Our God shall call.”

Baptism is the outward confession that we have believed on Jesus, repented of and confessed our sins to Him, and found salvation through Him.

The change which comes through faith, repentance, confession of sin, and following the Word of God in all obedience, is called the new birth. Jesus said: “YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN.” John 3:7. This is also spoken of as regeneration. It's a re-creation by the power of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the one who believes. Through being baptized we confess that we have entered that new life.

The new life experience is not something that we can work up, not a form of psychology. It is not a by-product of education or culture, but a miracle wrought by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. Then Christ lives His life within us, a new life of perfect obedience.

5. OBEDIENT THROUGH CHRIST IN US

In Christ's day men longed for a way out of sin and death—for a new life.

Jerome O. Williams once gave this counsel to new Christians:

“Keep His commandments. Obedience is taught in all the Bible and is absolutely necessary for success in the Christian life. Obedience is the test of love for God for Jesus said ‘He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.’ John 14:21. It is the ground of abiding in His love. ‘If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love.’ John 15:10. It is a condition of friendship with the Lord Jesus ‘Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.’ John 15:14. Obedience is the requirement for happiness in the Christian life. ‘If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.’ John 13:17.”

Can we obey in our own strength? No, for in John 15:5 we read, “Without me ye can do nothing.” But how much can we do with Christ's help?

“I can do ALL THINGS through Christ which strengtheneth me.” —Philippians 4:13.

But if we do sin after we have made a start for Christ, should we become discouraged and cease to follow Him? Never!

“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous.” —1 John 2:1.

A saint, or follower of Jesus, is not necessarily one who never sins, but one who, as soon as he does sin, asks forgiveness of God, believes himself forgiven, and goes on rejoicing to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord. He may stumble and fall, but he gets up and presses forward again, determined to overcome by God's enabling power. Such a fall is not counted against him when he repents and asks forgiveness and divine help to live the right life. But he is to grow stronger and stronger through Christ's power.

“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, …” —Jude 24.

So we have clearly outlined the steps that we need to take in order to become a Christian: to believe in God, to repent of and to confess our sins, to be baptized, and to obey all the commandments of the Lord.

6. SECRETS OF CHRISTIAN LIVING (Part 1 of 2)

In order to grow and strengthen in our Christian life, there are three essentials. Just as in our physical life we must breathe, eat, and exercise, so in the spiritual life we must observe these three essentials to success and happiness. The Christian life is a growth, and we must not expect too great results at first; but if we follow these three essentials to Christian life and growth, we will have happiness and joy in Christ's service here on earth.

First, we must eat. What is the food for spiritual life?

“The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” —John 6:63.

“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the Joy and rejoicing of mine heart.” —Jeremiah 15:16.

Daily reading and studying of the Bible are necessary to spiritual growth and life. If we do not eat this food for the soul, we will not grow, but will finally starve spiritually.

Second, we must breathe. Prayer is the breath of the soul. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to “pray without ceasing.” And in Romans 12:12 we read, “continuing instant in prayer.”

“In every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” —Philippians 4:6.

“Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend.” “Ask, and it shall be given you,” said Jesus. (Matthew 7:7.) Prayer and its answer is a wonderful theme, and a more wonderful experience. It is the very breath of the soul. Without prayer, the spiritual life will perish sooner than from the lack of any other essential.

Third, we must exercise or engage in Christian work. We are to labor in God's vineyard. (Matthew 21:28.) In what part of it? Mark 16:15 tells us:

“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

Jesus came into the world—

“… not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” —Matthew 20:28.

Service means salvation for others, and life and exercise for us as Christians.

6. SECRETS OF CHRISTIAN LIVING (Part 2 of 2)

As we take Christ's name, we follow in His steps, doing what we can to help the needy, relieve the distressed, and encourage the downhearted. Most of all, we do our utmost, losing no opportunity to point sinners to “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. Feeding on the Word, keeping the heart constantly in the spirit of prayer, and consecrating our energies to the eternal welfare of our fellow men—that's the ideal Christian life, the happiest, most satisfying life that man can know on this earth.

Let me bear my personal testimony—it's great to be a Christian! Friend, won't you give God a chance in your life? Won't you become a Christian? Won't you take these steps—these steps to Christ?

To every Christian let me say; If you are living for Christ, you are doing more than anything else that you possibly could do to bring men to Him.

A missionary in China was telling of Jesus for the first time to a group of people in an inland town. When he had finished, someone spoke up and said: “Oh, yes, we knew Him. He used to live here.”

Surprised, the missionary said: “No, He didn't live here. He lived centuries ago in another land.”

Insisting that he had seen Jesus, the man said, “Not so. He lived in this village. We knew Him.”

Then the simple country folk took the missionary out to the village cemetery and showed him the grave of a medical missionary who had lived, healed, served, and died in their community. Ah, yes, they had seen Jesus in this man! And they thought he was Jesus.

Do people see Jesus in you, in me? May it be so today.

Dear Father in heaven: I do thank Thee for Thy Word that teaches me how I can be saved. O Lord, I am a sinner and I need the power of saving grace this very minute. Take my heart and help me to believe that Thou art performing life's greatest miracle in me just now. Make my belief, my repentance, and my conversion a very real experience to me. Teach me how to live in loving obedience to Thy revealed will. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.