We are updating the Sermons and Bulletin areas of the website.
How Does One Become a Christian?
.The scriptures are very clear that those who became Christians in the First Century followed a pattern of teaching done by the Apostles.
1. The scriptures teach clearly that salvation is offered by the grace of God. We cannot earn it by meritorious works. We cannot be good enough to deserve salvation. God expressed His grace by sending His Son to die on the cross for us, to take away our sins. Paul says in Titus 2;11-12, "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men..." Every person has the right and opportunity to take advantage of the offering that God made of Jesus. However, there is more to it. If the grace of God has appeared to all men, than why are many not saved (Matthew 7:13-14). God's grace demands obedience (Titus 2:12; Hebrew 5:8-9; Matthew 7:21). Obedience is not meritorious effort on our part, but is a response to the grace extended to us by God. An inactive faith is dead. Faith must act to please God (SeeJames 2).
2. They heard the preaching of the gospel. It is important to note that the avenue for learning of God's grace, and our proper reaction to it is the word of God. No individual was ever saved without first hearing the word of God preached. Paul stated that faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). Passage after passage in the book of Acts demonstrates the necessity of hearing the word. When Paul (then called Saul) met Jesus on the road to Damascus, Jesus did not tell him how to be saved at that time. He told him to go into the city and there he would be told (Acts 9:6).
3. They believed the gospel message. Each person saved by the grace of God in the New Testament reacted to the preaching of the gospel with faith. Clear passages, such as John 8:24 and Hebrews 11:6 declare the necessity of faith. In every conversion faith is an essential ingredient.
4. They responded to the gospel with the determination to change their lives, to repent. Jesus demanded repentence (Luke 13:3, 5). Peter commanded it on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38). Paul stated, "The times of this ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent." Repentence is brought about by godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10) that produces a change of heart that brings about a change in attitudes and actions (Acts 3:19).
5. The scriptures also make it clear that in order to reap the benefits of God's grace we must be willing to confess the name of Jesus. Jesus clearly states that if we deny Him He will deny us (Matthew 10:32-33). Paul reiterates the significance of confessing Jesus in Romans 10:9. The example of the Ethiopian Treasurer in Acts 8:37 shows the necessity of not only having faith, but being willing to confess faith in Jesus.
6. In every instance of individuals being saved, they are baptized. Their baptism was dependent upon them being penitent, confessing believers. When the penitent, confessing believer is buried in water (Romans 6:4) he/she is taking advantage of the grace of God expressed in the sacrifice of His Son, and his/her sins are forgiven (Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; Mark 16:16), and he/she is added by God to the church (Acts 2:47). All who do this are baptized into the death of Jesus (Romans 6:4) where they contact the blood of Jesus, which was shed in His death, and they rise to walk in a new life (Romans 6:4-7).
7. While baptism is a one-time event, the Christian must continue to hear the word of God and must continue to walk in the faith he/she has developed through the hearing of the word. The Christian must also have a continually penitent attitude as he/she walks in the light (1 John 1:7), and must confess Jesus throughout the rest of his/her life. The Christian will never be "good enough" to earn his/her way into heaven, and is dependent upon the marvelous grace of God which expresses itself in Jesus and the sacrifice that He made for us.
