Written by Benoît Santos - Updated on Oct 27, 2024
If you are interested in making your first steps to Christianity , read on to see what the Bible says about what Christians believe and what you need to do to accept God into your life. Consider this your first and most important lesson in Christianity for beginners. We'll look at what it takes to be saved and what the incredible gift of salvation includes.
Before you continue reading, here is an article that might interest you to learn more about how to build a christian family .
Accepting change to center our hearts towards God
As a new year dawns, your mind may be focused on self-improvement. New Year’s resolutions are all well and good, but unfortunately, they tend to be short-lived. Our determination to exercise every day or go to bed earlier is a worthy goal, but by February, we’ll likely find that we’ve started to fall back into our old routines. Sure, we can change our habits if we try, but it’s difficult or nearly impossible if your heart isn’t in it. It’s hard enough to change our hearts , even slightly, to value exercise more than sleep, for example.
So, completely changing your heart probably seems impossible. However, the Bible tells us that we can experience this kind of change. We can exchange our sinful heart for a new one that loves God and desires to live according to His will. We can’t do something that miraculous on our own, but change is possible with God .
Believe in God
The first step toward Christianity is believing in God . Of course, this isn’t the only step, because many people say they believe in God but don’t live for Him. In fact, according to the Pew Research Center, 83 percent of Americans are absolutely or somewhat certain that God exists, but that doesn’t mean they’ll spend eternity with God in heaven. While believing in God alone isn’t enough, it’s an essential first step.
So what does it mean to believe in God? Some people have a vague concept of a deity in the clouds with a fluffy white beard and a toga, but Christians have a much clearer picture of who God is. This picture comes primarily from the Bible. Since Christians believe that God Himself divinely inspired the Bible, if we believe in God, we must believe what He tells us about Himself in these pages .
In the Bible we see a beautiful picture of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We recognize that God is omniscient, omnipotent, unchangeable, trustworthy, just, perfectly holy, loving, and merciful . When we encounter Jesus in the New Testament, we discover the character of God. We see Christ’s love for sinners and His willingness to endure pain and spiritual suffering to save us.
While we are on the subject of Christ, it is crucial to note that this is what separates Christians from members of other religions. Other religions generally acknowledge the existence of a god or gods, and some even claim to believe in the same God of the Hebrew Bible, but Jesus is where these believers separate themselves from Christians.
Believing in God as a Christian also means believing that Jesus was, and is, exactly what He said He was in the Scriptures: God in the flesh. Colossians 2:9-10 says, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Godhead lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been made full.” So, believing in God also means believing in Christ. You’ve probably heard John 3:16, which says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
So we know that we must believe in Christ, specifically, but we must go further. To be a Christian is to believe in Christ and see Him as Lord and Messiah . Romans 10:9-10 sums up how to become a Christian, saying that “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
For a Christian, believing in God doesn’t just mean acknowledging the presence of a man upstairs. Instead, it means truly believing that God is who He says He is and has proven Himself to be. It means revering and loving Him as Creator , King , and Savior . Do you want to have a personal relationship with this God?
Admit you need a savior
Believing in God and believing that Christ is God in the flesh is an essential starting point for becoming a Christian , but it is not enough in itself. You must personalize your belief. John Piper explains it this way: "So what is missing is not believing in the fact that Jesus is the Son of God, but rejoicing in that fact, embracing that fact, and making Christ the treasure and Lord of your life by surrendering yourself to Him."
Why would we respond to God this way? Why would we delight in Christ? We can marvel at who God is, but the primary way most of us cherish Christ is by seeing our need for Him. To achieve salvation, we must first see our need for a Savior. Did you know that you need to be saved? Most of us like to feel independent and competent on our own, but the truth is that we all need a Savior.
This is because, without Christ, we are stuck in a cycle of sin that causes all sorts of problems in our lives and ultimately separates us from God. Romans 8:7-8 says, “The mind that is governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to the law of God , nor can it. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” We all find ourselves in this same situation.
The apostle Paul uses the phrase “dead in trespasses and sins.” This is a dire situation that we cannot get out of on our own. The way we move from death to life, from hostility to love, from rebellion to submission, is for God to change our hearts and reconcile us to Himself. But this reconciliation cannot take place if we do not see the need for it. God will not save us if we think we are doing well on our own, and we will go to heaven because we are good people.
Consider the difference between the religious leaders Jesus condemned and the sinners He exalted. Leaders like the Pharisees were full of self-righteousness, while people who knew they were sinners looked to God for forgiveness , knowing their lives were a mess without Him. That’s why Jesus said to the chief priests and elders, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.”
Do you feel like you are a good person on your own, or do you know that you need God to save you from your sins? Being a sinner may not seem like a problem when you look around and see that everyone else is, too. But God is not. God is perfect, and we can see how sick we are of sin when we compare ourselves to His holiness. When you come to the end of yourself and recognize your need for a Savior, that is when God can do amazing works in you.
Confess and repent
When you believe in God and know that you need Him to save you from your sins, the next step is to confess your sins and repent. It’s not enough to just blend in with the rest of humanity and say, “Yes, I’m not perfect.” Instead, consider the specific ways you’ve sinned against God. In other words, make it personal. How have you ignored God’s authority or lived for yourself rather than for Him? How have you hurt others in your life with your sin?
Confessing your sin requires humility , especially when we ask forgiveness from our friends and family, as well as from God. Who wants to draw attention to their shortcomings? The reward is worth it, though. Proverbs 28:13 tells us, “He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but he who confesses and renounces them will have mercy.”
Mercy is something we all need. The Bible also tells us in 1 John, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” How awesome is this news? You might be surprised by this, because it seems like anyone can rattle off a list of bad things they’ve done. Is that all it takes for God to forgive you ? The short answer is no.
Just because you can list your sins doesn’t mean you’re engaging in the biblical act of confession. True confession involves a change of heart . It’s feeling genuine sorrow and brokenness over your sins. That’s different from being embarrassed or feeling a temporary pang of regret. That’s because confessing your sins should include another act of the heart: repentance.
When you realize you have sinned against God and you confess those sins, the next step is to turn from those sins and take a new direction with your life. Throughout the Bible, the prophets and Jesus call people to repent. This word indicates turning away from sin and turning toward God . Think of it as doing a 180 with your life. It doesn’t mean you’ll never sin again. Ask any Christian. But it does mean you’ll have a desire to please God, something that wasn’t on your radar before you came to faith.
For the first time, you will begin to appreciate the things God appreciates and see sin for what it truly is: a slave and a source of pain and destruction in our lives. When someone truly repents, the change may be gradual, but it will be a real change nonetheless. You will see them become a whole new person. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, a new creation has come: the old has passed away and the new is here!”
Accept God's Gift
Finally, you must accept God’s gift . This means you trust God’s promise that by believing in Him and giving your life to Him, He will give you a new heart and accept you into His family. Let’s take a closer look at what is included in the amazing gift of salvation. A common way to break down the gift of salvation is into three major categories: justification, sanctification, and glorification. No need to pull out a theology textbook. We’ll explain what these three aspects of our salvation entail.
Justification
The Bible tells us that God will judge every person on earth. He will either reject them or accept them into His kingdom. This can be a scary thought if you don’t know where you stand with God. The good news is that when you become a Christian, God justifies you. Justification means that we are no longer under the penalty we deserve for sin. That penalty is death and separation from God. The only way to avoid the judgment we deserve for our sin is by God’s grace .
Romans 5:1-2 tells us that “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” When God saves us, He promises to no longer hold our sins against us. This means we never have to worry about experiencing God’s wrath. Instead, we receive Christ’s testimony of perfect righteousness and the undeserved approval of our heavenly Father.
Sanctification
Justification alone is an incredible thing, but God doesn’t stop there. He also promises to continue working in us throughout our lives. This work, called sanctification, is the process by which we become more like Christ. He gives us the Holy Spirit who helps us overcome the power of sin in our lives and increase our holiness over time. This doesn’t mean that Christians are on a fast track to perfection, but it does mean that we are increasingly freed from sin as we continue to live for God.
The apostle Paul explains what this freedom looks like: “For we know that our old self was crucified with him [Jesus] in order that the body governed by sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin—for everyone who has died has been set free from sin.” While we are immediately freed from the penalty of sin when we are saved, our freedom from the power of sin continues .
Glorification
Justification and sanctification are both fantastic gifts, but in the words of all our favorite infomercials, “Wait, there’s more!” The gift of salvation also includes glorification . Glorification points to the day we leave this earthly life and enter eternal life. The Bible tells us that when we enter Heaven, we will have glorified bodies, just like Christ’s.
It also tells us that we will finally enjoy perfect fellowship with God, completely free from sin. This should be an exciting idea! Imagine seeing God face to face and having no shame because of your sin, only love and fear for Him . The gift of salvation is fully realized when we experience glorification.
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