Being a Christian is more than identifying yourself with a particular religion or affirming a certain value system. Being a Christian means you have embraced what the Bible says about God, mankind, and salvation.

God Is The Sovereign Creator. Contemporary thinking says that man is the product of random chance. But the Bible says we were created by a personal God to love, serve, and enjoy endless fellowship with him. The New Testament reveals that it was Jesus himself who created everything (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16). As a result he also owns and rules everything (Psalm 103:19). This means that he has authority over our lives and we owe him full allegiance, obedience, and worship.

God Is Holy. God is morally perfect and pure, and set apart from all other things (Isaiah 6:3; Habakkuk 1:13). God requires holiness of us as well (1 Peter 1:16).

All Are Sinners. According to the Bible, from birth we reject God and disobey him (Psalm 53:1, 3). This is what is called sin, and everyone is guilty of it. This is because the standard is not human, but God's. This doesn't mean that we are incapable of performing acts of kindness and goodness. Compared to others we may be kind, but compared to someone who is perfectly good all the time, our goodness falls short of the mark. The Scripture says, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

Sin Demands a Penalty. Due to our failure to live up to God's standard, we are currently under his wrath and when we die we will justly be condemned to an eternity in hell (Ezekiel 18:4; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Hebrews 9:27).

We Are Helpless to Save Ourselves. The Bible teaches that we are totally unable to do anything about our future judgement, and we can't do anything to gain favor with God (Ephesians 2:1-3, 8-9). No matter how hard we try, we still sin, pushing ourselves farther away from God.

Jesus Is Lord and Savior. Only through the Lord Jesus Christ can God save us from his wrath and condemnation (John 14:6). Why Jesus? There are at least five reasons:

1. He is God and Lord of all (Philippians 2:9-11)
2. He became man (Philippians 2:6-7)
3. He lived a sinless life and became the sacrifice for sins (Isaiah 53:5)
4. He died on the cross to provide the way of salvation for believing sinners (Hebrews 2:9-10)
5. He rose from the dead three days later, conquering death, and thus possesses the authority to give eternal life (John 17:2; Romans 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:4)

You Must Believe in the Lord Jesus (Acts 16:31).

The Character of Saving Faith. True faith is always accompanied by repentance from sin. Repentance is agreeing with God that you are sinful, confessing your sins to him, and making a conscious choice to turn from sin (Luke 13:3, 5; 1 Thessalonians 1:9) and pursue Christ (John 17:3) in loving obedience to him (1 John 2:3-4). It isn't enough to believe certain facts about Jesus. Even Satan and his demons believe in the true God (James 2:19), but they don't love and obey him. True saving faith always responds with obedience (Ephesians 2:10).

The Time Is Now. We always stand on the edge of eternity, never knowing how much we have left, so it is time to trust Christ now. According to the word of God, "Now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2)."

Listen to the words of Jesus: "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my load is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).

If you have any questions about how you can become a Christian, or want help in knowing how to live the Christian life, please contact us.