Quick, what is the first thing that pops into you mind when you hear the word "Christian"? Do you think of a person who goes to church? Someone who studies the bible? Someone who acts like *Ned Flanders? A lot of people have a certain perception in their minds about what being a Christian means, but the important thing is to know what the bible has to say about being a Christian. The following topic will go over some of the attributes that all Christians should have, and use scripture to give a better idea about what God wants from us as Christians. It will highlight the responsibilities that we have, along with the benefits that come with being a follower of Christ.
First things first. In order to learn about Christianity, you must first learn how to become a Christian. The bible makes it clear that there are 5 steps in becoming a Christian; hear, believe, repent, confess, be baptized.
| Hear | Romans 10:17 |
"So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
"Then Peter said unto them, 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."
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
"I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
"I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am [he], ye shall die in your sins."
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| Believe | John 8:24 | |
| Repent | Luke 13:3 | |
| Confess | Romans 10:9 | |
| Be Baptized | Acts 2:38 |
Now that you're familiar with how to become a Christian, I just want to reinforce the point that once you become a Christian, you have to put your past life behind you.
| Romans 6:4 | Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. |
Just as Jesus died and was raised up from the dead, we need to metaphorically die from our old sinful life and start a new life in Christ. Once we become Christians we can no longer keep willfully sinning. We must depart from iniquity and put on a new man in Christ.
Walking in the spirit is a continuation of leaving our past sinful lives behind. If we are walking in the spirit we will no longer walk after the lust of the flesh, but rather set our minds of purer spiritual things.
| Galations 5:25 | If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. |
1st Corinthians 12:13 tells us that we are all baptized into one body, by one spirit. Thereforre if you want to be part of the one body, you must walk in the spirit. Or in other words, we must act how Jesus acted, and do what we think he would have done.
Becoming a Christian should be a life altering event. You are no longer allowed to just follow the crowd. God has called you out to be different from the rest of the world. We must always be conscience of the fact that we are different, and we are to be an example to the rest of the world of how God want's us to live.
Being a Christian is not easy. We must be willing to be in the minority, and to never back down from our beliefs. We are the sole protectors of the word of God and it's up to us to spread his word of love to the rest of the world. While we have been called out by God and have been seperated from the rest of he world, it is very important to never think that we are better than those who are not Christians. Everyone deserves a chance at salvation, and it's up to us as Christians to give them that chance.
Jesus said Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
. If you live the Christian lifestyle, people will start to notice. You should be so filled with the spirit that you couldn't hide it if you tried.
We have been brought out of darkness, and it's now our duty to shine brightly with God's love to the rest of the world who are still in darkness.
| 1 John 2:3 | And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. |
Keeping God's commandments is one of the most basic requirement's of being a Christian. It's what sets us apart from non-christians. Jesus said to us "If ye love me, keep my commandments". Doing what God has asked of us to do, is a way we can show our love to God, and makes us special in his eyes.
As a Christian we should be willing to go to war for our Lord.
God has chosen us to be soldiers for him. But this is not a physical war, it's a spiritual one. 2nd Corinthians 10:4 tells us that the "weapons of our warefare are not carnal". Paul warns us to not get entangled with the affairs of the world, and we must always have our sights set on spiritual matters. Paul also said to Timothy, that we should "ware a good warefare". Christians should always be loving, patient, and kind to others but in the same token we must also be willing to defend Christ to our last breath.
Ephesians 6:13-18 paints a picture for us, of how a Christian soldier should be armed.
| Helmet | - Salvation |
| Sword | - Word of God |
| Shield | - Faith |
| Boots | - Gospel of peace |
| Breastplate | - Righteousness |
| Loins | - Girt with truth |
The word of God is sharper than any two edged sword. Our faith is our shield. As long as we have strong enough faith then no spiritual attack can phase us. We need to tread sofetly using the gospel of peace. Our loins must be gartered with strong foundation of truth. Righteousness must be near to our heart, and the one of the first things that others see in us. And finally we should have a helmet of salvation since it salvation should always be on our mind.
All of these elements work together to help arm and protect the soldier of God.
Being a Christian is a lot of work, but it comes with the best rewards. The biggest reward being that we become the children of God, and God has an inheritance waiting for us in heaven.
| 1 John 5:1 | Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. |
When we do good, we are the children of God but when we do bad, we are the children of the devil
We should count ourselves lucky that God would have so much love, to call us his children.