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| A Christian
What does it mean to be a Christian? According to the bible a Christian is defined as a person living and believing in Jesus Christ. The Bible calls the Christian, the "friend" of God (John 15:15), someone with whom God desires to fellowship and enjoy. In the Bible, the word "Christian" only appears three times. In (Acts 11:26), Luke writes "...The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." In (Acts 26:28), King Agrippa tells Paul; "In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian.""...but if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God." In each case, the Greek word Christianos (khris-tee-an-os') is used, which is translated "follower of Christ." And, in (1 Peter 4:16) So, what exactly is a follower of Christ? It means you have a personal relationship with Christ, by accepting Him as your personal Lord and Saviour. Simply believing in God is not enough. Being a good person is not enough. Nor is going to church, being baptized or taking communion, although all of those things are done by Christians. Christians walk with God and talk to him daily through prayer and meditation. There are also rules that Christians abide by which were handed down to Moses as the ten commandments: The 10 Commandments - God's Revelation in the Old TestamentThe 10 Commandments are found in the Bible's Old Testament in the book of Exodus, Chapter 20. They were given directly by God to the people of Israel at Mount Sinai after He had delivered them from slavery in Egypt: The 10 Commandments - Christ's Summation in the New Testament Born AgainMany people believe "born again" is a modern day expression to describe people who hold up John 3:16 signs in the end zone or stand on street corners yelling "Repent or go to hell!" The truth is, Jesus first used the expression when he was talking to Nicodemus, a religious leader:
He also said:
How to be Born Again The first place to start is in understanding in your mind and heart that we matter to God. He created the heavens and the earth, he made us, and He wants to have a personal relationship with us. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) However we rebelled against God. Both actively and passively, we have all disobeyed Him and our sins have separated us from Him. Our relationship with God is therefore broken off.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) To some degree, most of us are aware of our distance or seperation from God. And so we start doing all kinds of things to try and get back to Him, like being a helpful neighbour, being nice, going to church, and giving money to charities. There is nothing wrong with these things but the Bible makes it clear that none of them can earn us God’s forgiveness or reestablish our relationship with Him. Furthermore the sins we’ve committed must be punished, and the penalty we owe is death, which means both physical death as well as spiritual death from God for eternity in Hell.
Jesus Christ"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
The good news, as was referred to earlier is that we matter to God. In fact, He loves us so much that He did for us what we could never do for ourselves. He provided a bridge over which we can find His forgiveness and restore our relationship with Him. His son Jesus Christ provided the bridge over the gap between you and God, by dying on the cross to pay the death penalty you and I owed.
"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God." (1 Peter 3:18)
God's Free Gift Of SalvationThis is a picture of what the central message of the Bible is all about. And that is what God wants each of us to understand. But it’s not enough to just know about this or even agree with it. We have got to act upon it. God wants us to move over to the other side. We can move to the other side by humbly admitting to God that we have rebelled against Him and need His forgiveness. When we truly repent of our sins, that simple act of trust and obedience results in our sins being pardoned and our debt being paid. Our relationship with God is firmly established, because we’re immediately adopted into His family as His son or daughter. If you're ready to make a commitment to Christ right now, and turn your life around, you can by praying this simple prayer:
"Dear God, I recognize that I am a sinner - that I have broken you commandments and I am sorry for what I have done. I believe that Jesus Christ is your son and that He paid for my sins through His death on the cross. I want to turn away from my sin and ask for your forgiveness. I invite you to come into my heart and my life. I want to trust you and follow you as my Lord and Saviour. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Maybe you prayed something like this sometime before in your life, but you've fallen away from God. If you would like to recommit yourself to Him, pray this prayer:
It's that simple! If you truly believe in the power of Jesus's death to forgive your sins, and turn away from your sinful past, you'll be forgiven and restored and enjoy an eternal life with Jesus in Heaven that begins today!
If you prayed this prayer with a sincere heart, the Bible promises us that:
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13)
If you made a commitment today to follow Jesus Christ, please let us know! We would love to encourage you and provide you with the fellowship and support you'll need to continue to grow and strengthen your relationship with God.
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