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The heart of the matter For many, the question ‘What is a Christian?’ is a confusing one. Most people know something about Jesus Christ and the Bible—perhaps from school or church—and yet, for whatever reason, have not been able to see the sense, or the relevance of it all. Others have picked up second-hand doubts about whether Christianity is true. Is the Bible reliable? How can God love us when there is so much suffering around? Surely science has disproved it all? There are good and convincing answers to all these questions, but none of them makes sense unless we really understand the Christian answer to the bigger questions which trouble us all: Why are we here? What is the meaning of life? Is there a God out there who cares for me?—and how can I get in touch with him? The Christian claim is that all these questions were answered decisively when Jesus Christ came into the world. Jesus taught that everything matters, because the world and everything in it, including all the people in the world, belongs to God. What we do in God’s world, and with it, is 1
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important to God. God has never lost interest in his world, nor in any part of it. Some people think that God made his world and then grew tired of it, but this is quite contrary to what the Bible says.1
Jesus—the Master of the World When God created the world he did it so that Jesus, his Son, would be in charge of it. Speaking of Jesus, the Bible says: ‘All things were created by him and for him’.2 Jesus Christ, through his death and resurrection, has become Lord and Master of the whole creation.3 He therefore has the right to control everything in the world, including your life and mine. We should all recognise Jesus as our Master and God. We should all worship and obey him. This is what is meant by the statement Jesus Christ is Lord, which is the earliest Christian creed recorded. It is believing this and acting on it which makes a person into a real Christian.
Rebels But, in spite of the fact that Jesus has our best welfare at heart and wants only good for us, we all of us reject the idea that our lives should be controlled by him. We want to be independent—free from his rule and authority. We see 2
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ourselves as masters of our own lives and in charge of our destinies. But the Bible says that it is a mistake to think that our lives are our own to do with as we like. We reject Jesus as our Lord; sometimes passively, by thinking that it doesn’t matter, or that there’s always more time. And we sometimes reject him actively: doing and saying things out of anger, selfishness or pride which wound others and ourselves. But whether actively or passively, the point is the same—we reject him by not bothering about his laws. We act in a way which shows we are self-centred in our approach to life. It is this spirit of rebellion which leads some people to murder, commit adultery and steal. The same spirit of rebellion causes others to be puffed up with pride, eaten up by jealousy or to fritter away their lives in selfishness. Different people show different symptoms, but we all have the same disease: we are all rebels. The fact of rebellion in us is real. The Bible calls this spirit of rebellion sin. It makes no effort to minimise the seriousness of it. It identifies it as the root cause of all problems we have in trying 3
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to live with each other: wars, strife, divorce, racial hatred and jealousy to name a few. But, although sin is so destructive in our relationships with each other, its worst feature is the rebellion against Jesus Christ’s right to control our lives. And since Jesus is Lord, then sin has eternal consequences. One day Jesus will return and overthrow all who remain rebellious to his rule.4 Sin does matter because it wrecks life here and now and, if unforgiven, will take a person to hell.
How to stop the rebellion God, in his love and mercy, does the only thing that we would expect him to do. He urges people everywhere to stop rebelling against him, and turn back and obey him. This is what the Bible means by the term ‘repentance’. The apostle Paul tells us that God commands all people everywhere to repent because he has fixed a day when he will judge the world.5 Because of our sin, we do not have the ability to repent unless God gives us this ability as a gift.6 Amazingly, however, we can ask God to have mercy on us and to give us 4
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this gift so that we can stop rebelling and submit to Jesus Christ as Lord.
Amnesty is granted When anyone turns from their rebellion they are granted an amnesty by God. We are not punished for our acts of rebellion as we ought to be. In fact, we are treated as if we had never been rebels at all! We don’t deserve this treatment and it could never have been ours except for the death of Jesus Christ on our behalf. When Jesus died he took the punishment which we deserve because of our sin.7 He was punished for sinful people like us, so we could be set free from the punishment coming to us. This is how much Jesus Christ loved us—incredibly, he gave his life for us.8
A new beginning—it is possible When you stop rebelling and allow Jesus to control your life, this is a clear indication that God has started to work in you and made you into a new person. You may feel the same and look the same, but you start to act differently, and you act differently. Why? Because you are different. People who have become Christians start wanting to 5
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please Jesus—previously, they ignored and disobeyed him. This changed behaviour stems from a changed attitude to Christ. It is what the Bible calls being born again.9 This change is something which God does. It is sometimes referred to as having Christ living in us,10 and sometimes as having the Holy Spirit living within us.11 It is, of course, important to realise that in submitting to Jesus’ control you will not lose your identity. Rather, you become more complete as a human being. Becoming a Christian is like stepping out from darkness into light. The Bible compares it to being set free from bondage: ‘Once you were slaves to sin, now you are servants of the Living God’. And it is in Jesus’ service that ‘perfect freedom’ is found.12
So what is a Christian? A Christian, then, is someone who recognises that Jesus Christ has the right to control his or her life. They recognise that they have been rebels against Jesus Christ and deserve to be punished. Christians believe that Jesus Christ died for them on the cross, taking the punishment which their sins deserved. A Christian is a person who has responded 6
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to God’s call to repent. They have turned from rebelling against Jesus and submitted to him. This person knows that they have been forgiven. They know that God has made them a new person and that Jesus lives in their life. They know this because they see their changed desires, attitudes and behaviour. This person trusts God with their whole life.
Mistaken ideas! It will be clear from this that no one becomes a Christian merely by living a good life—being a good father or mother, an honest person in the community, or even by making great sacrifices for others. It is possible to do all these things and still be rebellious towards Jesus. In fact, it is often true that the better people are, the more difficult it is for them to realise that they need to be forgiven. They tend to think that they are good enough. A Christian is not just a good person. A good person, no matter how good he or she is, needs to be born again and forgiven. Christians will try to be good 7
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and obey Jesus, not so that they can be forgiven, but because they have already been forgiven. Neither should we fall into this trap of thinking that a regular churchgoer is necessarily a Christian. There’s nothing wrong with going to church; in fact, there’s every reason to go regularly, but this is not the thing which makes a person a Christian. It is possible to be baptised, confirmed and receive Holy Communion regularly, yet still not submit to Jesus. However, when someone repents and hands the control of their life over to Christ, they will want to belong to and participate in a church, not in order to become a Christian but because they have already become one. They will want to meet with other Christians to pray, to be taught and to praise God. So, there is nothing wrong with being good or going to church. These are just not the ways you become a Christian.
How can I become a Christian? You become a real Christian when God changes you and makes you into a new person. However, you have to do something yourself. You must make a response to 8
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what God has done for you in Christ. That response is to turn from your life of rejecting Jesus (repentance), and to trust God’s provision for your forgiveness (faith). If you are ready to make this change, you can do so by talking to God in prayer, expressing your desire to turn from your old life of rejecting Jesus to a new life with Christ in control. Below is the type of prayer you could say to make the change. Read it through now to see if it is the kind of prayer you would like to pray. Lord Jesus, I recognise that you are God and have the right to control my life. I have rebelled against you, sinning in thought, word, and deed, sometimes unconsciously, sometimes deliberately. I’m sorry for the way I have lived and ask you to forgive me. As best as I can, I want to turn away from rebellion and obey you. Thank you Lord Jesus, for dying for me on the cross. Please come into my life and take complete control of it. Amen. 9
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If this is the sort of prayer you would like to pray, why not say it now, in the silence of your mind, or out loud? God is listening to you and is longing to answer the cry of your heart for forgiveness and new life.
How does a Christian live? If you have prayed the prayer and meant it, be in no doubt that you have been heard and answered. Even though you may feel no different, a new life has begun with Jesus as your Lord. In order to serve the Lord you will need to be a regular and careful reader of the Bible. We cannot know how to please God or obey him unless we know what kind of person he is. We can only find this out through the Bible. I normally advise new Christians to begin with one of the Gospels, then to read the Acts of the Apostles and after that the other books of the New Testament. You should also start to pray regularly. Try to develop your new friendship with Jesus Christ in prayer. As we read the Bible, God speaks to us. We speak to him in 10
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prayer. Talk naturally, as to a friend, sharing with him your concerns and needs, and the needs of others—but remember who you are addressing: the Lord of all. It is essential also for you to meet with other Christians. You should link up with a church where you can be helped to grow more like Christ, and where you can then start to help others.
How can I be sure? Several things assure the believer that he or she is a real Christian. First, God’s promises in the Bible about forgiving us and accepting us are true and can be relied on. 13 Secondly, our changed attitudes toward God, sin and the world assure us that God has made us into new people. When God does this it is forever.14 Thirdly, there are times when Christians feel the wonder of God being their Father. The Bible tells us that this is the Holy Spirit assuring us deep down that we are God’s children.15 You will know if you are a Christian because you will want to turn away from sin. There is also a new love for people. All of these new attitudes are gifts from God. 11
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What if I fail? Christians are not perfect. Although we aim to live with Jesus as our Lord, there will be times when we fail. Failure and sin do not alter your relationship with God—you are still a Christian—you are still a child of God. What distinguishes the Christian response to failure is that we no longer say ‘it doesn’t matter’ or try to justify our actions. We recognise that what we have said or done is grievous to God, and, as well as seeking to make amends, we confess it and resolve, with God’s help, not to fall again.16 But we do long for the day when Jesus will return and then we will be perfect.
Bible References 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Revelation 4 v 11 Colossians 1 v 16 Acts 2 v 36 2 Thessalonians 1 v 8,9 Acts 17 v 31 Romans 6 v 23 1 Peter 2 v 24 1 John 4 v 10
9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.
Titus 3 v 4-6 Colossians 1 v 27 1 Corinthians 3 v 16 Romans 6 v 18 Romans 8 v 31-39 Philippians 1 v 6 Romans 8 v 15,16 1 John 1 v 9
12
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