How to Become a Christian – NorthWinds Church

Thanks for your interest in knowing more about how to become a Christian. For many years of my life, I believed I was a Christian, but I wasn’t. I knew a lot about the Bible; I knew about Jesus being born in a stable; I knew that He lived a sinless life; I knew that He died on the cross and that 3 days later He rose from the dead. I knew all these things…I even believed all these things, but I wasn’t a Christian.

Knowing and believing facts about Jesus doesn’t make a person a Christian any more than knowing and believing facts about your favorite sports team would make you a member of that team. In the New Testament book of James, we find this verse: “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” Satan and his demons know more about God than you and I will until we enter eternity, and they are clearly not Christians.

There are many people who have faithfully attended church; some who have even become leaders in their church, but they are not Christians and will one day hear the words of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 7:23 “I (Jesus) never knew you.” Wow…that’s not what we want to hear. Instead, I think we all want to hear the words of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 25:21, 23 “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Becoming a Christians (often called “salvation”) is a very simple thing. In fact, so simple that Jesus in Matthew 18 said: “Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Childlike faith…the faith that saves…the faith that leads you to become a Christian is simple yet profound. We often describe it being as simple as A-B-C.

A. Admit you are a sinner and repent (turn from) your sin.

Adam and Eve rebelled against God and brought sin into the world (Genesis 3), and sin separates mankind from God because GOD IS HOLY (completely separate from sin). Sin is anything that misses God’s perfect mark…and WE ALL miss that mark. The Bible tells us: “ALL have sinned and FALL SHORT of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) You may be a morally “good” person by everyone’s standards, but God’s standard is completely different and that’s why the Bible says that “There is NO ONE righteous, not even one.” Before you can be saved (rescued from your sin and reconciled to God) you need to admit that you are as sinner who needs saved from that sin. When you admit you are a sinner, you need to REPENT (turn from your sin). If you’re turning from your sin…picture yourself walking in one direction, doing a 180 and walking the other direction…who do you turn to? You turn to Jesus, that’s the next part of the A-B-C’s of salvation.

B. Believe Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sin and He rose again.

The first part of Romans 6:23 says, “The wages (rightful payment) of sin is death (separation from God).” If you try to pay for your own sin, you will spend eternity attempting to do so…and you’ll never accomplish it. 1 Corinthians 15:3a-4 says, “Christ DIED FOR OUR SINS according to the Scriptures, HE WAS BURIED, and HE WAS RAISED on the third day according to the Scriptures.” Jesus already paid the penalty for the sins of the whole world and gives an offer that we read about in the second part of Romans 6:23: “…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It’s all summed up in what is likely the most well-known verse in the Bible: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).

The final part of the A-B-C’s of becoming a Christian is…

C. Confess that Jesus is the LORD (the one who gets to call the shots).

Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, YOU WILL BE SAVED.” Becoming a Christian is not a half-hearted commitment. You have been calling the shots in your life to this point, but to be a Christian is to turn over control to Jesus!

So, the choice is yours…call your own shots and try to pay for your own sin OR Admit you’re a sinner, turn from your sin, Believe Jesus died in your place, ask Him to forgive you and Confess Him as Lord (the one who now gets to call the shots in your life).

If you’re ready to become a Christian, you can pray something like this: “Dear God, I admit that I’m a sinner, and I know that because of my sin I’ve been separated from you. But I believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sin, I believe that He was buried and rose again on the 3 rd day. Right now I want to turn from my sin and turn to Jesus. I want you to forgive me of my sin and I want Jesus to be my Savior. I confess Jesus as my Lord now and forever. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus name, Amen!”

It’s not the particular words of a prayer that save you, it’s the faith that trusts in Jesus and Jesus alone to be your Savior…if you’ve done that, then welcome to the family of God! You are now a Christian!!! And if you’ve made that decision, we would love to rejoice with you and we have a booklet for you called “When You Believe…a short guide for new Christians.”
Just shoot Pastor Dave an email: dave@mynorthwinds.org and he will make sure you get the booklet.

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