"FOUR POINTS TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN"
In a recent survey taken here in the United States, it was reported that over 80 per cent of the U.S. population professes that they are "born-again Christians". Can you believe that?
Consider the following for a moment:
1). Increasing anti-Christian legislation that is taking place at this time;
2). The erosion of prayer in public schools under the misinformation of why the so-called separation of church and state was even established in the first place;
3). Our Christian military chaplains in danger of losing their God given right to even PRAY specifically in the name of Jesus Christ;
4). The virtually "rabid" push in our country for pro-gay legislation that would affect every area of our society including our kids from kindergarten age and up;
5). The attack on and the demand for removal of Christian articles including simple Christmas decorations from state, city or county facilities;
6). The 10 Commandments and Bible being stripped from our courtrooms;
The above is a list of only a few select areas of attack among even more that, in one way or another, targets our Christian faith. Yet, while all of this is going on, have you ever asked yourself where the voices or votes of the above so-called 80 per cent of born again Christians are?
Considering the above truly is rather thought provoking, and we must ask ourselves, "How does one define who or what a true Christian really is?" "How do I really know that I am a practicing Christian?" To some extent the answer to these two questions would be a question in itself, and the question might be, "If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" I think everyone reading this article should pause for a moment and ask themselves this question, and then give yourself an honest answer.
Unfortunately, the truth probably is that 80 per cent of the U.S. population are not really true, born-again Christians, although they profess to be and probably think that they are...at least not by Biblical standards. And it is "Biblical standards" that count and help us make that determination of what a true Christian really is and how that person who professes to be a Christian should be living from day to day.
So how do we know we are really a "practicing" follower of Jesus Christ...a Christian? I would like to briefly just provide four (4) basic points or summary guides that I think will help answer this question for some of you or give you a guide to help others answer that question. These four points are by no means all inclusive, as there are additional important points that can be added to these and expounded upon. However, I thought that as a starting point, the following would be a good reference.
Point number one is that you first must accept Jesus Christ into your heart as Lord and Savior.
God became a man and visited us on this earth in the form of Jesus Christ. He then sacrificed Himself for us so that a fellowship mankind once had but then lost through the sins of Adam and Eve, could be restored. Accepting Him means that you believe who He is and what He has done for you. It means that you are also willing to serve and follow Him. We call Him our Savior and He is. But we also call Him "Lord" for a reason. That reason is that He must have control and say-so about our lives.
John 3:16 tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever should believe in Him (Jesus) shall not perish but have everlasting life.
We hear many today spreading the false teaching of what will one day become the doctrine of a "world religion" that says that "all roads lead to heaven or to God." This is simply not true. The Bible tells us in John 14:6 that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father (God) but through Him. Jesus Christ is the only way to God and to heaven. Whether others believe that or not changes nothing. Again, He is the only way to heaven. There is no other way. We must be willing to understand and accept that.
Although we were born of sin, Jesus came to this earth without sin and He gave His life as a sacrifice for us and for our sins so that we could enter into heaven. God is sinless. There is no sin in heaven. Therefore sin cannot enter into heaven now either. That is why we must become sinless in order to partake of eternal life in heaven. But how does that happen? How can we, who are full of sin, become sinless? Well, Jesus who was sinless, became sin by taking our own sins upon Himself through His death on the cross. Our sins were transferred to Him. He then took those sins to hell and discarded them there, being resurrected in complete purity after three days and Himself being sinless once again. When we accept Jesus’ provision for our sins through His death on the cross, we are allowed to partake of His righteousness and enter into heaven based on His righteousness alone and not our own. We become righteous in Christ. A provision for our sin has been made. Our sins have been nullified and canceled based on our acceptance of Him and our willingness to commit our lives to Him. Salvation is a free gift of God. You cannot earn it. There is no "stairway to heaven" you can climb. Your best efforts cannot "earn" you a trip to heaven. It is a free gift from God that we have a choice to either accept or reject and that gift is "Jesus Christ". Therefore, to know you are a Christian, you must first be "saved". Being saved from certain judgment through our faith in Jesus Christ is a new birth and this is what is called being “born again". You must be born again. (John 3:3).
Point number two is that we must learn about the nature of Jesus through God's Word, the Holy Bible.
You cannot really know Jesus Christ apart from His Word because His Word reveals the very nature, personality and heart of God to us and it provides us with the directions needed to understand God in Christ and to walk with Him. So we must become a student of the Bible in order to know and understand the nature of our Lord.
Point number three is that we must also have a personal "relationship" with the Lord Jesus Christ.
I have said the following many times and will say it again here. "IT IS NOT ABOUT RELIGION. IT IS ABOUT A RELATIONSHIP." While church is important and good for many reasons, it unfortunately becomes a "religion" for many people. They believe that if they go to church, that this somehow makes them a Christian. However, that is as presumptuous and foolish as me saying that if I go to a pet store, I can be a dog. I will say it again. “Going to church does not make you a Christian. It is not about religion. It is all about a relationship with Jesus Christ. Going to church can help you obtain that, if you attend the right church.” But the church cannot be a substitute for a true relationship with Jesus Christ, or else it becomes nothing more than a Christian social club for those who hold to this idea.
Finally, point number four is that you know you are a Christian when there is an inward and outward evidence of your faith in Jesus Christ.
When you become a true Christian you will find that you begin to change and conform to God's standards for you as a person. It is not something that you strive to do in your own flesh as much as that the Holy Spirit creates in you both the will or desire and the ability to make that change. It is much like a worm being changed or transformed into a beautiful butterfly. It is a process.
Change can and also should include a desire to share your faith with others, a desire to pray for others and so much more. It generally includes an overhaul of how you think about many things, as you begin to view things from God's perspective and not your own. How does this occur?
We know from the Bible that sin (anything impure) cannot enter into heaven. (Ephesians 5:5) We were all born in sin and live in a sinful state of being. Yet Jesus Christ walked in this earth without sin. His sacrifice for us through death on the cross and subsequent resurrection transforms us if we are willing to accept that He died as a living sacrifice for us...for our sins. Therefore, while our sin cannot enter into heaven, we can be both forgiven of the sins we commit and then also cleansed from these sins and changed by our faith and trust in Christ, based not on our works...(for we cannot make ourselves perfect)...but based on our faith in what a perfect and sinless Christ has done for us. That faith forgives us but it also will transform us. Therefore our works will then become a direct result of our faith in Jesus and not simply "our best human efforts in trying to please God" or building some stairway to heaven.
It is an insult to God that we would think that our best human efforts can accomplish the righteousness of God, so do not think that way. When men of old attempted to build the Tower of Babel...a tower to God and the heavens (Genesis 11:1-9)....that was what they were trying to do. They believed that they could touch God with their best human efforts and do it without the help of God Himself. You see, they were going to "get there" without Him and do it "their way". That type of thinking, while very acceptable in our society even today, is very much against biblical thinking and the nature of God. We all know what happened to the Tower of Babel. God intervened and destroyed it.
The beauty in the true Christian walk is that the nature of Jesus Christ transforms you. It changes you.. You do not have to try so hard to do it all yourself. You just need to be "willing" to change and then actively trust God for that change by walking with Him in faith. When you take on the nature of Jesus Christ, you find that it is much easier to change, to drop old habits and put on a new life. The struggles to change are met with divine answers and help. You no longer have to beat your head against a wall in trying so hard to change "despite yourself". You are being changed and transformed from the inside out rather than trying to struggle in yourself and do it from the outside in. Jesus enables that change to take place. It becomes a true miracle. Change becomes a desirable and much easier thing to see accomplished in your life than if you struggle and fight to do it all by yourself and all alone. Do you believe and understand this?
In summary, we see that four basic points for knowing you are a Christian are:
1). True acceptance of Jesus Christ in your life as Lord and Savior
2). Studying to learn the nature of God through the Bible
3). Having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ
4). Inward and outward evidence (change) through your faith in Christ
Finally, I would like to briefly discuss church attendance. I left church attendance off of my four points of knowing you are a Christian because it is fact that you can "technically" become a Christian without going to church. However, it is much easier to become a Christian, to grow and to remain strong in your Christian faith by attending a good Bible believing church. If you are truly a follower of Jesus Christ and of biblical teaching, then even though you may not initially be an avid church attendee, you will more than likely become one. The church, as stated above, provides an excellent source of food for growth for the believer in Christ. As you become more exposed to the things of God, your hunger and desire for such spiritual food will grow. In a church you can be provided with spiritual guidance for growth. You also can find fellowship with those of kindred spirit or like mind as yourself in the church. The church not only provides a place for teaching, growth and fellowship, but it also is place of worship for you. Further, the church is a place of prayer where you can pray for others and others can pray for you. The church also provides an excellent outlet for servitude where you can become involved in helping and assisting others. This is called “ministry”. Ministry is “servitude”.
The Bible tells us that we should not forsake the assembling together of the saints (Hebrews 10:25 The church exemplifies a Christian community when in its best working form and it is something we should all strive to be a part of. Therefore all Christians should be involved in a good Bible based Christian church or Christian fellowship.
One other point about the benefits of a good Bible believing church is that the scriptures themselves tell us that "Faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ". It is in this environment where we have the opportunity to have the Word of God taught and spoken to us by ministers appointed for that purpose. The end result is spiritual growth and life.
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless this Word to your hearts.
EVANGELIST MISCHA S. SAFDIE' (Article originally prepared Oct. 2006)
MISCHA SAFDIE' MINISTRIES
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