Some people may assume they are Christians because they went to church much of their life, or because they came from a Christian home. However, the Bible is clear we all need to make a personal, individual decision to become a Christian. Jesus called people to “follow him”. He told the Pharisee Nicodemus that he needed to be spiritually born again. Some people may tell you that you need a conversion experience, or that you need to give your heart to Jesus, or to accept Him as your Lord & Savior. All of these refer to the same basic experience.
Becoming a Christian begins with recognizing that we are ALL sinful and cannot save ourselves from the consequences of our sin. All our best efforts aren’t enough to erase our sin and establish a new relationship with God. The good news is, God knows that and has provided a way for us to receive forgiveness and begin a new life as members in the Kingdom of God! When Jesus died on the cross, he took the punishment for our sins upon himself and died in our place. When he rose from death 3 days later, he overcame the power of death and sin, and now he offers that same spiritual power through the Holy Spirit to all who choose to follow him and give their life over to his control. Probably the best know Bible verse showing God’s loving plan to save us is found in John 3:16, as well as verse 17:
John 3:16-17 (NIV)
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
So, what do you have to “do” to become a Christian? First, confess your sinfulness to God, recognizing that Jesus’ death on the cross provides us forgiveness from sin and the chance to begin a new spiritual life, becoming a new creation in Christ! ( this is recognizing Jesus as your Savior from sin) One of many verses that describe this process in found in Romans 10…
Romans 10:9-10 (NIV)
9 That 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. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
The second aspect is to confess your faith in Jesus as the Son of God and ask Him to become the Lord over your life from this point forward (this begins the lifelong process of trusting your life to Jesus and asking Him to guide your thinking and actions, through the leading of the Holy Spirit).
The best way confess your sin to God and ask Jesus to lead your life is to simply go to God in prayer. Here is a very simple prayer that happens to come from Pastor Rick Warren:
“Jesus, I believe in you and I receive you. Thank you for dying on the cross to pay for all my sins. As much as I know how, I ask you to come into my life and help me learn to know you, trust you, and love you”.
If you have just sincerely prayed that prayer for the first time, then congratulations, and welcome to the family of God! I would suggest you share that decision with another Christian friend who can support you, and that you begin attending a local church that believes in the Bible as the word of God, where you might also seek to join a small group of believers who can befriend and support you. And, of course, begin reading the Bible, starting with the “gospels”, the books about Jesus’ life (Matthew,Mark, Luke & John).