How to Become a Christian: The Path to Jesus Christ
Path to Jesus
Path to Jesus
First... Why is Jesus Referred to as
"Christ" or "Jesus Christ"
His name is Jesus, but the term "Christ" comes from the Hebrew word meaning Messiah, or saviour. Christ is really more a title than it is a name, although the Bible uses it both ways. For example, the Bible often refers to Jesus by name as ‘Jesus Christ’ just as we do in modern usage (see Matthew 1:1, 18; Mark 1:1; John 1:17; 17:3; Acts 3:6; Romans 3:24, and many more verses).
But it also speaks of Jesus as “the Christ” meaning ‘the anointed one’ or ‘the Messiah’. The apostle Peter referred to Jesus as, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). At Jesus’ interrogation by the Jews just before His crucifixion, the high priest demanded, “Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!” (Matthew 26:63). So, Christ also refers to the Son of God.
Why is That So Important?
Read on to find out…
1. God Loves You and Created You to Have a Personal Relationship with Him.
He has a wonderful plan to make your life great. He wants you to prosper (Genesis 39:3, Zechariah 8:12) and be with Him forever.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)
God’s Love for Us
“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.” (John 3:16)
God’s Plan for Us
“Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the one true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.” (John 17:3)
So, what prevents us from having this personal relationship with God?
2. Christians Call it Sin
People are sinful and separated from God who is sinless, so we cannot have a personal relationship with Him or experience His love without some sort of intervention that can only come from God.
People are Inherently Sinful
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)
People were created to have a personal relationship with God and have fellowship with God but, because of the stubbornness of our free will, which God gave us, we choose to go our own independent way and the relationship and fellowship with God is broken.
So Why Did God Give Us Free Will Then?
Simple, he wanted us to choose to have a relationship with Him for ourselves. If He automatically programmed us to love Him, then would be no more than robots and the relationship we would have with God would mean nothing.
Why doesn't God just make us love Him and not be sinful?
A better description from the previous page would be that God wanted us to have free will so that when we choose to love Him and have a relationship with Him, it would be so much more of a wonderful and meaningful relationship because we gave ourselves to him freely like when we chose to marry our partners out of free will.
Free will makes the relationship with God just that much more special.
This free will to live how we want to live and not how God wants us to live is like a toddler saying, "I want to do it my own way!" But our own way inevitably fails and is an active rebellion against God and a passive desire to be different from what God wants us to be. The Bible refers to this as sin.
People Are Separated from God by Sin
“For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). The death spoken of here is a permanent spiritual separation from God.
3. Jesus’ Sacrifice is God’s Solution
Only through Him can we be forgiven and start that relationship with God and experience God's love and His magnificent plan for our lives.
The Human Condition
God is Holy and far from us in the beginning. We are separated from him by an impassable gulf like a valley between two mountains and that gulf is sin. People are constantly trying to fulfill and make their lives worthwhile by their own efforts. They do things like living a good life, doing good things, having a good philosophy, and being religious... but they inevitably fail because none of these things live up to God's perfect expectations for us.
So How Do We Bridge the Great Gulf?
Jesus Died in Our Place
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
Jesus Was Raised From the Dead by God
“Christ died for our sins... He was buried... He was raised on the third day... He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred... ” (1 Cor 15:3-6)
God Raised Jesus back to life to demonstrate that He accepted the payment for our sins and to demonstrate that, like giving Jesus a new life, we also have a new (spiritual) life.
Is Jesus Is the Only Way to God?
Yes. “Jesus said... ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through me’.” (John 14:6)
Through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, He has taken all our sins away so we can be with God again. Imagine a Police Officer writing you a speeding ticket, confiscating your licence, taking you to the Police Station, and then that Police Officer pays your fine for you and hands you back a new and better licence. You have a new and better licence on life - forgiven and free from the guilt of your sins now and always.
4. God’s Response: Wipe Our Sins
Imagine God using the cross (the sacrifice of Jesus) as the bridge over the gulf between you and Him. God has effectively bridged the gulf that separates you from Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in your place to pay the penalty for our sins like the Police Officer paying the fine for you that he himself just gave you.
How Jesus Pays for Everyone's Sins?
If Jesus was just a normal person, then He could pay for the sins of just one other person, but the beauty of God’s plan is based around the fact that Jesus isn’t just a normal person. Jesus is also God in the form of God the Son, so He could pay for the sins of all people.
How We Know Jesus Is Also God?
The Bible explains it well. Christians refer to God as the Trinity. This refers to Him being one Being that is God existing eternally in three co-equal and co-eternal persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Trinity Explained More...
Each is a distinct person, yet each is identified as God: God the Father (1 Corinthians 8:6), God the Son (John 1:1–3; Romans 9:5), and God the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3–4).
The Bible says that it wasn’t the Father or the Spirit who became man and dwelt among us giving His life for us; it was the Son (John 1:14).
Even in His humanity God the Son, or Jesus, is seen praying to the God the Father (Matthew 26:39, 42).
We Need to Make a Personal Response
We must individually receive Jesus Christ as our very own personal Lord and our very own personal Saviour; only then we can have a personal relationship with God and experience His love and amazingly fulfilling plan that He has for our lives.
It's Not Enough to Just Know These Facts about Salvation
...We Need to Do More!
5. We Need Jesus for a New Life!
We Must Receive Jesus into Our Lives
“Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)
We Receive Jesus By an Act of Pure Faith
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Notice here it says, "through faith... not by works". This demonstrates that nothing we can do can earn us forgiveness for our sins... not even as mentioned earlier: living a good life, doing good things, having a good philosophy, or even being religious.
You must be 'born again'...
“So how can I be 'born again?” you ask...
When We Receive Jesus Christ, We Experience a New Spiritual Birth
John 3:3-7 says...
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’
Basically...
This new birth is in the form of a new spiritual life with Jesus. When you agree to become a Christian, your spirit is re-born (or born again). This is the why true Christians refer to themselves as being "Born-Again" Christians.
It’s not religious jargon, it’s a sign of what has happened in your life when you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour.
Our Response: We Receive Jesus Christ by Personally Inviting Him into Our Lives
[Christ speaking] “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20)
Receiving Jesus Christ involves turning to God from your self-centred life (repentance) and trusting Jesus Christ to be a part of your life and help you live better because He died on the cross so you could be forgiven of your sins.
He can then help to make you what God created you to be... and what God created you to be is the best you can be, and an example to others by becoming a beacon of light to the world showing others how to live. He wants you in a personal and loving relationship with Him fully forgiven of your sins.
Jesus said, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden...let your light shine before others. so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16).
...but just believing that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for the sins of humanity is not enough and neither is having an emotional experience. We can have an emotional experience just eating chocolate, but other than a slight satisfaction, the chocolate doesn't do anything for us spiritually. We have to receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of free will. There are two kinds of lives...
1. A Life Without Jesus.
We are driving our lives and Jesus is on the sidewalk since we don't want Him guiding us.
2. A Life Entrusted to Jesus.
Jesus is driving our lives and we follow His will as He has our best interests at heart, brings us closer to God and is helping make us all that God created us to be.
You Can Receive Christ Right Now by Faith Through Prayer
When you talk to another person it is called a conversation, but when you talk to God, this is called a prayer. So, praying is simply talking to God.
God is all powerful, all knowing and everywhere all the time. (Psalm 139:1-24)
Christians call Jesus ‘Lord’ because he is also God and as such is superior to ourselves. But Jesus doesn't lord that over us like a master and his slave. Instead, He loves us like we are His children and wants to guide us in the life we were meant to live.
We have the choice to obey Him... or not - this is called free will. Jesus has the authority of a good parent and should be respected as such because he is the kind of parent that wants to guide us in our decisions because that guidance will make us the best person we can be and bring us closer to God.
A Christian Belongs to God.
We belong to God, not as slaves, but as a beloved sons or daughters (2 Cor 6:18). We become His family. Thus, the word, “Lord,” is not just a casual title; rather, it denotes the position Jesus Christ has in our lives, and we should always be asking ourselves, "What would Jesus do?" in our decision making.
God knows your heart and is not as concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:
My Dear Lord Jesus, I want to have a personal relationship with you and God. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I want You to be a part of my life and I receive You as my Saviour and Lord. Thank You for sacrificing yourself on the cross so that I can be forgiven by God for my sins and given eternal life with You in Heaven. Help me to be the best person I can be which is the kind of person You want me to be. Amen.
"Amen"... So What Does That Mean.
It's not just a religious word spouted by fanatical religious people in religious ceremonies and at that weird place called ‘Church’, it is a Christians way of saying, "So be it!"
As a Christian, saying Amen is not required in prayer but saying it is like our declaration that we truly mean from our hearts what we are saying or asking God for and are expecting God to hear our prayers as He promises (1 Peter 3:12).
It is also an expression of sincere agreement, which is why when Christians pray together you will often hear other Christians say "Amen" at the end of the prayers of one particular Christian - they are showing that they strongly agree with and support the prayer of that person. Christians support each other.
Look at the Prayer on the Previous Page Again – Is That Your Heart’s Desire?
If it is, pray that prayer now, and Jesus will come into your life and change you for the better, forever, just as He promised.
How Can You Know that Jesus is in Your Life?
Did You Receive Christ Into Your Life?
Remember Revelation 3:20...
[Christ speaking] “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me.”
Basically here, Jesus has said that He will come into your life and be your Lord and Saviour so you can have a personal relationship with Him if you open the door of your life and let Him in with that earlier prayer.
...and it is a truly PERSONAL relationship too. Jesus desires to know you intimately like your lifelong best friend or closest brother or sister.
No-one can know you better than Jesus and your creator God. God knew you, loved you and cared for you before you were even born (Psalm 139:15-16).
So How Can You Know That God Has Answered You Prayer?
Simple: The trust worthiness of God Himself and His Word (the Bible). The Bible is referred to as the ‘Word of God’.
The Bible Promises Eternal Life to All Who Receive Christ
“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:11-13)
So...
What Do You Need to Remember When You’re a Christian?
Remember: Prayer is just talking with God
Thank God often that Jesus is in your life and that He will never leave you or "give up on/forsake" you (Hebrews 13:5). You are guaranteed forgiveness and eternal life from the very moment you invite Jesus into the driver's seat of your life.
Do Not Depend on Feelings
The promise of God’s Word (the Bible) and not our feelings is our proof of our Christian faith.
The Christian lives by faith (trust) in the trustworthy character of God Himself and His Word (the Bible).
A train perfectly illustrates the relationship between the locomotive, which is the fact (God and His Word in the Bible) and faith (our trust in God and His Word in the Bible), and the carriage, which is our feelings (the result of our faith and obedience) (John 14:21).
A train locomotive will run with or without a carriage. However, it would be useless to try
and pull the train by a carriage. In the same way, we as Christians do not depend on feelings or emotions (the carriage), but we place our faith (trust) in the God and the promises of His Word (the Bible) (the locomotive).
Our feelings and emotions can let us down - everyone has a bad day from time to time. This is why we should trust the facts (God and His word in the Bible) and not our feelings.
When you're having a bad day that doesn’t mean that God has abandoned you.
If you’re having a bad day... Stop! Close your eyes and think on God and His promise to always be there for you in the good times and in the bad.
No matter what happens in life, you have eternal paradise in heaven with God to look forward to and remember...
Our time on earth is but a drop in the ocean compared to our eternity in Heaven with God.
So... what now?
If you prayed that prayer, believed it and meant it with all your heart, you have entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
The moment you made that commitment as an act of your free will, the Bible promises that many things have happened to you including:
- Jesus Christ came into your life (Rev 3:20 and Col 1:27)
- Your past, present and future sins are fully forgiven now and always (Col 1:14)
- You became a child of God (John 1:12)
- You received eternal life and a guaranteed place in Heaven with God at the end of your time on Earth (John 5:24)
- Jesus has a specific place for you in Heaven and is waiting for you. He said, "In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." (John 14:12 NKJV)
- You began the great adventure for which God created you (John 10:10; 2 Cor 5:17 and 1 Thes 5:18)
REMEMBER...
God sacrificed His only Son Jesus Christ so that you could be forgiven? Just think about that for a moment. He sacrificed His Son that He had a perfect loving relationship with... just for you.
People may give you grief for becoming a Christian but John 16:33 says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
You should never forget to thank Him for overcoming the world by sending Jesus to die on the cross for you so you could be saved. By thanking God too, you constantly demonstrate your faith in Him. As Christians we should also continually grow spiritually as a result of trusting Jesus. Galatians 3:11 says that "...The righteous will live by faith". As a Christian you are forgiven and righteous in the eyes of God. Living a life of faith will help you increasingly trust God with every part of your life.
You should love God and cherish and enjoy your new relationship with Him.
Suggestions For Christian Growth
Summed up in the acronym "G.R.O.W.T.H."
| G | Go to God in prayer daily. (John 15:7) |
| R | Read God’s Word in the Bible daily (Acts 17:11). Start with the Gospel of John. |
| O | Obey God all the time (John 14:21) by constantly asking yourself, "What would Jesus Do?" The Bible can Answer those questions. |
| W | Witness for Christ by your life and words. (Matthew 4:19; John 15:8) Always be willing to present this message to others as it has been presented to you because God wants you to do just that. (Matthew 28:18-20) |
| T | Trust God for everything in your life (1 Peter 5:7). Go to Him in prayer if you're uncertain about something and He will always be there to help you...even if sometimes the answer is "No". But if the answer is "No" you can be assured that the reason is for your own good (Romans 8:28). |
| H | Holy Spirit – Allow Him (the Holy Spirit) to control and empower your daily life and use the Holy Spirit's courage to witness to others this message. (Galatians 5:16,17; Acts 1:8) |
Your life should be a walk with Jesus allowing Him to guide you. When you become a Christian, the Holy Spirit dwells in you (1 Corinthians 3:16) to empower you to be the best Christian you can be.
You should always ask yourself, "What would Jesus do?" and try and let that guide how your live every day.
Remember... Jesus is in the Driver's seat now, and He is the best driver in the universe taking your life to the best places that it can go. Sometimes it's a nice and relaxing journey and sometimes it's a fast-paces rally... just sit back and enjoy the ride, He's never crashed yet and it will be more fun and fulfilling than anywhere you could have driven your own life to.
Enjoy Your New
Relationship with God
One of the best things a new Christian can do is find a good Christian church that believes in Jesus as the Son of God but also as God the Son and saviour of the world and attend it regularly.
It’s not a religious thing...at church you can be encouraged in your faith by others of the same faith and helped to grow spiritually. There is no better way of staying close to God than in a church surrounded by other Christians.
The Next Reading Steps...
- The Bible... and lots of it!
- “My Heart – Christ’s Home” by Robert Boyd Munger
- “I Want to Be a Christian – Now What” by Di Allen
If You Have Kids...
- “You Are Special” by Max Lucado
- “How to Lead a Child to Christ” by Daniel Smith
Best Bibles to Buy
...and make it a Study Bible if you can
- New King James Version (NKJ)
- New International Version (NIV)
- New American Standard Bible (NASB)
- Revised Standard Version (RSV)
A Bible Translation to Avoid...
We wouldn’t normally say this, but avoid the modern...
"Passion Translation Bible"
...and avoid any church that uses or recommends it as their, or your, main Bible
New Christian Hard Q&As
ANSWERQ.1. I'm married/engaged to a non-Christian and someone said I should leave them because the Bible says "Do not be unequally yoked" (2 Corinthians 6:14). Is that true?
ANSWERQ.2. My kids want to play with toy swords and guns.
ANSWERQ.3. My kids who want to play Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians or Soldiers.
ANSWERQ.4. My kids want to play Harry Potter with wands and pretend magic.
ANSWERQ.5. My kids want to play violent video games.
ANSWERQ.6. My partner doesn't want to come to church with me.
ANSWERQ.7. My partner doesn't want me talking about God with them or our kids/friends/extended family.
ANSWERQ.8. When bad things happen and I feel like God had abandoned me.
ANSWERQ.9. Do I need to speak in Tongues to prove I am a Christian?
ANSWERQ.10. How do you know all these answers?
Find it in the Bible...
ANSWERQ.11. Why does God allow suffering?
ANSWERQ.12. Is Jesus really God?
ANSWERQ.13. What about other religions?
ANSWERQ.14. Is the Bible reliable?
ANSWERQ.15. What happens after death?
ANSWERQ.16. Can I be good enough?
ANSWERQ.17. What is sin?
ANSWERQ.18. Why did Jesus have to die?
ANSWERQ.19. Isn’t Christianity restrictive?
ANSWERQ.20. What about science?
ANSWERQ.21. Do I need to go to church?
ANSWERQ.22. What is grace?
ANSWERQ.23. How do I pray?
ANSWERQ.24. What if I doubt?
ANSWERQ.25. Why trust Jesus alone?
ANSWERQ.26. What is repentance?
ANSWERQ.27. Can God forgive anything?
ANSWERQ.28. What is eternal life?
ANSWERQ.29. Why follow Jesus now?
ANSWERQ.30. How do I start?
Understanding the Colours in this Booklet.
The colours represent the "Evangelism Colours" and help people remember the steps in their path to Jesus.
Gold (Heaven / God)
Represents heaven, the perfect place where God lives, and His desire for humanity to be with Him. It also symbolises God’s love and the glory of His presence.
Black (Sin / Darkness)
Represents the dark state of sin, which separates humans from God. It symbolises the sinful condition of humanity and the spiritual darkness caused by turning away from God.
Red (The Blood of Jesus)
Represents the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross. It symbolises Christ's sacrifice, atonement for sins, and God's love.
White (Cleansing / Forgiveness)
Represents the clean heart and forgiveness a person receives through faith in Jesus. It signifies being washed clean from sin and receiving righteousness.
Green (Growth / New Life)
Represents new life in Christ and spiritual growth. It signifies the ongoing process of maturing in faith by studying the Bible, praying, and obeying God.
Written by M. Rasmussen
Published by Nexus WR&D
www.nexuswrd.com
Scriptures from the NIV and NKJV Bibles
This booklet is Copyright to Nexus WR&D. It is a free resource for distribution in printed or digital format by anyone to anyone as long as no part of it is changed in any way or form by anyone for any reason.
For more information, contact a local Christian Church that believes in Jesus as the Son of God, Jesus as God the Son and also believes that Jesus is the only way to salvation through faith and not by works.
We hope you have a wonderful life with God.
You can also contact organisations like…
- Campus Crusade for Christ – www.cru.org
- Australian Christian Churches – www.acc.org.au
- Koorong Bookshops – www.koorong.com
1 / 28