The Gospel

 

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A CHRISTIAN

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Being a Christian is more than identifying yourself with a particular religion or affirming a certain value system. Being a Christian means you have embraced what the Bible says about God, mankind, and salvation.

 

Consider the following four truths found in Scripture:

1. ​God is Holy and Sovereign

2. Man is Sinful

3. Christ is Savior and Lord

4. Your Response: Faith and Repentance

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1.​ God is Holy and Sovereign

 

God is the sovereign Creator, your Creator. Contemporary thinking says man is the product of evolution. But the Bible says we were created by a personal God to love, serve, and enjoy endless fellowship with Him. The New Testament reveals it was Jesus Himself who created everything (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16). Therefore, He also owns and rules everything (Psalm 103:19). That means He has authority over our lives and we owe Him absolute allegiance, obedience, and worship. Besides, God is absolutely and perfectly holy (Isaiah 6:3), therefore He cannot commit or approve of evil (James 1:13). God requires holiness of us as well. First Peter 1:16 says, "You shall be holy, for I am holy". The holiness of God leads us to our critical problem because we are not holy but sinful and God cannot let the guilty go unpunished.

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2. Man is sinful

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The Bible affirms that every person on earth is sinful and has broken the commandments of God. We have all broken the ten commandments for instance and lied, disrespected our parents, coveted what is not ours, and so on. The book of Romans thus says that there is no one righteous, not even one" person (Romans 3:9ff). Everyone is guilty of sin: "There is no man who does not sin" (1 Kings 8:46). That does not mean we are incapable of performing acts of human kindness. But we are utterly incapable of understanding, loving, or pleasing God on our own (Romans 3:10-12).

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However, our sin before God demands a penalty. God’s holiness and justice demand that all sin be punished by death: (Ezekiel 18:4). That’s why simply changing our patterns of behavior cannot solve our sin problem or eliminate its consequences.

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3. Jesus is Savior and Lord.

 

God is good and holy, that is good news. But, the bad news is that we are not good and holy, and we deserve the anger of God and punishment to hell, which is terrible news. However, "God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son [Jesus Christ], that whoever believes in him should not perish [in hell] but have eternal life [in heaven]" (John 3:16). The New Testament reveals it was Jesus is the Son of God who created everything (Colossians 1:16). Therefore He owns and rules everything (Psalm 103:19). That means He has authority over our lives and we owe Him absolute allegiance, obedience, and worship. And yet, the Son of God became a man (Jesus is the God-Man) in the virgin Mary and came to die for all who put their trust in Him.

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And after his death for us, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, according to the prophecies of the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, and this means that He has power over death and will resurrect you as well on judgment day, whether to give you eternal life with Him or eternal suffering in hell. Jesus has all power and he is good and gentle to forgive you today because Christ lived a life without sin and died in your place to pay the penalty for your sins if you believe. This is the good news of the Gospel for you today.

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4. Your Response: Faith and Repentance

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Knowing that God is Holy, that man is sinful and guilty before God, and that Jesus died and rose again to pay for our sins and reconcile us with God is not enough. We must respond to Good News of great joy. And the biblical response is faith in Jesus' death and resurrection to save you, and repentance of sins with full allegiance to Him to lead you every day. 

 

Regarding faith, Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.” Regarding repentance, it should be noted that true faith is always accompanied by repentance from sin. Repentance is agreeing with God that you are sinful, confessing your sins to Him, and making a conscious choice to turn from sin (Luke 13:3,5; 1 Thessalonians 1:9) and pursue Christ (Matthew 11:28-30; John 17:3) and obedience to Him (1 John 2:3). It isn’t enough to believe certain facts about Christ. Even Satan and his demons believe in the true God (James 2:19), but they don’t love and obey Him. True saving faith always responds in obedience (Ephesians 2:10).

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If you have questions about how you can become a Christian, or want help in knowing how to live the Christian life, please get in contact with us, email: jcroissant@reformationseminary.com.

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The above is adapted and expanded from gracechurch.org.

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