How do I become a Christian?
— by Matt Edmundson
The decision to become a Christian is one of the most important decisions that you will ever make in your life. It changes everything about who you are, what you do with your time on this earth and without getting too heavy, it also has eternal consequences. So how do you become a Christian? What are the steps that you should take? Well, to answer those questions, we will look at several stories from the Bible and see what it has to say about the whole topic.
Who can become a Christian?
I have been a Christian for over 30 years now, but how did I know I could become a Christian? How do you know if you can become a Christian? This is an important question to answer right here at the beginning because if you can't become a Christian, then you don't need to understand how to become a Christian.
So to answer this question, let's look at what is perhaps the most famous verse in the Bible:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
This verse tells us so much about becoming a Christian. It talks about the state of humankind (they are perishing), about why Jesus came (so that we wouldn't perish) and about God's motivation for doing so (He loved the world). But I am getting ahead of myself, so notice what else it says: that whoever believes.
This verse answers the question of who can become a Christian? Whoever believes.
So the criteria to become a Christian is not race, gender, nationality or how good you have (or have not) been. It is not based on what you do for a living, where you live, your relationship status, whether you have ever been to church before, grew up in a different faith, or even if you have ever given to charity. Christianity is open to whoever.
That's how I knew I could become a Christian. The Bible tells me that whoever could become a Christian. That's me! That's you. Anyone can become a Christian; that's the good news; it's the gospel! All it requires, it seems, is belief.
There are several stories in the Bible where we see people become Christians. The Apostle Peter talks to a crowd early in the church's life, and 3,000 people become Christians. Peter was talking to a predominantly religious group. However, the apostle Paul later speaks to a group of folks in Athens who weren't religious and became Christians. We read stories about men and women coming to Christ; we read stories about people from different nations who become Christians. People from all walks of life turn to Christ.
Literally, anyone can become a Christian.
5 things you need to know about becoming a Christian
So if whoever believes can become a Christian, what do you need to know to become a Christian? Well, to answer that question, I want to look more closely at what Paul said to the folks listening in Athens, folks that had never really heard of Jesus before:
“The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn’t live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn’t take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don’t make him. Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn’t play hide-and-seek with us. He’s not remote; he’s near. We live and move in him, can’t get away from him! One of your poets said it well: ‘We’re the God-created.’ Well, if we are the God-created, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it?
”God overlooks it as long as you don’t know any better—but that time is past. The unknown is now known, and he’s calling for a radical life-change. He has set a day when the entire human race will be judged and everything set right. And he has already appointed the judge, confirming him before everyone by raising him from the dead.”
At the phrase “raising him from the dead,” the listeners split: Some laughed at him and walked off making jokes; others said, “Let’s do this again. We want to hear more.”...There were still others, it turned out, who were convinced then and there and stuck with Paul...”
This is an excellent passage of Scripture to help us. Paul was known for his lengthy sermons (sometimes they sent people to sleep), but on this occasion, it seems pretty short! But, despite it being short, he pulls out five things that they needed to know about becoming a Christian:
God created you for a relationship with Him.
God is with you.
God is God.
Your life will change.
The resurrection is fundamental.
So let's look at these in a little more detail.
To become a Christian means knowing that God created you for a relationship with Him.
“[God] made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him.”
Paul starts off by talking about the Creator God. God who created the heavens and the earth also created the entire human race. And each life has enough "time and space for living so we could seek after God". This is quite extraordinary thinking because it gives purpose and meaning to life.
In modern Christianity, we have adopted the idea of "being in relationship with God". That Christianity is more than just a religious duty or title but it is a relationship that is active and living and breathing. It brings life to us authentically and positively.
We were created to be in a relationship with God. That's the reason for life itself, and that's important.
To become a Christian means knowing that God is with you.
God is not far away. He is not distant and aloof. He is near. In other words, as much as you want to be a Christian, God wants you to be in a relationship with Him much more than you could ever know or think.
“...He doesn’t play hide-and-seek with us. He’s not remote; he’s near. We live and move in him, can’t get away from him!”
“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. It's a truth of Christianity - God wants to be near you. The relationship with God is not one way. It's not just us communicating to God, but He speaks back. The relationship with God is two-way. That's remarkable. God will draw near to you, even if you have really bad BO!
“If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”
“...God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,””
These are all quite beautiful promises that God makes, and they are critical for us. Not only is God near, but He is also for us. God is not against you; He is for you. Jesus is called Emmanuel, it means "God is with us". He will never leave us. In other words, God is in this! He is faithful. He is committed to making this work. We can live and move in him, and we can't get away from Him!
To become a Christian means acknowledging that He is God.
“One of your poets said it well: ‘We’re the God-created.’ Well, if we are the God-created, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it?”
We learn here that those in Athens would chisel figures out of stone and then worship those same carved figures. Why would Paul bring this into the equation? And why would I mention it as we don't tend to carve gods out of stone that much these days?
True. But we do tend to create "god's" for ourselves in other ways. It might be our hedonism, philosophy, or view of science. It might be money or success; it might be sex; it might be what other people think of us. The list could go it. It's things that we revere and worship in our lives.
The truth is we have to realise that God is our one and only God. It sounds like a bit of an odd thing to say that God is God, but it is one of the hardest things that we have to get to grips with because having God on the throne in our lives means making some difficult choices, especially as our default is to live for ourselves.
“if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
This is something that Paul wrote to the Roman church, the same Paul that is speaking to the folks at Athens in our passage from Acts. Here we see the idea of salvation again (being saved from that which causes us to perish), and we also see the idea of believing that God raised Jesus from the dead (we will get to that in just a sec). But Paul also brings this idea of acknowledging that Jesus is Lord being a key to becoming a Christian.
This is the same as saying that God should be God. Jesus needs to be Lord. That means He is our God, our Lord, our King, and we have to submit our lives to His care. This is hard to do, but it isn't a bad deal when you read what Jesus promised if you do:
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
To become a Christian requires a radical life change.
“... he’s calling for a radical life-change.”
He's calling for a radical life change. This is important, really important. Entering the Christian life is a simple as just saying a prayer - acknowledging that you need Jesus and asking Him to help you walk in His ways. But as simple as that is, it also requires a lot from us because you are, in effect, orienting your life around the things of Christ moving forward. Christianity is not a title; it is a lifestyle.
It comes back again to the whole idea of Lordship. Who directs your life? For example, if someone wrongs you in quite a big way, you might want to take revenge out on that person. You certainly don't want to forgive them. But when you are a Christian, and Jesus is your Lord, you are asked to make a different decision - you are asked to forgive. You don't feel like it; you don't even want to do it, so it becomes a question of Lordship. If Jesus is your Lord, you forgive because He asks you to do it, not because you feel like it. It's a radical life change.
And this radical life change doesn't just extend to forgiveness. It opens up to every area of life. And this is a life-long journey as you learn what it means for Jesus to be your Lord, and you submit to that Lordship. After 30 years of being a Christian, I am still learning!
When Peter was talking to the religious crowd earlier in the book of Acts, he said:
“Change your life. Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Change your life. It seems like a simple command. It comes from a word often used in the church: repent. To repent is to turn your life around. It's a 180-degree turn. You are walking away from God, so you choose to repent, turn around, change your life and start walking back to God. That's what it means.
To become a Christian means that you are willing to accept that life will change. Now, hear me on this, you don't have to get everything sorted out to become a Christian. You don't need to be clean or perfect, far from it. You'll never get there. Your life the day after you become a Christian may look a lot like your life the day before you became a Christian, so don't worry about knowing what you do or don't have to change right now.
I can guarantee, though, that your life will not look the same in a year. As you grow in your knowledge and understanding of Him, your life will change. It's part of being a Christian; there is a radical life change.
It is so radical, in fact, that the Bible talks about it being a new life.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
For those who have accepted Christ, they are a new creation. That's how radical this life change is! The old has gone, the new has come.
More resources
To become a Christian is to believe in the resurrection of Christ.
“He has set a day when the entire human race will be judged and everything set right. And he has already appointed the judge, confirming him before everyone by raising Him from the dead” At the phrase “raising him from the dead”, the listeners split: Some laughed at him and walked off making jokes; others said, “Let’s do this again. We want to hear more”... There were still others, it turned out, who were convinced then and there, stuck with Paul.”
God raised Jesus from the dead. This is the whole pivot point of Christianity - the resurrection. You'll notice that in the crowd Paul was talking to, there were three responses to the resurrection of Christ: to laugh and walk away, to want to know more or to believe right then. It will be the same for you. You can laugh and walk away as some do. You might not be sure and want to know more (which is where I was for a while) but eventually you should come to a place where you accept it. Where you are at right now with the idea of the resurrection?
Why is the resurrection so important?
Paul, a few years after his chat with the Athenians, put it this way when writing to the church at Corinth:
“And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain....your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”
In other words, if there is no resurrection, there is no Christian faith. The two things are linked and can't exist without each other.
I have a draw at home, the man drawer. It's full of keys that I can't seem to throw away for some reason. The thing about keys, though, is that they need a lock. And the lock needs the key. I have no idea what the keys in my man drawer unlock and that makes them pretty useless.
And Paul is telling us that The resurrection is the key to unlocking Christianity. Christianity is useless without the resurrection. That's what it is so vital for you to understand. And the resurrection is a big topic...much more extensive than we can cover here, so if you are at a stage where you want to know more about the resurrection before carrying on - here are some posts to check on the topic:
More resources
You can't earn this, it's a free gift
When you look a the Christian faith and realise that the resurrection is at the heart of it you quickly realise that the Christian life is not about you, it is not about your good life, it is not about your deeds, your acts, how much you have sinned or how much praying you have done this week. It is all about Jesus. It is all about His death, His burial and His resurrection. You can't earn God's love. That was the reason He did this whole thing in the first place.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Here is the Apostle Paul talking about being "saved" again. He talks about faith. Whoever believes. It isn't about what you do or don't do. Grace, God's favour, His desire for you to know Him and find Him, His desire to walk with you, the whole reason Jesus came is not the result of what you do, so you can't boast about it. That is a beautiful thing. You don't earn it. You just have to trust and believe that you can experience eternal life, that you can experience the Christian life, that you have a personal relationship with God.
And if faith is all it takes, then that takes the pressure off! And that is the beauty of the resurrection.
How do I become a Christian?
So now you know that anyone can become a Christian. You've wrapped your head around five critical things about becoming a Christian, especially the resurrection of Jesus and why it is crucial.
Great! So what do you actually have to do to become a Christian?
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Well, you'll be pleased to know that there is no process to follow, no 12 steps, no chant or incantations you have to make. Really, the answer can be summed up in one word, and we read it earlier in John's Gospel:
That word is simply this: believe.
That's it. Believe. And this is all tied to a simple decision you make. And that is a decision you can make right now. It may be a decision that you make over some time. Everyone is different with a different story. For me, it was something that I had spent over a year looking at, and one day I just made a decision that I would be a Christian from that point on. It was an instant thing for me.
For others, it was a process, but a decision had to be made at some point.
If you are ready to make that decision, you advise that you accompany it with a simple prayer. Prayer is one of those things that you should get used to (you'll be doing a lot of it) - so telling God that you've made the decision makes a lot of sense :-)
You can use your prayer, your own words, or something like this if you find it helpful:
Lord, I'm ready. I've come to a place where I want to acknowledge that Jesus is my Lord, that Jesus came to save me from perishing and that He rose from the dead. Lord, draw near to me as I draw near to you and teach me what it means to live a life as a Christian. Amen!
I've just become a Christian, so now what?
If you are at that place, then congratulations! It's great that you have made this radical-life-changing decision to follow Jesus.
“Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”
The good news is, all of heaven is now rejoicing with you! That's pretty amazing - there is a party in heaven because of you! Love it. And there is a clue here that will help you move forward in your faith - and that is understanding you are now part of God's heavenly family. Let's look at what happened when Paul talked to the Athenians:
“There were still others, it turned out, who were convinced then and there, and stuck with Paul...”
Get plugged into a church
Those that had become Christians stuck with Paul. What does that mean? When Peter talked to the crowd, and 3,000 people became Christians, the Bible tells us.
“They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.”
I think that what it means when they stuck with Paul is that they learned the teachings of Christ, did life together, ate together and prayed together, just like those in Jerusalem. When you become a Christian, you must do the same - learn about Christ, find Christians that you can do life with, help you grow in your faith, and pray with you. The simple way to do this is to get involved with a church.
There are many different types of churches out there that you could attend. At Crowd, we meet in-person here in Liverpool or you can jpin us online. There are many different expressions of church. It's all about finding the best fit for you...and if you need help with that, please do get in touch with us as we would love to point you in the right direction.
More resources about the church
Read your Bible
As well as church, I would strongly recommend you start to read your Bible. If you don't have a bible, there are plenty online that you can use for free. But try and read it every day, and I would suggest starting with the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) to learn more about Jesus. The Book of Acts is all about the early church and its growth. The rest of the new testament are letters written by various authors.
More resources
Get into prayer
Another daily habit worth getting into is prayer. Some folks do this in a quiet room, some in the morning, some before bed. I like to pray whilst I am walking around the local park. There are no hard and fast rules. Just get used to talking to God about your life.
More resources on prayer
Get in touch
And finally, we would love to hear from you. Can you get in touch with us and let us know your story. It would be great to meet you!
Your Questions Answered
Do I need to get Baptised?
There are a few different types of baptism that we talk about, and that the Bible talks about:
Infant Baptism.
This is where you may have been baptised as a baby, or a really young child. It's a traditional form of baptism, but one that isn't really talked about in Scripture.
Water Baptism.
This is where you make the decision for yourself to get baptised. I've seen older children, teenagers and adults get baptised from all walks of life, and it is the form of baptism that we see in the Bible. You are fully immersed in water and are baptised in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In all instances in the Bible where we read about baptism, it is after they have become a Christian.
Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
There are also stories in the Bible that talk about believers being baptised or immersed in the Holy Spirit. This baptism is all about being empowered by God to live life in a way that glorifies God, this life of hope and truth, after your new birth.
So should I get baptised?
Absolutely. When you are ready, get baptised. For some that will be soon after your new Christian journey has started (I've baptised people who have got baptised the same time they gave their lives to Christ because the situation was possible) and for others it might be a few months or even years before you are ready to get baptised. Whatever the time frame, I strongly recommend that you do get baptised. I put it off for a long time, but when I did get baptised, it was an amazing experience let me tell you!
Do I have to be a certain age to be saved?
Short answer: no. You are never too young, and never too old!
Let's look at John's comments again:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Notice he didn’t say that whoever is over the age of 13 believes. He didn't qualify it. In fact, Jesus talks about this and turns the whole thing on its head:
“The people brought children to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: “Don’t push these children away. Don’t ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them.”
The disciples shooed the kids off. They didn't think faith was for them, they were too young, too insignificant. And Jesus was irate with them for that attitude (note: you really don't want Jesus irate with you!). And Jesus turns to the disciples and tells them, in effect act like kids, to accept God's Kingdom with the simplicity of a child. That's pretty radical!
So you are never too young. But you might be too old in your thinking and readjust your thinking!
Is my sin too bad for God to accept me?
Short answer: no. God forgives all our sins.
You see God's heart in this when you look at the crucifixion of Christ.
“And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.””
Here we see the heart of Christ, our source of forgiveness. He was being crucified for crimes He did not commit. We see the ultimate injustice happening to the God who created justice committed by the very people He created. Yet at that moment, in that pain, Christ extends forgiveness to everyone, those that put Him there, those that nailed Him to the cross, those that mock Him and ridicule Him, those that have deserted Him. The truth is, it was my sin that held Jesus on the cross, it wasn’t the nails. And so at that moment, I see Christ's forgiveness extend also to me. And it extends to you.
“One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.””
This is a beautiful picture of the heart of God towards people that turn to Him. There are two criminals being crucified with Jesus. One of them realises that Jesus doesn't deserve this death, but he himself does. Imagine the crimes this man committed to feel like this was deserved. Yet with his dying breath, He has Jesus to remember him. He acknowledges his sin, and he acknowledges that he needs Jesus.
That man was a criminal, but at the end of his life, he made the smartest decision we all make. Jesus doesn't ignore him or rebuke him. He doesn't list of his crimes and tell him that there is a limit to what you can do in this life if you want heaven to accept you. We don't see any of that. Jesus doesn't judge that man the way that we would do, or the way that society did. Jesus doesn't even judge that man by how the man judged himself.
Jesus judged him through the lens of love, and granted his request to be remembered by him and right there and then, a criminal is forgiven, enters into eternal life and has a future that is radically different from what he thought it would be.
Your sin is not too bad for God to accept you. Neither is it too late to cry out to God. We see both of these truths in the story of the criminal hanging on a cross next to him.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
When you become a Christian what happens?
This is a great question! There are things that happen instantly, and things that you spend a lifetime working out. The key changes are what happen to you spiritually.
We read the following passage earlier:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
When you become a Christian, you become a new creation. But what does that mean? Because life carries on, right? When I became a Christian, I didn't see any physical change. I just carried on. Nothing seemed new. So what is a new creation?
The bible talks about humans consisting of three key parts: the spirit, the soul (mind, will and emotions) and the body. Spiritually, you become a new creation. The bible talks about passing from death into life. Jesus tells us:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
You enter into what Jesus calls eternal life. You spend the rest of your life understanding what that means. Some people talk about sensing a great feeling of love when they become a Christian. For me, I didn't really feel anything. But I did notice that how I thought about things, how I felt about things, how I spoke and responded all started to change - that life that resides in me, in my spirit was having an effect on my soul and my body.
Some people have quite extraordinary conversions. I've known people get instantly healed, set free from long-standing addictions and depression instantly lifted. These things can happen. But I've also seen many people, like me, that have a quiet conversion. Both are fine. It's not a sign that God is not interested if you don't instantly get healed when you become a Christian. We all have different stories about what happens when you become a Christian, but a common thread to all of us is that we pass from death to life, that the life of God lives and breaths in us and that life permeates into all areas of our lives. It's an incredible and exciting journey as the Holy Spirit works with us, changing us from the inside out. We really are new creations.