What Does The Bible Say About Being A Christian?
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What does the Bible say about Being a Christian?
— Abi Sharples
I was part of Crowd church a couple of years ago, before I left for University. And I'm in Birmingham, studying children's nursing. Let's dive into this question because I think there's a lot that God wants to share with us today through this. I'm going to say a small prayer before we start.
Lord, thank you so much for the privilege of this opportunity to follow you, this opportunity to call on your name and say "Yes" to you. And I thank you for your grace and Your mercy, and all that you've done for us. And I just pray that You would speak to each and every single person that's listening to this talk that you would just whisper directly into their heart what you want to speak to them about today. Amen.
There's nearly two and a half billion people on the planet who would call themselves Christians. But clearly the kind of application of what people think that means varies a lot. So today, we're going to be looking at God's word, the Bible, because that's the only place that we can go to, to know what God really says about what it means to follow him. And we're going to do that today by looking at the gospel, looking at what it means to follow Jesus through three different lenses. And I've heard this called the three tense gospel, and that is that we have been saved, that we are being saved, and that we will be saved.
#1 - We have been saved
So starting with the fact that we have been saved. So often, there is a moment in the lives of believers where they make that lifelong commitment to follow Jesus, they understand what he has done for them, they turn from their sin, and they decide to follow him. So that might be a one time decision or event, or it might be more of a process like it was for me, because I grew up in a Christian family. So as I grew up and my understanding developed, my faith and my understanding of God developed. And from there, I was able to make a more meaningful commitment to God.
But when we commit our lives to Jesus, and put our faith and trust in Him, something really special happens in the heavenly realms because we aren't just living in a physical reality. But there is a spiritual and heavenly reality that is far more real than anything that we can see or touch. So when we make that commitment to Jesus, in the heavenly realms, our sins are forgiven, we are made a new creation, and we are no longer separated from God by our sin. And there's a verse in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 11, which sums this up beautifully. And it says,
“But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. ”
So this verse shows what happens when we place our faith in Jesus and in the work of the Holy Spirit within us. This shift happens in the heavenly places. And we are given that new identity of being washed, of being sanctified, and being justified before God.
I just love that verse so much. And the incredible news about this salvation and justification before God is that it is not based on anything that we have done, or any good works that we could do. We simply need to put our faith and our trust in Jesus, the Son of God, and we are saved. In the book of Titus chapter 3, verse 5, it says,
“he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,”
And there's another verse in Ephesians, chapter 2 that says,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—”
Just let that sink in. Nothing we could ever do would separate us from God. And when we repent and turn from our sin and accept Jesus and his payment for our sin on the cross, we are welcomed with open arms into his family. And we have been sealed by God's Holy Spirit into a new life and a new identity that we didn't earn, to serve this loving and powerful God. So that is the foundation of the gospel and the foundation of what it means to be a Christian, and how we have been saved by God.
#2 - We are being saved
We just looked at how we have been saved. The next aspect is that we are being saved. So when we made that commitment to follow Jesus, it doesn't stop there. Our walks with God don't stop when we make that first commitment, but they continue throughout our whole life. And the parable of the sower is a really easy and understandable way of looking at this.
The parable of the sower
You've probably heard the story before. But it's a metaphorical story, in the book of Matthew in the Bible, where a farmer goes out and sows a seed, which is a metaphor for people hearing the good news about Jesus and it describes the seed falling on different grounds and different types of soil. And that represents how people respond to this good news. Matthew 13, verse 20 to 23 says,
“The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
So this story shows that our faith needs to grow deep throughout our lifetimes. You know, there are all sorts of things in this world that can be pulling us away from God. But actually, this parable is encouraging us to allow our roots of faith to grow deep throughout our lives. And it shows the importance of not being choked by the worries of the world, by persecution, by our own sin, and other things that can hold us back in our relationship with God.
We need to let our roots grow deep in him. When we become a Christian, we are committing to following God's way and being sanctified and continually moulded and shaped to look more like Jesus in the way that we think and act and love others. The Bible also tells us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, that phrase comes from Philippians 2, verse 12 to 13, which says,
“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”
In this verse, God is encouraging us not to become complacent in our faith. It'd be so easy to make that commitment to God and then drift off or go about our lives and let our lives take over. But actually, God's encouraging us, work out your salvation, make the most of the salvation that I've given you. Let me sanctify you throughout your life. Because all areas of our lives need to come into alignment with God. They need to come into alignment with God's laws, with his ways that He lays out for us in the Bible. And he also encourages us not to be conformed or swayed by the world around us in Romans 12, verse 2, which says,
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
So while we're thinking about working out our faith in Jesus, it's all through Him. We say to Him, God, this is my mind, this is my life, this is my heart. I give it to you, transform it, transform me, sanctify me, mould me to look more like you. And we can only do that through His grace that doesn't come from ourselves and that's what we need to focus on. That when we are thinking about working out our faith in Jesus, we need to always keep in mind that we are saved only by God's grace through our faith and our trust in Him. None of our good works can save us. The outworking of our faith isn't what saves us. But our lives being transformed is a byproduct of the work of God's grace in our lives. There's a verse in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 4, it says,
“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love”
He chose us, that is just incredible. And that is a viewpoint from which we need to approach our lives and our walks with God. That we can't choose God and be saved by doing all the right things. But actually, God chose us before the world was even created, before we existed, before we knew who He was, He chose us to be his. And that really shows that we can't save ourselves. It's not based on our good works, on our merit, trying to work towards being good enough for God, no, he chose us.
And he works within us to sanctify us and mould us to look more like him. So as well as our salvation being bought by God, He promises that we have been sealed and kept in him by the Holy Spirit. There's a verse in Ephesians which I absolutely love, Ephesians 1, verse 13. And it says,
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,”
So we have been marked by the seal and promise of God, to keep us and protect us in Him. So that obviously doesn't give us the freedom to go off and do whatever we want thinking we're saved now, anything goes, great. No, not at all! But what it does give us is the assurance that even in our weakness, even in the darkest days of our lives, in the most difficult trials of our lives, God is keeping us and He is preparing us to be with Him in heaven forever.
#3 - We will be saved
So our last perspective from which we'll look at the gospel is that we will be saved. So if we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are now awaiting either his return to Earth, or awaiting being united with Him in Heaven. And because of the reality of being in the world and all that comes with that, until that day that we meet God, it can make our walk as Christians really challenging and full of various trials.
So we can be facing different temptations, health struggles, financial struggles, relationship difficulties, our own sin, our own laziness, whatever it might be. The Christian life isn't always easy. But God promises that when we are united with Him, all will be made new. And there's a verse in Revelation chapter 21, verse 4 which says,
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
That verse just encourages me so much because no matter what we go through, no matter what trials you are facing right now, when you meet God face to face, He will make all things new, the old things will be gone. And he will make you new and whole in him. The verse that we looked at before, in Ephesians, chapter 1, coming back to it and reading a little bit further on. So Ephesians 1, verse 13 to 14, it says,
“When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
So this verse is amazing because it tells us that the Holy Spirit in us is almost like a deposit, which secures us until we meet Jesus face to face and our salvation is complete. The Bible also warns us of the reality of what happens if we reject Jesus, if we reject the truth and decide to go our own way and live for ourselves. And it's not a very popular thing to talk about or think about. But it's reality. And it's something that we need to think about. Matthew 25, verse 46 says,
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Deciding to follow Jesus and accept the payment for our sins doesn't only impact our life today, but it impacts our eternity. It is the most important decision that you will ever make. So that is the incredible reality of the gospel that we have been saved once and for all, through Jesus's death on the cross, taking the punishment for our sins, that we are being saved, that daily we are being shaped and moulded to look more like Jesus and through his gift of grace to us, we're able to follow Him and His ways to glorify God. And lastly, we will be saved, that one day, we will stand face to face with God, and our salvation will be complete in Him.
So this reality of what it means to be a Christian is a gift. And it's an invitation. And it would be a missed opportunity for me if I didn't create that opportunity for you to respond to that. So whatever that looks like for you, whether you've been in the Christian faith for years, but you just want to take a moment to refocus and realign your gaze on him or you want to make that commitment to Jesus for the first time today, here's a small prayer. Feel free to pray this, making it your own prayer, pray it to God.
A prayer for Salvation
Dear Lord,
I thank you that you love me. I acknowledge you as a pure and holy God, who is good and kind and faithful. I'm sorry for where my sin has separated us. And I repent and I turn from it today. I thank you for the gift of your death on the cross, which made a way for me to know you and be in relationship with you. I accept this gift of salvation today. And ask that Your Holy Spirit would fill me and help me to walk with you every day. Amen!
CONVERSATION STREET
With: Matt Edmundson & Ian Dowsett
What is Conversation Street?
Conversation Street is part of our live stream, where the hosts (in this case, Matt & Ian) chat through Abi's talk and answer questions that were sent in through the live stream. You can watch the conversation in the video, it starts at 30 min 32 seconds into the live stream, or you can go straight there by clicking here. This week’s questions and topics of conversation are:
How long have you been a Christian? What is your salvation story?
Everybody's story is different. For some, its an event and for others its a process. Have you found that to be true?
What does it mean to be saved?
Does being a Christian mean that life will be free of problems?
What's the worst experience you've ever had in church as a Christian?
What is the Heavenly Realm?
More Bible Verses About Being a Christian
1 John 1:3 - We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Ephesians 5:2 - And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Romans 10:9 - If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
John 3:16 - 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.
John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Matthew 7:21 - “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
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