Am I a Christian?

After reading certain BTM articles, some readers might wonder as to their spiritual state before God.  Am I saved?  Am I really born again of the Holy Spirit, or was it just me making an emotional decision?  Am I predestined by God to be one of His elect?  How can I really know if I am a Christian?

If you are asking yourself these questions, then that is a good sign.  Why?  Well, first of all, unbelievers do not care about whether they are Christians or not and, secondly, the Bible teaches us many things that describe the attributes of a Christian, which you can test against yourself, right now:

Do you desire the truth from the scriptures and are you willing to change your thoughts, life and behaviour to fit its commandments?

“But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”  

Psalm 1:2

“I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” 

Psalm 40:8

“If you love me, keep my commandments.”

John 14:15

“And this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him.  And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”

I John 3: 23-24

Only a Christian can say “Yes!” with his heart that he delights in the word of God, the Bible, and doing His will.  A Christian has a desire to strive and to keep Christ’s commandments.

Is scripture your ultimate authority? On judgement day will you plead safety and salvation from God’s wrath, solely on your trust, faith and belief, in the teachings of the word of God and its message of salvation to those who believe?

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.”

Acts 4: 12

“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”

I Cor. 1:18

If, on the other hand, you think that the Gospel message is foolishness and in your heart you say there is no God, then you are not saved.  The gospel has no value to you; to you it is foolishness and not the wisdom of God.

God can speak to a man (or woman) and give him the gift of faith in many ways.  However, the usual way for a person to become a Christian is to hear the preaching of the gospel and to read the teachings of the bible with a response that is receptive and accepting, not one of rejection and rebellion against it. 

God’s Holy Spirit makes the transformation in your heart so that you can respond spiritually and in faith.  That is being born again of the Holy Spirit.  We use our mind and think, “I desire and want to follow Jesus and His teachings for the rest of my life.  I reject my sinful, Godless past, and want to strive forward in trust and faith applying the teachings of scripture to my life.”  It is an act of the will that only God can make possible.

Becoming a Christian does not have to be supercharged with emotion.  Conversion and other pivotal moments in my Christian life were very calm, a dawning of understanding and a deliberate act of the will, with my mind fully engaged to execute in faith the teachings of the scriptures and to stand by them.  If you read or hear the preaching of the scriptures, a choice is presented to follow God or reject Him.  It is God that enables us to make the right decision to follow Him, by creating a new heart in the Christian. We cannot create this new heart merely by ‘choosing Christ’ of our own volition.

Election and predestination are hard doctrines, because they are in complete opposition to the natural human spirit of control – and, humanly speaking, the fact that some are chosen and others are not, seems abhorrent.  However, you can see clearly throughout the scriptures, God’s sovereignty and His choices – look at Christ’s ministry with all the miracles and the ultimate preaching: some accepted, but the majority rejected His teaching.  There is great comfort for the Christian that God is in control of your salvation and has you in His hands forever.

There are, of course, concerns for family, friends and relations, as to whether or not they will come to Christ.  If you feel led of God, pray for their salvation, that He will open their eyes to the truth.  You will not be able to argue or plead them into the Kingdom of Heaven.  Tell them about the hope that is in you and let them see the power of God, working in your life through faith and trust in God, despite the circumstances.  Salvation is God’s business not ours. Christians are instruments to be used at His direction to tell the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Hopefully, you will see from this short outline,  that though once an Arminian, I came to see the glorious truth of God’s sovereignty and elective grace, when God broke through my human barrier of sin and unbelief. Then, when God decided to light my life by firstly regenerating me (‘quickening’ my spirit), The Holy Spirit led me on Himself until I prayed for forgiveness and repented, to receive His gift of salvation, freely and without any choice on my part. I pray that your own spirit knows this wonderful transformation.

Bible Theology Ministries

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