Have you ever really thought about what it means to become a Christian?
Sometimes people define their religious beliefs more so by a particular denomination, but at the core of any scripturally sound belief system, if you have made Jesus Christ your Lord, then you are a Christian. Praise God! Your affiliation to a particular Christian denomination doesn’t have any bearing on your status with God!
Maybe you’ve made the decision a long time ago to be a Christian, and just never gave it much thought. If you’ve truly made Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior, that decision had an eternal impact. It says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
But did you know this decision didn’t only secure your eternal habitation? I think many people miss the true gift of grace that provided salvation because they don’t understand what eternal life really is. Many don’t know that salvation is not simply a decision of the mind to serve God or a standard of morality. Something supernatural has taken place.
For Salvation to be authentic, spiritual rebirth is required.
Becoming a Christian begins with a decision on your part, but is carried out by the Holy Spirit. Eternal life (Spiritual life) begins with spiritual birth, given by God through faith in Jesus Christ.
In John 3:3 Jesus said, “You must be born-again”
“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’” (John 3:3)
How is this accomplished? By faith in God’s grace.
You must believe in your heart and speak out of your mouth a confession (agreement with God’s Word) that you need Jesus Christ to save you and that He was raised from the dead to accomplish this on your behalf.
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
The result: Your spirit, (the real you) becomes reborn, completely new and the spirit of God comes to dwell in you permanently.
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.”
1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
Once this transformation takes place in your spirit, you have eternal life. We receive a whole new life united with Christ. That life doesn’t start when you get to Heaven; it begins here and now and will continue throughout eternity.
Let’s go back to John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
What is eternal life? Jesus himself tells us.
John 17:3 “And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
What is eternal life for? You have been reborn spiritually, and you can now live this life from your new nature that is within your spirit; in personal, intimate fellowship with God Himself!
Praise God!
For more on Salvation, what God has done for us and through us, see articles: