What are the steps to becoming a Christian?

[gqaggie04]

If we look at the teachings of different denominations, or if we read various materials, we will undoubtedly find numerous ideas on how one becomes a Christian. Perhaps the most popular idea currently is "the sinner's prayer," where one invites Christ to come into his or her heart as the personal saviour.

Each of these ideas, including the sinner's prayer offer some scripture for support, but almost all neglect other passages dealing with the subject.

Here is a list of actions and concepts that the Bible says saves us. (cannot guarantee that I have not left something out; feel free to add if Bible based)

The Bible mentions that faith saves. (Rom 4:5)
The Bible mentions that repentance saves. (Acts 2:38)
The Bible mentions that baptism saves. (Mark 16:16, Acts 22:16)
The Bible mentions that grace saves. (Eph. 2:8)
The Bible mentions that confession saves. (Acts 22:16)
The Bible mentions that Christ's blood saves.(countless)
The Bible mentions that belief saves. (Mark 16:16, Acts 10:43)

After looking at this list, I think a fair question would be, "Shouldn't a guideline for becoming a Christian include everything that the Bible includes?"

Do most denominations include all of these? Does the sinner's prayer include all of these? If they don't include all of these, can they be Biblically correct?

 

[Galadriel]

If we look at the teachings of different denominations, or if we read various materials, we will undoubtedly find numerous ideas on how one becomes a Christian. Perhaps the most popular idea currently is "the sinner's prayer," where one invites Christ to come into his or her heart as the personal saviour.

Each of these ideas, including the sinner's prayer offer some scripture for support, but almost all neglect other passages dealing with the subject.

Here is a list of actions and concepts that the Bible says saves us. (cannot guarantee that I have not left something out; feel free to add if Bible based)

The Bible mentions that faith saves. (Rom 4:5)
The Bible mentions that repentance saves. (Acts 2:38)
The Bible mentions that baptism saves. (Mark 16:16, Acts 22:16)
The Bible mentions that grace saves. (Eph. 2:8)
The Bible mentions that confession saves. (Acts 22:16)
The Bible mentions that Christ's blood saves.(countless)
The Bible mentions that belief saves. (Mark 16:16, Acts 10:43)

After looking at this list, I think a fair question would be, "Shouldn't a guideline for becoming a Christian include everything that the Bible includes?"

Do most denominations include all of these? Does the sinner's prayer include all of these? If they don't include all of these, can they be Biblically correct?

I would say the sinner's prayer includes that faith saves, repentance saves, confession saves, grace saves, Christ's blood saves, and that belief saves. So, the only one NOT covered by the sinner's prayer is baptism.

 

[Philip]

After looking at this list, I think a fair question would be, "Shouldn't a guideline for becoming a Christian include everything that the Bible includes?"

I should think so.

It is the teaching of the Apostolic Church that one thing saves: The Grace of God. It is also the teaching of the Apostolic Church that we participate in God's Grace in the ways you mentioned above, as well as the others included in Scripture.

 

[aggie03]

I would say the sinner's prayer includes that faith saves, repentance saves, confession saves, grace saves, Christ's blood saves, and that belief saves. So, the only one NOT covered by the sinner's prayer is baptism.

I agree with you Galadriel that the sinner's prayer without a doubt omits baptism. This is why I believe that it cannot be correct.

When we add to or take away from the things that God has laid out for us we aren't doing what God has said. This is the important thing to realize, all of these things that were listed are there because GOD wants them there. Who am I, or anyone else, to take away from what God, the maker of all things, has said?

1 Corinthians 2:16

For who has known the mind of the LORD that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ

In the Bible we have the mind of Christ, which is the mind of God because God revealed all things to Him. If we change what the Bible says, it is no longer the mind of God, but the mind of man.

 

[gqaggie04]

I believe a good way to learn what is necessary to become a Christian is to go through the New Testament and study the examples of conversion given.

The first example of individuals becoming Christians is in Acts 2 when the apostles preached to a large group of Jews on the day of Pentecost.
On this occasion, the apostles received the baptism of the Holy Spirit (the first example of two in the Bible that shows this type of baptism), and they began to speak in tongues, enabling all present to understand them.

In verse 21, Peter and the rest of the apostles begin to preach Christ to the Jews. They explained that Christ was approved by God and that he had risen from the dead. In verse 36, the apostles accuse these Jews of crucifying Jesus, whom God made both Lord and Christ.

Naturally, these words resulted in a deep felt emotion in these Jews. Verse 37 says they were pricked in their hearts, and they asked, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"

Let us take a moment and compare the Jews actions so far to the list of things that the Bible says saves us.

I think we can safely assume that these Jews believe in Christ now, and they realize that they are guilty of His death. This belief and their question clearly require a faith that only God can help them. So, thus far, we have seen belief and faith. Is this enough? Are these Jews now saved? Let us move on and see.

In response to the question, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Peter says in verse 38: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." KJV

Peter mentions two things: repentance and baptism. Before these Jews did anything else, it was first necessary for them to repent or to turn away from their past sins, including the murder of Christ. Then, they needed to baptized in the name Christ to have those sins wiped away.

We now have seen belief, faith, repentance, and baptism. It is also clear to these Jews that they are completely dependent on God and His grace to save them from their sins. Peter's message also makes it very clear that their salvation is through Christ (for example, the baptism is in Christ's name). So now we have implied Christ's blood.

Well, what about confession? Look back at verse 21.
Act 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. KJV

So there we have it. In this first example of conversion we have grace in the form of Christ's blood, belief, faith, repentance, confession, and baptism.

Nothing has been left out.

 

[A Brethren IN CHRIST]

Father pick us before we were born
verse
Eph 1:4 According as He {the Father vs3} hath chosen us in him[JC} before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy[set apart] and with out blame before him in love.

JC died so we can become without blame

1cor 15:2-4
Romans 8:29

HS

Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done , but according to His mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit

Eph 2:8 For by grace [getting something we do not deserve] are ye saved through faith[heb 11:1] and that not of your selves: it is a gift from God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast

2 tim 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,


Wait I thought I have to believe accoding to all these verses BUT MY QUESTION IS WHO IS HOLDING BACK SO YOU ARE NOT BLINDED

Natural blind 1 cor 2:14
Satanic blind 2 cor 4:3-4
Judicial blind 2 cor 3:14-16
The double blind of the Jews Romans 11:25
Spiritual use less eph 4:17

without the HS work aka God help we are

Romans 3:10 As it is written, there is none righteous, no , not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
Gen 6:5
Gen 8:21

1 cor 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

romans 1:21-32 stages of gentiles world unbelief

So when the HS convict you ....You basicly believe he did it all

 

[gqaggie04]

A Brethren,

I don't think you are really on topic with your post. The thread is entitled "What are the steps to becoming a Christian?"

The point here is to discuss what we do in the process of becoming a Christian. It is obvious that we do something from the examples of conversion throughout the book of Acts.

Perhaps you believe that the Holy Spirit made the people in Acts do those things, but that is not the subject of the thread.

Since this forum is mainly for non-Christians to learn, I hope that you are not advocating that non-Christians sit around idly waiting for the Holy Spirit to miraculously save them. If non-Christians make no decisions or take no steps in their salvation, then why bother with teaching them at all?

 

[A Brethren IN CHRIST]

work work your way to_ _ _

 

[gqaggie04]

A brethren seems to misinterpret my posts, so I want to make sure that no one else has misunderstood what I am saying.

I am not advocating that we earn salvation through works. I believe that it is through God's grace that we are saved. Grace does not mean that God has not placed conditions upon salvation.

For instance, even belief is called a work by Jesus in John 6:29.
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. ASV

Allow me to offer a real world example of grace and works combining. Let's say I am wealthy, and I write a one million dollar check to a charity. The charity has certainly received that money based on my good grace. However, what will happen if the charity never goes to the bank and cashes that check? The answer is that they will never receive the money. In other words, they have to do something in order to receive the money. Now, I do not know of anyone who would say that the charity earned my money by cashing the check. It was still a gift from me that they did not earn through works. They simply met the conditions for receiving the gift.

God has written us a priceless check. His check is for eternal salvation. All we have to do is go to the bank and cash it in by doing the things he has told us.

 

[A Brethren IN CHRIST]

So your question is How do a christain matures from a baby to an adult

Do I understand you this time

 

[Reformationist]

A brethren seems to misinterpret my posts, so I want to make sure that no one else has misunderstood what I am saying.

I am not advocating that we earn salvation through works. I believe that it is through God's grace that we are saved. Grace does not mean that God has not placed conditions upon salvation.

For instance, even belief is called a work by Jesus in John 6:29.
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. ASV

Allow me to offer a real world example of grace and works combining. Let's say I am wealthy, and I write a one million dollar check to a charity. The charity has certainly received that money based on my good grace. However, what will happen if the charity never goes to the bank and cashes that check? The answer is that they will never receive the money. In other words, they have to do something in order to receive the money. Now, I do not know of anyone who would say that the charity earned my money by cashing the check. It was still a gift from me that they did not earn through works. They simply met the conditions for receiving the gift.

God has written us a priceless check. His check is for eternal salvation. All we have to do is go to the bank and cash it in by doing the things he has told us.

This is a poor parallel to the grace of salvation through the sovereign regeneration of the Lord because it doesn't take into account the moral inability of the receiving party or their natural disposition toward the "gift giver."

The topic of "what do I have to do to be a Christian" is kind of a difficult one because the phrase "being a Christian" is often used synonymously with "being a believer," which is something that none of us can exhaustively determine by a person's works. We can judge whether a person's actions outwardly conform to the Law of God but that is not the measure by which one's works are deemed by God as faithful.

The problem, as I see it gqaggie04, is that you ask the question with the incorrect assumption that all other Christians view the regenerative grace of God as an "offer that we have to go cash in on." Personally I know that my regeneration is a completely monergistic action by a sovereign God. My sanctification is a different story.

So, to try to answer your question, I can only say that to be a Christian one must have faith in Christ, which will, at varying levels, translate into keeping God's Law.

God bless

 

[gqaggie04]

I knew that anyone with a Calvinist point of view would not agree with my example. And naturally, no analogy can truly do God's gift of salvation justice. However, since I disagree with Calvinism on all five points, I believe that my example still serves to illustrate how works can be included into a grace system.

Your final statements support my conclusions. You say, "I can only say that to be a Christian one must have faith in Christ."

The Bible certainly teaches that faith is part of it. Faith includes a belief in Christ, which Christ says is a work in John 6:29. No matter how hard people try to get around it, faith is a work.

It is therefore necessary to conclude that while such works do not earn salvation, they are necessary to meet God's conditions for salvation.

 

[A Brethren IN CHRIST]

. Faith includes a belief in Christ, which Christ says is a work in John 6:29. No matter how hard people try to get around it, faith is a work.

QUOTE]


Yes it is a work HIS work

God's Work not human being work

Romans 4:5 But to him that wortheth not but believeth on him that justified the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness



God did it all and put us IN CHRIST

 

[gqaggie04]

If you look at what Jesus is saying in John 6, it is easy to see that it is the people who are to do the work.

Joh 6:25 And when they found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
Joh 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw signs, but because ye ate of the loaves, and were filled.
Joh 6:27 Work not for the food which perisheth, but for the food which abideth unto eternal life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him the Father, even God, hath sealed.
Joh 6:28 They said therefore unto him, What must we do, that we may work the works of God?
Joh 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Joh 6:30 They said therefore unto him, What then doest thou for a sign, that we may see, and believe thee? what workest thou? ASV

In verse 27, Jesus tells the people to work for the eternal food.
Then, in verse 28, the people want to know how to work the works of God. Since the people are asking how they themselves work, it is obvious that "works of God" does not mean works that God Himself does. "Works of God" simply means works that God ordains or works that God requires.
In verse 29, Jesus tells them that the work of God, or the work that God wants them to do, is to believe on the one He sent.
In verse 30, it is plain to see that the people here understand that believing is something they are to do. They say, "that we may see, and believe thee."

Why would the writers of the New Testament constantly stress the need for action if in fact, we aren't supposed to take action
Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned.

Jesus says if I want to be saved I need to believe and be baptized. I think I would take action and "work the works of God."

 

[A Brethren IN CHRIST]

. Faith includes a belief in Christ, which Christ says is a work in John 6:29. No matter how hard people try to get around it, faith is a work.

QUOTE]


Yes it is a work HIS work

God's Work not human being work

Romans 4:5 But to him that wortheth not but believeth on him that justified the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness



God did it all and put us IN CHRIST

what do you don't get
make this verse flow smoothly Romans 4:4 with John 6

 

[aggie03]

That's just it "a brethren" - the believing that is mentioned in Romans 4:5 IS a work. Paul is saying that works do not merit our salvation - not that the things God has said are necessary are unecessary.

 

[A Brethren IN CHRIST]

Yes God's work not human's

 

[A Brethren IN CHRIST]

1 cor 1:17 For Christ sent me[paul] not to baptize, but to preach the gospel:...........

 

[Arc]

gqaggie04,

When they ask Jesus what work they must do, Jesus replies "believe". This is not an outward work, nor is it truely considered a "work" as some calvinists may claim, since a calvinist would say you cannot work for salvation, which in the correct context is true. In the context of Romans, belief is not considered a "work";

Rom 3:
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith.

Working the works of the law was what the Jews at the time thought brought salvation, Paul explains that it is belief, not (outward law-abiding) works that save you;

28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

He goes on to say;

1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter?
2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about--but not before God.
3 What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.
5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.

The arguement over faith being a work was, at that time, about faith being apart from the law or works of the law. The law does not save, belief does.

Rom 9:
30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;
31 but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.
32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works.

and

Rom 11:
19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in."
20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.
21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

Step one is belief, then repentence and then become baptized. The last two are outward signs of your inward belief. The inward change comes from God, but the gift is given to those who believe.

The belief is in the promise made by God to Abraham starting with:

Gen 12:
7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your seed I will give this land."

The seed is Christ and no other. All who believe in Christ are heirs, according to this promise.

Faith and Deeds do go together though. If you have faith, you deeds will be righteous. But these deeds do not earn you righteousness of themselves. They are an outward sign.

14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that–and shudder.
20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[4] ? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"[5] and he was called God's friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.


Did I help any?

 

[gqaggie04]

Arc,

Jesus does not simply tell them to believe when they ask what works they can do. Jesus Himself calls the belief a work. He says believing is working the works of God.

No where does the Bible make the distinction that belief is an inward work, while repentance and baptism are outward works.

You are correct, however, in saying that repentance and baptism result from belief.

In one of my earlier posts, I went through the first example of conversion in Acts 2. If you will notice the question these Jews ask the apostles in verse 37, it seems apparent that these individuals believe at that point. Peter had already explained that they have sinned, and that Jesus had been made Lord and Christ. Then, they want to know what they must do. If belief had been enough to save them, Peter would have said, "You are already saved, now you just need to repent and be baptized as an outward sign of that belief." But he didn't say this.

Instead, Peter told them to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins. In other words, their belief alone did not result in the remission of sins; there was more to be done.

If you look in verse 40, Peter tells them to save themselves from this crooked generation. Obviously, they were not yet saved.

So what did those people do that gladly received his word. Well those that gladly received what he said wanted part of this salvation; they wanted to save themselves from this crooked generation.
Act 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. KJV

If simply receiving the word had been enough, Peter could have stopped his sermon back before verse 37. They believed on Christ at that point.