This is a big question since there are so many views of what constitutes being a Christian. Even the title “Christian” is so watered down in today’s world and tied to many evil people in the past who murdered and abused people under that title. But what defines a “true” Christian? Does going to church or reading your Bible make you a Christian? Is it saying a little prayer or possibly just trying to be good? Maybe trying to be just like Yeshua (Jesus), or possibly simply believing Yeshua is the Son of God?
Well, there is quite a few views of what a Christian is or how to become one but the Bible is pretty simple on the matter although there are some foundational truths that must be included to fulfill the following:
You must:
- Believe in God
- Believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Son of God and is the only begotten of God
- Believe the Yeshua was crucified on the cross to pay the price for all sin
- Believe the Yeshua was raised from the dead and has ascended into heaven
- You have confessed and repented of your sins and made Yeshua the Lord of your life
That is it! If that has occurred in your life, then you are a “true” Christian! Anyone can be a Christian and be assured of eternal life with God by the simple list above.
Now, let us get down to the guts of that list. The first item is to believe in God. That is not “a” God, but the one true God of the Bible. There is only one God which is eternal, in that God has always been God and will always be God without beginning nor end and without change. There is no other God anywhere, there is only one true God.
This one true God expresses Himself in three views, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, a three in one just as we ourselves are soul, spirit and body. Some have explained God like a light bulb, there is the bulb, and you see the light and can feel the heat, three in one. There are two different camps on this, one says He is one God but is revealed as three different ways while the other camp says He is one God with three different wills. I think they are both saying the same thing, but I will leave that up to God to sort out.
Next, we have Yeshua as part of God taking on flesh to show us the way and pay the price for sin. At no time did God cease to exist or become mortal, but the body of flesh upon Yeshua was mortal and subject to all temptations and weaknesses of humanity.
Yeshua was crucified on the cross to pay the price for our pardon so that we could be reunited with God after the fall of man in the garden. This is a price we all should have had to pay, but we could not due to our sin nature of fallen man.
Yeshua was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven where He waits until the time appointed to come back for all those that are His. He is now the mediator between mankind and God, that those in Him shall not be damned, but be with Him throughout eternity.
The last step is much like two steps in one but there really go hand-in-hand. You need to realize that you have sinned and that you repent of those sins which includes turning away from them. Right along with that you need to make Yeshua the Lord of your life, that is, He becomes your leader, your King, you submit your will to Him. I recall a quote I heard some time ago “no one can say no Lord”, He is either Lord or not.
This does not mean we will not fall and sin, but if we do, we need to repent and confess them to Him and the Bible says He is faithful to forgive them. That does not give a license to sin, but when we fail, He is there to catch us. Of course, if we live a life of unrepentant sin, we will deny our faith.
Anyone can come to God and be a follower of Yeshua (Christian) if you believe. The ball is in your court.. One of the worse things a person can do is build unto themselves a God of their own making and deny the God of the Bible. It can seem very innocent at times as people inflict their views of who God is even though they do not line up with the Bible. Read the Bible and find out “who” the real true God is and what is expected of you!