Concept

Becoming a Christian

Intro

Maybe you have been asking questions about God for a while. Maybe today something clicked. Either way, you might be wondering: what do I actually do now?

Becoming a Christian is not about cleaning up your life first. It is not about joining a club or learning the right words. It is about turning to Jesus and trusting Him. God does the saving. Your part is to come to Him honestly.

This page walks through it in four simple steps, gives you a prayer you can pray, and tells you what comes next.

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In full

Christians call this salvation: being rescued by God from sin and its results, and brought into a new life with Him. The Bible teaches that it comes as a gift, by God's grace, received through faith in Jesus Christ, and not earned by good works. "For by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Faith that saves turns away from sin (repentance), trusts Jesus as Lord, and begins a new life marked by baptism, the Holy Spirit and belonging to a church.

Step 1: Admit the problem

Everyone has done wrong. Not just mistakes, but choices we knew were wrong. The Bible calls that sin, and it says no one is left out: "all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

Sin is serious because it separates us from God, who is good. "For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

Step 2: See what God did about it

God did not wait for us to fix ourselves. He came to us. "God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

Jesus died in our place, and three days later He rose from the dead. That is the good news. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

Step 3: Turn and trust

To repent means to turn around: to stop going your own way and turn toward God. "Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3:19).

To believe means to trust Jesus, not just to agree that He existed. "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Romans 10:9).

You do not have to be good enough. "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13).

Step 4: Talk to God

You can talk to God right now, in your own words. There is nothing magic about any one prayer. What matters is that you mean it. If it helps, you can pray something like this:

A prayer you can pray

God, I know I have sinned. I have gone my own way, and I am sorry. I believe Jesus is Your Son, that He died on the cross for my sins, and that You raised Him from the dead. I turn from my sin and I put my trust in Jesus. Jesus, be my Lord and Savior. Forgive me, make me new, and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I am Yours from today on. In Jesus' name, amen.

Not ready for that yet? That is okay. You can pray a smaller prayer and mean it:

God, if You are there, I am open. I do not have all the answers. If Jesus is who He said He is, I want to know Him. Show me. Amen.

God hears honest prayers. Keep asking, keep reading, and keep coming back.

If you prayed to receive Jesus

You are forgiven. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

You are a child of God. "But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name" (John 1:12).

You are new. "If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

God's Spirit confirms it. "The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God" (Romans 8:16). You may feel different right away, or you may not. Your new life rests on what God promised, not on how you feel today.

What comes next

1. Tell someone. Tell a Christian you trust. Following Jesus was never meant to be done alone.
2. Get baptized. Baptism in water is how a new believer goes public with their faith, and Jesus told His followers to baptize "into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). When the first crowd asked what to do, Peter said, "Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). See Baptism.
3. Ask for the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised power to live for Him: "ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you" (Acts 1:8). Ask God to fill you.
4. Read the Bible. Start with the Gospel of John. Read a little each day and ask, what does this show me about Jesus?
5. Pray every day. Talk to God like you would talk to a father who loves you. Short, honest prayers are fine.
6. Find a church. The first Christians "continued stedfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers" (Acts 2:42). Look for a church that teaches the Bible, honors Jesus as Lord, and welcomes you. Do not give up meeting with other believers (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Still have questions?

That is normal, and welcome. The codex has a guided walk through the big questions, from whether God is real to who Jesus is: Why Believe?, linked from the codex home page under Curious? Let's walk. You can also read the Romans Road for the gospel in five stops, Repentance for what turning to God means, and Witness of the Holy Spirit on how a Christian knows it is true.

See also

• Gospel, the good news in full
• Romans Road, the gospel in five verses from Romans
• Repentance and Baptism, the first steps of the new life
• Witness of the Holy Spirit, how a believer knows
• Prayers for Evangelism, prayers for Christians sharing their faith
• Lesson 5.5, After the Yes, Follow-Up and Discipleship, for those helping a new believer grow