This is the question that I asked myself for many years before giving my heart to Jesus. What does He require from me to be a Christian? The answer is two-fold: one, He wants us to obey Him, and in regard to the second question, He doesn’t require anything more than your belief in Jesus as your Savior. There is nothing that you can do that will help you be a Christian.
Jesus did all of the work that needed doing, all you need to do is believe in Him for your salvation. That is it. There are no rules to follow or prescribed actions that need to be done because you and I can’t help Jesus save our souls. It is your faith in Him and your belief in His atonement for you that saves your soul from hell, with nothing required from you other than submitting your life and your heart to Him.
In my opinion, that is what keeps many people from believing in Him for their salvation. It’s too simple! Just believe in Him and be saved. That is what the gospel teaches. As Jesus told Nicodemus, “As the people believed and looked on the serpent on the pole to be cured, so they will only need to believe on the Son of Man”. Today, we want to have a part in our salvation but the only part that we have in it is to respond to the Holy Spirit when we are convicted of our need for salvation. Many people seem to push it away and decide that they aren’t ready yet. They think they will have plenty of time to do this later which is a lie from Satan.
Not one of us knows if we will even wake up in the morning so the thought that you have “plenty of time for that” is very deceptive. Although, people listen to that idea all of the time. When the day comes, and I believe it won’t be long in coming, the church and the believers who have died in Christ will be taken up to meet the Lord in the air. After that happens, there are going to be many who will regret waiting. Don’t put your salvation on hold, listen to that voice that is telling you that you need Jesus in your life.
Being a teacher and a preacher of God’s Word is needed today but only if you are called to be one. God qualifies the called according to His Word. Teaching God’s Word and the mystery of salvation to those who are seeking Him is a calling and one that should be taken seriously. Especially today with so many different ideas and doctrines being brought into the church. Being a Christian is hard enough without adding confusion and “man-made” ideas into the mix.
The time that we are living in now is near the end of the “church age” and people need clear leadership in the church. Preaching from God’s Word and teaching the doctrine that Jesus taught to His disciples is the way to go. Man-made wisdom and ideas need to be thrown out of the church and strict adherence to God’s Word should be the rule rather than the exception.
Think of God and His qualities and His abilities. Can you truly do that? I have read through God’s Word so many times over the past decade, yet I can’t comprehend His glory and His majesty from His Word. Comprehending Him is so far above my finite mind because He is so far above us until it is incomprehensible for me or anyone else. Why? Simply put…a drop of water cannot comprehend the vast oceans yet both are made of (mostly) the same element. God is, God was and God always will be God. His Spirit resides in us when we accept Him as our Savior. How? Because He says so.
We cannot know “how” God does the things that He does but by His power and His might the world and the entire cosmos are held together. There are many people who do not want to believe this but since God’s Word says it, I believe it. Belief only saves us when we place that belief in Jesus Christ and since He is our Savior, that settles it for me. I pray that everyone who reads this will turn to Him for their salvation before the day comes when the church is taken away. Will it be possible to be saved through faith after that? Yes, but it will be harder to do. The Holy Spirit will leave with the church but God can save as many as will believe even during the Tribulation to come.
John 3:16-17 says it best: 16For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.…
What did God think of when He first thought of you? Did He think of your eye color or your skin color? Did He look at the person that you would become and think “Wow, how did I do that?”
He could see all of those things before you were ever born. Even before your grandparents were born. But…that last question, God never thought “How did I do that?”. He knew how to put you together and which talents and abilities He would give you. He knew all of this and more, many years before you were born. So, what do you think He feels when a child is aborted? He knew that their mother or father would want them aborted but don’t you believe that He hoped for them to live?
God predetermined many things for our lives that we won’t find out about for years. We may be in heaven before we find out exactly what He had planned for us. I pray that I finally became the person that He had planned for me to be. God knows each of us intimately and He loves us completely. So when you turn away from Him or refuse to give your life to Jesus, I think it hurts God’s heart a bit.
We truly are living in those “last days” before Jesus’ return. I pray that everyone who reads this will seek Him out as their Savior before our time is up. When that happens, the whole world will know that the Bible and its message was true but it may be too late at that point. Please make sure of where your eternity will be while you can.
God’s patience with us is only to give as many as possible the time needed to make up their minds about their salvation. It seems that many people just aren’t ready to give their hearts to Him. The problem with this is that His patience is running out. Soon, the church will be taken up and the whole world will fall into chaos for seven years. Make sure of your choice before it’s too late.
The Living Message of Christ 