What Does it Mean to be a Christian?

A FEW COMMON QUESTIONS

What are we saved from?

Our sins. Matthew 1:21

Punishment. Matthew 25:46

Purposeless living and an empty life. I Peter 1:18-19

Separation from God. I Peter 3:18

Who can be saved?

Everyone! Romans 10:13

What saves us: faith or works?

The Bible teaches us that we are saved by grace through faith.

The evidence of our faith is good works.

Good works DO NOT save us, but they result from genuine faith in God.

A lack of good works may indicate a lack of genuine faith in God.

Ephesians 2:8-9

Titus 3:5

Luke 13:3

James 2:14-26

A FEW MISCONCEPTIONS

“If I’m good I’ll go to heaven”

The bible is clear. We are not saved because of anything we do. Good behavior is a result of salvation, not the way to God.

Ephesians 2:8-9

“Becoming a Christian is a free ticket to heaven”

There is so much more to being a Christian than a free ticket to heaven! When we repent of our sin, we are saved from hell, but more importantly saved from the power of sin in our life! Because of that, we can change in the way we live. This gives us a purpose in life. Besides being saved from these things, salvation entitles us to a wonderful personal relationship with God because of what Christ did for us on the cross.

Heaven is a place for rewards!  Christians will be rewarded in heaven for the things they do on earth. This fact may not directly motivate us to obey God and pursue a relationship with Him, but knowing that we are still accountable for what we do on earth even after we become a Christian will impact our decisions and actions. When we are saved, we’re given eternal life (heaven), but what we do with our life after salvation is rewarded (but not punished) by God. These two verses discuss this “judgement” for Christians:

I Corinthians 3:11-15

I Corinthians 5:10

“People are mostly good”

No matter how good we are, we are all guilty of breaking God’s laws. Because of sin, we deserve punishment. The good news is that God wants everyone to be saved (I Timothy 2:3-4). So if we repent of our sin, we will be forgiven!

Romans 6:23

James 2:10

“Most religions lead to salvation”

Jesus claims that He is the only way to salvation. To believe there are other ways to heaven requires believing that Jesus was not truthful, making the whole foundation of Christianity false.

John 14:6

Acts 4:12

I Timothy 2:5

“If i was baptized/prayed a prayer to receive Christ/responded to an after call at church then I don’t have anything to worry about – I’m saved”

Many people assume that because they’ve done a religious thing at some point in their life, that’s all they need to do. There are a few problems with this view:

First, they’re missing out on all that God offers us in salvation – freedom from sin, and a relationship with Him, in addition to eternal life with Him in heaven. The Christian life is fulfilling and exciting, and just having a little religion “on the side” or as an “insurance voucher” against hell is like putting a very large chocolate bar down after taking just one bite!

Second, when we say “I’m saved because I did (some religious act)“, it trivializes salvation, because it minimalizes God’s grace in our life and maximizes the idea that it is something we do that gets us to heaven. The “religious” things we do are not what saves us, rather it is God’s grace and our faith.

Third, God knows the condition of our hearts, both now and at the time we did whatever religious act that we’re counting on getting us to heaven. We have to question the sincerity of our faith when we can’t see evidence of salvation in our life. Ultimately, God decides who He will let into heaven – if we are truly His children, He’ll welcome us right in!

Baptism, praying to receive Christ, and responding to message at church/other religious gathering are ways that we can become a Christian and receive God’s gift of salvation. However, they are “outward” actions based on “inner” faith. If you really don’t believe, they ultimately mean nothing.

For more questions, contact lina at lina@livingwithpower.org

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