Exploring Jesus

Living As A Christian

Some people have strange ideas about what it means to live as a Christian. Some think it means you have to always be well presented, go to church twice every Sunday, not stay out past midnight, and never, ever have fun. Others think it means giving up all trace of individuality, giving all your money to the church, and living in some sort of commune. Still others think it’s about withdrawing from the world, losing touch with reality, and only ever mixing with other Christians.

Unfortunately, some Christians also believe these myths, and give the rest of us a bad reputation.

Happily, we can tell you that none of the above is what real Christian living is about. Christianity is all about having a relationship with the God who created us. So to live as a Christian, you actually have to be one. That may sound obvious, but many people try to ‘live a Christian life’ without having any understanding of what Christianity is all about.

Becoming a Christian begins with a prayer.

The first priority is to repair the relationship between you and God, based on what Jesus has done. A person becomes a Christian by asking God to forgive them. This heartfelt act of turning back to God is all that is required.

What Does God Want Me To Do?

1. ADMIT that God has not been first place in your life and ask Him to forgive your sins. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from every wrong.” (1 John 1:9)

2. BELIEVE that Jesus died to pay for your sins and that he rose again on Easter, and is alive today. “If you confess that Jesus is your Lord, and you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name (Jesus) by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

3. ACCEPT God’s free gift of salvation. Don’t try to earn it. “For it is by grace you are saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8,9). Our relationship to God is not restored by anything we do, but on the basis of what Jesus already did for us!

4. INVITE Jesus Christ to come into your life and be the director (“Lord”) of your life. He is LORD, He is in charge. “To all who receive Him, He gives the right to become children of God. All we need to do is to trust Him to save us. All those who believe this are reborn! Not a physical rebirth…but from the will of God!” (John 1:12-13) “Jesus says, ‘Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in…’” (Revelation 3:30). “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

Dear God,
I know that I have not lived as you want me to. I have not loved you as I ought nor loved the people who live around me. I am sorry and want to change. Thanks you for Jesus. Thank you that he lived and died for me and rose again and is now the Lord. Please forgive me and help me to live as you want me to.
Amen.

By praying this prayer you have become a Christian and your relationship with God has been renewed, you have been reconciled to God. You also made a commitment to start living as a Christian – to love God and to love your neighbour.

Living as a Christian is a life long commitment to your relationship with God. This involves:

1) Letting Jesus Rule

If Jesus is the Lord, God’s chosen king, then being a Christian means having Jesus as your Lord. It means obeying Jesus and living with him as your boss. Like every other person, there will be lots of things in your life you need to change. You will have to stop your old rebellious habits (greed, anger, selfishness, and so on) and start some new ones that please God (like generosity, kindness, love and patience). It’s important to remember that all this stuff doesn’t save us. NOTHING we do can make God love us any more than he does. But if we love him – which is what being a Christian is all about – then we should want to do those things that please him. This process will go on for the rest of your life, but God will be with you all the way. He’ll keep speaking to you through the Bible; he’ll keep listening to you and helping you as you pray; he’ll empower you to change and to live his way by his Spirit that lives within you; and he’ll provide brothers and sisters to encourage you along the way.

2) Speaking with God

We communicate with God by praying. There’s nothing magical about prayer, and there’s no right or wrong way of doing it. It’s simply talking to God, it can be out loud, or just in your head, but we can be certain the God listens to us, and like all good communication, the more regular and honest it is, the better. God communicates with us through the Bible. The Bible is full of what God wants to tell us about how we should live. Things like ‘love one another’, and ‘look after the poor and needy’. At first glance, the Bible seems like a big forbidding book, and you probably won’t know where to start. But don’t be put off by this, it’s basically a collection of books that tell the story of how God has related to people throughout history. The best place to start is in the New Testament (the second section of Bible). You might like to start by reading the following New Testament books – Luke, then John, then Acts, then Romans, then Colossians. If you don’t have a Bible you can read the Bible online or even search the Bible for key words and topics.

3) Relating to God’s People

As Christians we need each other, for support, encouragement, learning and growing. Living as a Christian can be hard and meeting with other Christians encourages us to keep going. So try to find a group of Christians to read the bible and pray with. They may be members of your local church, school or work situation. It may seem daunting to go up to them and talk about having become a Christian but they will be overjoyed to meet you.

4) Telling Others About Your Relationship with God

The more you grow in your understanding of what God has done in your lives, the more you will want others to know about it, and how God can change their lives for the better. As you relate to God, and live according to his direction, others will notice a difference in you. God has given us the great privilege of sharing his love with others.

If you prayed this prayer or if you would like more information, please use the contact form above to get in touch.

If you’d like to know more about baptism (a common step following becoming a Christian) then head to our ‘Get Baptised‘ page.