Matthew 28:18-20 · Romans 3:21 · Romans 6 · Acts 2:38-39 · Galatians 5:22-23 · Romans 8:1 · Romans 8:29-30 · Hebrews 13:5 — Basics
How Does One Become a Christian?
Following Jesus requires faith—trusting in his claims, death, and resurrection—demonstrated publicly through baptism and a commitment to live a new life in righteousness under his lordship.
Commission
There are all kinds of things that people are interested in learning how to do. How to play an instrument; how to fly an airplane; how to cook; how to set up a computer; how to raise kids and parents without losing your mind. All kinds of things we would like to know how to do. Some will make life easier; others are just for fun or curiosity.
But there is one thing that is most important. How does one become a Christian? Not everyone wants to know about that. Not everyone is interested in following Jesus. But for those who are interested an answer needs to be given. Jesus wants you to follow him. Today’s text, Jesus is sending his disciples out to carry on his work. These are the men who have been with him for 3.5 years. They have heard his teaching and the promise of Jesus is that it would not be long before they would through the power of the Holy Spirit be given the privilege of speaking about him. So in the text, Jesus says they are to do several things.
They are to go — that is, they are to not be idle waiting but be active in pursuing others.
ii. They are to disciple others — that is, they are to walk with others so that they can see Jesus
iii. They are to baptize — that is, those who are being discipled are to be baptized
iv. They are to teach — that is, those baptized are to continue to receive teaching about what following Jesus means.
The disciples were to pursue others; walk with them so that they could see who Jesus is through the demonstration of life; baptize those who want to follow; and continue teaching them about what it means to live for Jesus. If the disciples were to do this, then those who the disciples walked with and taught would also become followers of Jesus. To be a Christian means to follow Jesus. Those who walk with Jesus have the privilege of helping others come to know Jesus and to follow him.
Faith
To follow Jesus means that one has decided to dedicate his or her life to Jesus. It means that one has committed to living in such a way to honor Jesus and to make him Lord of all things. It doesn’t mean that one does this perfectly, but it does mean that one’s heart is set on honoring Jesus. This dedication has as its basis faith. Faith is trusting something. But to trust something means that your actions demonstrate that you trust. We know something about trust. We often think people have to prove that they can be trusted and in some ways they do but we trust without evidence frequently. Eat at a restaurant. You trust the cooks who you have not met; the person that you do not know who brings out your food; you trust the people who brought the food to the restaurant; you trust those who have inspected the food and the restaurant — you get the point.
But if one is to follow Jesus we do that with evidence. We trust Jesus without having seen him but we trust others who have seen him and the Bible that reveals the life of Jesus. To say I trust Jesus means I trust him even though I have never met him. But trust Jesus in what way? I trust that his claims about himself are true. I trust that his purpose was fulfilled in this world. I trust that his death took care of my sin. I trust that his resurrection is proof that I will live forever. The apostle Paul puts it this way in Romans 3:21ff. Paraphrasing, Paul says that righteousness “or being given a standing of being right” comes through our trusting Jesus. Paul says all of us have sinned but it was through Jesus that we can be declared “not guilty.” Paul says that Jesus’ death reveals the justice of God. All sin must be paid for. Jesus offered himself as the sinless one and God accepted his blood as dealing with all sin. Thus, when we trust Jesus to have already dealt with our sin and dedicate our lives to follow him, then we are saying that we want Jesus to be Lord and master.
But faith is demonstrated not only through a commitment of the heart but also through a demonstration that you are committed to Jesus. That demonstration is found in a spiritual death so that there can be a spiritual life. In the same writing Paul talks about this demonstration. In Romans 6, Paul says that being baptized is the point at which we move from the sphere of sin to the sphere of righteousness. In other words, this is the action that a person engages in so that they can identify with Jesus. Paul puts it this way — baptism is the means by which we identify with Jesus in his death (this is the immersion in water) and being raised out of the water we identify with Jesus in his resurrection so that we live a new life. Through this baptism each person makes a public demonstration of faith that they are dying (just as Jesus did) and that they are being raised (by the power of God) to a new life. The person understands that they died and it is now Christ who lives. Paul goes no to say that having died to sin, we now live a life of righteousness or spiritual purity because we identify with Jesus.
Promises
For those who follow Jesus expressing that faith through baptism God has a number of promises.
According to Acts 2:38-39, those earliest followers were told to be repent and be baptized and that God would forgive their sins and give to them his Holy Spirit who would empower them to live for Jesus.
ii. According to Galatians 5:22-23, the Holy Spirit will transform our lives so that we demonstrate the qualities of Jesus in this world.
iii. According to Romans 8:1 there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, that is, those who have expressed their faith through baptism are in Christ Jesus.
iv. According to Romans 8:29-30, God is going to mold our lives so that we look like Jesus as he prepares us to be with him forever.
According to Hebrews 13:5, God will never leave us nor turn away from us and because of this promise we do not have to be afraid of what happens to us in this life. God is there.
Will you today acknowledge that you are a sinner; that you trust Jesus to have dealt with your sin; to allow yourself to be baptized and God will forgive your sins; and to begin living a life that demonstrates that you trust Jesus? Will you live a life of faith? Will you become a follower of Jesus today? Invitation.
Follow Jesus
If you’d like to respond to this message or learn more about following Jesus, please reach out.