Monday, March 30, 2009

How do I become, as you say, a "Christ Follower"?

How do I become, as you say, a "Christ Follower"?

Well, to become a 'Christian' you need to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ. This relationship is begun by coming to him and acknowledging our failure and asking for his forgiveness. Obviously we have something we need to be "saved" from if Jesus came to be our "Saviour", right? Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard."

Are you ready to admit your failure to live up to God's ideal? He is ready to forgive you and cleanse you from all your guilt. Next comes our whole-hearted commitment to following him, which simply means to do whatever he would want us to do.

Of course, if we're going to learn about what his will is for our lives, this will mean that we become students of the Bible and study it for ourselves as well as learn what we can at church.

So becoming and being a Christian is not really about being "Catholic" or "Protestant" or "Baptist" or "Brethren In Christ" (which The Meeting House is). Joining one church or another is not the issue, but committing to Christ is. In fact, it seems quite possible that there are all kinds of people who call themselves "Christians", both Catholics and Protestants, who may think they are Christians because they go to church and do other good things, but who don't really know Jesus.

That seems to be the message Jesus gives in Matthew 7:21-23. He says: "Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as 'Lord', but they still won't enter the Kingdom of Heaven." Jesus goes on in those verses to describe that it is not enough to talk the talk, but what's important is our relationship with him displayed in obedience to his teachings that makes the difference.

The Bible uses a word for that - "faith", which simply means "active trust", believing in someone or something enough to act upon that belief. Are you ready to commit your life to following Jesus as his disciple? He's ready to lead you into new and deeper life (John 10:10). [Bruxy Cavey]

from: http://www.listenuptv.com/listenup/ask-question