September 15, 2002, Vol.2,
No.18.
Two new articles every two weeks.
Bible Question? E-mail
us. THIS ISSUE: "How
Can One Become a Christian?" (see
below)
and "Should You Be a Muslim
or a Christian?"
To Our Muslim Friends:
How Can One Become
a Christian?
Guest article by Emmanuel Ebong
Every
believer in a cause must ask a question related to it. This is
exactly what the early disciples did on the day of Pentecost
when they asked Peter and the rest of the apostles, "men
and brethren, what shall we do?"(Acts 2:37) This is an age
long question that pertains to the salvation of man. How I wish
people are asking this question today with an open heart as on
the day of Pentecost.
If I want to become a student of any institution of learning,
there are some conditions I must meet. For instance, if I want
to become a pilot, there are some important courses I must take.
And in order to succeed as a student, I must be an ardent believer/follower
in my area of pursuit. In essence, we are talking about discipleship.
This same principle of discipleship will hold true if I am to
become a Christian. Becoming a Christian guarantees one the divine
access to where Christ (the head of Christianity) is; if one
is diligent to the end (see John 14:6). If one is to be where
Christ is at the end of time, one must do what He says. Jesus
says " if you love Me, keep My commandments"
and His "commandments are not burdensome" (1
John 5:3).
ORIGIN AND DEFINITION
According to Matthew 28:18-20:
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power
is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore,
and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with
you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (KJV)
This command of teaching and making men disciples of Christ
started its fulfillment on the day of Pentecost. This is why
Acts 2 is pivotal to the establishment of the church. On that
day, Peter and the rest of the apostles stood up and addressed
that great audience where over three thousand from over seventeen
different nations were gathered. At the end of it, over three
thousand souls that heard the gospel; believed
the gospel, repented of their sins, confessed Christ
and were baptized for the remission of their sins. Finally
" and the Lord added to the church those who were being
saved." May I point out here that it is God that adds the
saved to the church (Acts 2:47). They were not asked to "join"
any church of their choice. Later on, the Bible states that the
disciples were named "Christian" in Antioch (see Acts
11:26).
"Christianos: Christian, a word formed after the Roman
style, signifying an adherent of Jesus, was first applied to
such by the Gentiles and is found in Acts 11: 26; 26:28; 1 Pet.
4:16." (Vines Expository Dictionary Of Old And New Testament
Words, p 191).
One very unique aspect of Christianity was (is) that it is
so organized and it follows a pattern defined by God Himself.
This means that the primitive disciples also known as "Christians"
followed the teachings (doctrines) of Christ to the letter; thus
the name "Christian." What this means is that for anyone
to become a Christian today (as it was at the inception of the
church on the day of Pentecost), such a one must be willing to
follow and adhere strictly to the teachings of Christ. One must
be willing to pick up the cross and follow Christ. In other words,
the religion of Christ is not that of convenience, but sacrifice.
HOW CAN ONE BECOME A CHRISTIAN?
Just like the early Christians did. How? By applying the same
divinely defined principles. God's principles/doctrines of salvation
adopted by the primitive Christians (i.e. becoming a Christian)
has never changed since the day of Pentecost. The primitive Christians
had a focus: to be like Christ. Besides, they had a willing mind
of conscientiously working towards that desired goal. Christians
are people that endeavor to be Christ-like at all points in life.
A Christian is someone that cares for the same thing that Christ
cares for; thus having his/her hope where Christ is. This was
the premium the early Christians placed on Christ and no wonder
"the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch"
(Acts 11:26). This was probably because the early Christians
endeavored to live the Christ-like life that the Lord himself
exhibited while on earth.
WHO IS QUALIFIED TO BECOME
A CHRISTIAN?
Scriptures abound to prove that this salvation is for all
and sundry- "whosoever willeth."
John 3:16 says: " For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believe in Him
should not perish; but have everlasting life."
1 Tim 2:4-6 says: 4 Who will have all men to be saved,
and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one
God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
(KJV)
Mark 16:15-16 says: 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into
all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that
believeth not shall be damned. (KJV)
Matt 28:19-20 says: 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with
you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (KJV)
From the above Scriptures, we see that this salvation is for
"whosoever believe in Him, all mensince He gave Himself
a ransom for all, all the world every creature, all nations.
No wonder Titus 2:11 says that the "grace of God that bringeth
salvation hath appeared to all men" Indeed, this salvation
is for whosoever wills. It is a general invitation of salvation
to mankind. Shouldn't you a part of it? We thank God that we
are not coerced to do anything that we are not willing to do.
We have absolute freedom to choose. May we use that freedom to
the glory of God.
There are many instances in the Scriptures to substantiate
that since A.D. 33, God has been faithful to His promise. On
the day of Pentecost alone, God added about three thousand (3000)
souls to the church from over seventeen nations, which include
Islamic nations. Other instances include Phillip and the Ethiopian
Eunuch, Peter and the household of Cornelius, Saul of Tarsus,
The Philippian jailor etc. All these did not have to go through
any special session. The apostles did not have to preach any
special sermon. In the case of Saul of Tarsus, no amount of praying
could save him until he arose and was baptized for the remission
of his sins. Neither did moral purity save Cornelius and his
household. He had to send men to Joppa to bring Peter. While
the Ethiopian Eunuch did not hesitate when he heard the gospel,
but had to render obedience to the word of God even while on
transit. The Phillipian jailor did not forbid water baptism when
he had the opportunity. These never procrastinated but acted
right away. They all arose and acted immediately. These are good
examples for us to follow.
Indeed, it is salvation for all nations. People from Africa,
Palestine, Arabia, Europe, and indeed the Roman world were present.
This religion was not meant for any particular geographic region,
but for all.
WHAT QUALIFIED THEM TO BE
CHRISTIANS?
Going to Acts 2 account, we see the conditions stated by the
apostles. Peter stood up and proclaimed that the rest of the
apostles were not drunk as charged by the people, but that it
was the manifestation of God's promise of establishing His Church
(See Matthew 16:18). The same thing that qualified them then
would qualify us today. The criteria or condition for becoming
a Christian has never changed. It has remained the same throughout
all ages. It is the same gospel that Peter and the rest of the
apostles preached in the first century that will be preached
till the end of time because the scripture says that it is the
power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16). If the above be the
case, then let's see how people were touched and converted by
the gospel. Let's begin with Acts 2.
Acts 2:36-41
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that
God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord
and Christ. 37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in
their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles,
Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto them,
Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your
children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord
our God shall call. 40 And with many other words did he testify
and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and
the same day there were added unto them about three thousand
souls.(KJV)
From the above scriptures, we find that the following things
were involved in becoming Christians. These conditions are still
valid today.
a. Hearing: Hearing of
the undiluted WORD of God. We must be careful that it is the
word of God that we hear and not that of men. Words of men only
produce disciples of men. What God wants are disciples of Christ.
Romans 10:17 says that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing
by the word of God."
b. Believe: Belief is
of great importance with respect to our faith. What we believe
goes a long way to shaping the foundation of our faith. There
"is no salvation in any other, for there is no other
name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved"
(Acts4: 12). They believed Peter and the rest of the apostles
because the scripture says that they were pricked in their heart.
c. Repent: This is the turning
point in every believer's life. On Pentecost, they repented
of their sins. To repent means making a 180-degree turn from
bad to better, from left to right. Not a 360-degree turn that
goes back to the same spot. In short, it means making a U-Turn.
d. Confessing Christ: Confessing
Christ to be the Son of God. Jesus said "whosoever confesses
Me be before men, Him will I confess before My Father who is
in heaven; but whosoever denies Me before men, Him will I deny
before My Father who is in heaven. So confess Christ now
and be accepted before God the Father.
e. Baptism: Finally one must
be baptized for the remission of his/her sins in the name (that
is, the authority) of Jesus Christ. At the point of baptism,
one becomes a "Christian" or "born again."
Please endeavor to avoid the tautology of "born-again
Christian." It's either one is a Christian (born-again)
or not. Jesus said that unless one is born of water and of the
Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God (church). Baptism,
as claimed by some, is not important, thus the paraphrase that
"it is an inward stuff of an outward whatever". Please
correct me if I am wrong. But this would totally negate the fact
that baptism (which is a medium of contact with the blood of
the Lamb) is totally not important. Even if the idea of baptism
does not make sense to us, let us not forget that it makes a
whole lot of sense to God our Creator. Let's not forget that
"we walk by faith and not by sight"(2Cor.5:7). Citing
instances from the Old Testament scriptures, we find out that
salvation or deliverance only came after men carried out God's
instructions. For example, the case of Noah. He was saved after
building the ark as specified by God using gopher wood. While
in Egypt, the children of Israel that obeyed God and carried
out His instruction concerning the blood of the Passover did
not lose their first-born. The children of Israel were only saved
after crossing the Red Sea. The children of Israel that beheld
the brazen serpent were saved from death. The walls of Jericho
crumbled in its place. Even Naaman was cleansed from leprosy.
All of these instances had the following in common. There was
faith in God without which, no man can see God(Hebrews 6:11).
The grace of God was sufficient unto them. And they all were
obedient to God. This is the same thing that applies to us today.
Baptism is done by faith through the grace of God in obedience
to the WILL of God. It is a spiritual rebirth that puts us in
contact with Christ. The following passages deal more with the
issue of baptism (John 3:5; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16;
Romans 6:3-4; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 5:25-26; Colossians 2:11-13;
Titus 3:5; Hebrews 10:22; 1Peter 3:21).
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, one can see that no one is far away from the
kingdom of God. But we have to work at it in maintaining this
great salvation, which was delivered unto mankind once and for
all. The only way into Christ is through the washing of regeneration
and renewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). Baptism is a
spiritual operation performed.
Col.2:11-13
11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made
without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh
by the circumcision of Christ: 12 Buried with him in baptism,
wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation
of God, who hath raised him from the dead. 13 And you, being
dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath
he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.
(KJV).
1 Pet 3:21
21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save
us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer
of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. (KJV).
So how can one become a Christian? Do what the early Christians
did. Hear the Gospel; Believe the gospel; Repent of your sins;
Confess Christ and finally be baptized for the remission of your
sins. This is what God says on the issue of salvation. God says
it; that settles it; I believe it.
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