Three Minutes in Theology How to Become a Christian

How a Person Becomes a Christian

It's In Theology, I'm Alan Nelson,.

Pastor of Perryville Second Baptist Church in Central Arkansas. Today's subject is this, how does a person become a Christian? It'll be a very long answer, but briefly answer that in just a couple of minutes.

There's no more important question, really, we can ask for the state of every soul. In Mark chapter one, verse 15, Jesus says, the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.

The Gospel of Christ's Life, Death, and Resurrection

The good news of the gospel is that Jesus came, born of the Virgin Mary, he lived a perfect and righteous life, righteously fulfilled the law on our behalf, died on the cross for our sins, and he rose again on the third day.

Repentance, Faith, and Coming to Christ

Now, how does one become a Christian? We don't just affirm these facts in and of our minds or whatever, we repent, we turn from our sins, we turn away from sin and self and doing things our own way, and we put our faith in Christ, really, faith and repentance are two sides of the same coin.

Faith is not just an intellectual ascent either, faith is, and I give the illustration of a bridge, if you look at a bridge and you say, yes, I understand what this bridge does, it lets cars move from one side of the river to the other side, and then you go down and you look under the bridge and you say, no, I really believe that this bridge will do what it's intended to do, the cars will really come up, you have not yet exercised faith in the bridge.

When you exercise faith in the bridge is when you cross the bridge. Well, the bridge is Christ. How does one become a Christian? They must turn from their sins and they must believe the gospel, they must put their faith in Christ, they must come to Christ and rest in Christ.

Grace Alone, Faith Alone, and the New Birth

It's only by grace alone through faith alone that God receives sinful men. Now we know what lies behind this repentance and faith is the sovereign operations of God. Jesus says in John chapter three to Nicodemus, you must be born again.

When he says to Nicodemus, you must be born again, he's telling him not what Nicodemus must do, but what he must be, he must be regenerated by the sovereign and gracious work of the Holy Spirit. But here's the reality, we don't put ourselves in that realm, we don't climb into the realm of the sovereignty of God and see the mysterious operations of the Spirit, rather, we do what we are commanded and that is preach to people to repent of their sins and believe the gospel.

They are called to put their faith holy in Christ, in Christ alone, not in the works of the law, not in the works of their hand, not in their family lineage, but to put their faith in the finished work of Christ, to trust him completely as Lord and Savior of their lives, turning from sin, turning from self and looking to Christ alone as their only suitable and all-sufficient Savior.

That is the only way that a person becomes a Christian. I hope that you're looking to Christ today. Trust him with your life.