How to Become a Follower of Jesus Christ

God wants to rescue you.

I recently read about a celebrity who was dying of cancer at a young age. She said she felt she had done enough good work during her life that she expected to enter heaven’s gate.

Many people are confused about how to become a Christian. Some think they are a Christian because they were born into a Christian family. Others think they are a Christian because they have church membership. Neither is true. You become a Christian (daily follower of Jesus Christ) only when you repent of your sins and receive forgiveness from Jesus, the Son of God. Here are the dynamics of this personal decision.

The Dynamics of Decision

How does a person drowning in sin raise their hand and scream, “Rescue me!”? How can a person continue to follow the Savior who rescued them? These are profound questions, but they can be visualized like this.

The Three Triangles

Let’s take a look at the three numbered triangles. They represent how we are rescued from our sins and can live Holy Spirit-empowered lives.

Triangle 1

The foundation of all is faith in Jesus Christ. He came to Earth proclaiming he was the Son of God to rescue each of us from our sins, and our obligation is to put our trust in Him. The promise is found in John 3:16 in the Bible. God asks each human to express their own will when it comes to allowing themselves to be rescued. Jesus Christ reaches out to people, but each must respond individually.

Sadly, not all will believe. These types of non-believers fall into two main groups.

The first are those who purposely reject God. They may be atheists who believe in no god, or they may have put their faith in other gods or some humanistic lifestyle. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6), so such people have no connection to the True, Living God.
The second group say they are Christians but but prove they are not by their actions. They may put on a big act, but in the end, they renounce Jesus as Lord. We call them apostates.

Jesus wants to transform usy, but it comes with a cost. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

Triangle 2

At the moment of our expression of belief in him, God validates our rescue by giving us the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. We gain spiritual union with Christ. That spiritual transaction is what enables us to have eternal life.

Ephesians 1:13 says, “When you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” You cannot lose your salvation. In John 5:24 it says, “I assure you: Anyone who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.” Our bodies will wear out and die, but “in Christ” (Colossians 1:27) we live forever.

Triangle 3

The Lord wants us to keep a close connection with him. We can do that through prayer, Bible study, thinking Godly thoughts, and doing acts of kindness in his name.

Even though we gain spiritual union with Christ when we believe we are still humans. As humans, we constantly combat fleshly desires. A good many of these carnal activities, but not all, are mentioned in the Bible in Galatians 5:19-21. Yes, even when we are “in Christ,” we are prone to sin, and that breaks the spiritual communion we have with our Lord.

What do we do about that sin? We quickly recognize it and ask Jesus to forgive us. Some people think 1 John 1:9 is the most wonderful verse in the Bible for Christians. It says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” This verse was a message to followers of Christ, not unbelievers.

We maintain a close relationship with our Lord by avoiding sin and then repenting it when and if it happens. Sin fractures our relationship with Jesus Christ, but it does not break it. Our spiritual standing with the Lord does not change, but our human state will vary due to our innate sinful nature.

Become a Follower of Christ

Jesus Christ wants you to repent of your sins so he can forgive you and give you new life in him.

Become a Christian by:

Identifying your sins and repenting of them. Some say “their sin” is not sin. God will not rescue such people. Honestly acknowledge your sins to God and repent of them and abandon them.
Committing to follow Jesus’ teachings as revealed in the Bible. This means learning what he said and meant and doing it in your daily life. You commit to becoming a disciple of Christ regardless of the personal cost.
Praying to the Lord to begin your spiritual journey. Confess your sins to God in prayer, repent of them, and experience the indwelling of God’s Spirit who provides daily direction.

As Romans 10:9-10 says:

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

You will receive a new life and hope. Challenges of all kinds will continue to come, but God’s Spirit will be in you and will guide and comfort you. Jesus Christ offer help for today and hope for eternity (Colossians 1:27).