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What is a Christian?
In
its simplest terms, a Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ, the son
of the living God. So how do we demonstrate that we are His followers?
Christians...
- accept
Christ as being one with the Father (John
10:30)
- understand
that salvation and eternal life are gifts from God and are ours through
Christ, not through a way of our own choosing (Proverbs 16:25, Romans 6:23)
- accept
that we have sinned, but know that His sacrifice provides for the
forgiveness of those sins (Ephesians
1:7)
- know Him
as our shepherd, and are known by Him as His sheep (John 10:14)
- place
dedication to the principles of Christ above our own desires. (Matthew 16:24)
- give Him
more than just lip service (Matthew
7:21)
- love one
another as He has loved us (John
13:34)
 Why become a Christian?
- Christ
died for us, even though we were sinners (Romans
5:8)
- Christ
alone is the way to God, the Father (John
14:6)
- Christ is
the one true mediator between God and man (1
Timothy 2:5)
- God has
sent Christ to be our savior (1
John 4:14)
- There is
eternal life in Christ (Romans 6:23)
How do
I become a Christian?
Why baptism?
What is
baptism?
- A rite
that was ordered for believers. (Acts
10:48)
- An act
done in the name of Jesus. (Acts 8:36-38;
Acts 10:48)
- Described
in the scriptures as a burial. (Romans
6:3,4)
- Defined
by Bible dictionaries as "plunging, dipping, immersing, submerging."
- An action
that always involved going to a place where there was enough water, not
bringing a small amount of water to the candidate; archeology shows
early baptisteries as pools of water.
Who is to be baptized?
Why should I be baptized?
What then? After I become a Christian, what?
Upon your
baptism, you are added to Christ's church -- the total of all people
who have obeyed Him (Acts 2:37-47).
Christ and His church are inseparable. He gave Himself for the church (Acts 20:28) and is the head and
Savior of His church (Ephesians
1:22-23; Colossians
1:18). Christ is Lord of everything, including daily work
responsibilities and relationships (Ephesians
5:21-6:9).
The church,
the body of believers, shares the Lord's supper (communion) as a
memorial to Christ's death on the first day of each week (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:17-32),
sings hymns of praise (Ephesians
5:18-20), prays (Acts 2:42;
1
Thessalonians 5:17), receives God's word in teaching (Acts 2:42), and encourages each
other (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
Christ's
followers show the presence of Christ in their lives by both their
words and their deeds (Colossians
3:17).
| Verses Cited |
John
10:29,30
|
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater
than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the
Father are one. |
| Proverbs
16:25 |
There is a way that seems right to a man, but
in the end it leads to death. |
| Romans
6:23 |
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of
God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. |
| Ephesians
1:7 |
In him we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace. |
| John 10:14 |
I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my
sheep know me. |
| Matthew
16:24 |
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone
would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and
follow me." |
| Matthew
7:21 |
Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will
enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father
who is in heaven. |
| John 13:34 |
A new command I give you: Love one another. As
I have loved you, so must you love one another. By this all men will
know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. |
| Romans 5:8 |
But God demonstrates his own love for us in
this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. |
| John 14:6 |
I am the way and the truth and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me. |
| 1
Timothy 2:5 |
For there is one God and one mediator between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus. |
| I John
4:14 |
And we have seen and testify that the Father
has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. |
| Romans
6:23 |
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of
God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. |
| Romans
1:16 |
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is
the power of God for salvation of everyone who believes: first for the
Jew, then for the Gentile. |
| Acts 3:19 |
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your
sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. |
| Acts 17:30 |
In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but
now he commands all people everywhere to repent. |
| Romans
10:9 |
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is
Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you
will be saved. |
| Mark 16:16 |
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved,
but whoever does not believe will be condemned. |
| Acts 22:16 |
And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be
baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name. |
| Romans
6:3-4 |
Or don't you know that all of us who were
baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were
therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that,
just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the
Father, we too may live a new life. |
| Acts 10:48 |
So he ordered that they be baptized in the name
of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days. |
| Acts 8:36-38 |
As they traveled along the road, they came to
some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I
be baptized?" Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you
may." The eunuch answered, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of
God." Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and
Philip baptized him. |
| Romans 6:3-4 |
Or don't you know that all of us who were
baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were
therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that,
just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the
Father, we too may live a new life. |
| Mark 16:15,16 |
He said to them, "Go into all the world and
preach the good news to all creation. Whosoever believes and is
baptized will be saved, but whosoever does not believe will be
condemned." |
| Acts 18:8 |
Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire
household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard
him believed and were baptized. |
| Acts 2:41 |
Those who accepted his message were baptized,
and about three thousand were added to their number that day. |
| Acts 2:38 |
Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every
one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your
sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." |
| Matthew
28:19-20 |
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. |
| Acts 22:16 |
And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be
baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name. |
| Galatians 3:27 |
... for all of you who were baptized into
Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. |
| 1
Corinthians 12:13 |
For we were all baptized by one spirit into one
body - whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free - and we were all given
the one Spirit to drink. |
| Acts
2:37-47 |
When the people heard this, they were cut to
the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what
shall we do?" Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you
will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and
your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our
God will call." With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded
with them "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." Those who
accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added
to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles'
teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs
were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had
everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to
anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the
temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with
glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the
people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being
saved. |
| Acts 20:28 |
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of
which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the
church of God, which he bought with his own blood. |
| Ephesians
1:22-23 |
And God placed all things under his feet and
appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his
body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. |
| Colossians
1:18 |
And he is the head of the body, the church; he
is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in
everything he might have the supremacy. |
| Ephesians
5:21-6:9 |
Submit to one another out of reverence for
Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband
is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body,
of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also
wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love
your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the
word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain
or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same
way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who
loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own
body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the
church--for we are members of his body. "For this reason a man will
leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will
become one flesh." This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about
Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife
as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. Children,
obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father
and mother"--which is the first commandment with a promise--"that it
may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the
training and instruction of the Lord. Slaves, obey your earthly masters
with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would
obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on
you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.
Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because
you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does,
whether he is slave or free. And masters, treat your slaves in the same
way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their
Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him. |
| Acts 20:7 |
On the first day of the week we came together
to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to
leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. |
| I
Corinthians 11:17-32 |
In the following directives I have no praise
for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place,
I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions
among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be
differences among you to show which of you have God's approval. When
you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, for as you eat,
each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains
hungry, another gets drunk. Don't you have homes to eat and drink in?
Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have
nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this?
Certainly not! For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to
you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when
he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is
for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper
he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do
this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For whenever you
eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until
he comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the
Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body
and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of
the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without
recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.
That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have
fallen sleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under
judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so
that we will not be condemned with the world. |
| Ephesians
5:18-20 |
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to
debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another
with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your
heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for
everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
| Acts 2:42 |
They devoted themselves to the apostles'
teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. |
| I
Thessalonians 5:17 |
Pray continually. |
| I
Thessalonians 5:11 |
Therefore encourage one another and build each
other up, just as in fact you are doing. |
| Colossians
3:17 |
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed,
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the
Father through him. |
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