Are You A Christian?

John 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Not all who claim Christianity are Christians. Many will claim Jesus and claim the works they have done as their proof.

(Matthew 7:22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

Yet, they have not done what is necessary to be a Christian. Many will claim their Infant Baptism, and others will claim their Adult Baptism. Most will include their morality along with their works and/or Baptism.

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Our scripture is clear: None of these “make” a person a Christian. Jesus tells us:

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

John 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

Jesus may leave us with the question: “How are we “born again?” It all begins with belief. Jesus tells us:

John 3:15-17 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

To “be born again,” we must “believe” that Jesus is “[H]is [God’s] only begotten Son.” This must be a sincere belief. With this “belief” Salvation is granted. (We also read that this Salvation is an “everlasting life.”)

Some may believe that “their past lives” will hinder them from being accepted by Jesus. Yet, if we read John 3:16 (quoted above) we see that Jesus tells us “that whosoever believeth in him should not perish.” Consider the word “whosoever.” This word is “all inclusive.” It includes the “worst of the worst,” the “best of the best,” and “everyone” in between.

God sent Jesus to the earth to save ALL of the lost.

Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

The actual simplicity of Salvation is what many of us consider impossible. Their thoughts: “I must do something to earn this Salvation. In my past, I have been so horrible that God could or would never allow me into His realm.”

Our Bible is full of stories about men and women that had horrible pasts. God not only saved them, but also used them in mighty ways. (Rahab the Harlot, the woman at the well, King David, Saul of Tarsus, etc.)

“Reader, have you called on Jesus’ name for your Salvation?” If not, today is the day. God tells us in:

Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

All God asks is that you believe. (Believe what?) That God “so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,” or “believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,” or what God tells us in His Word about His Son Jesus’ doctrine. Then “confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus.” This is not going to a “phone booth” and telling one person. This is confessing to all you know, and some you don’t know. When this conviction has taken place, (and in your heart, you know that Jesus The Christ is your Saviour, and have “Confessed” it to others,) Salvation by God is yours.

Be obedient: submit yourself for Baptism at a conservative Bible preaching Church. Then attend faithfully.

You are a Christian.

Bro John R. E Chastain

Retired Pastor

Wylie, Texas

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