How I Became a Christian
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” John 3:16-21 (NKJV)
It happened almost fifty years ago. I went to a Lutheran Sunday School as a young child and later faithfully attended a Christian Science Sunday School for the next twelve years until I went to college. While in high school, one student stood out among his peers because he always carried a big Bible. I tried to avoid him. However, he and I were the only men in my graduating class to be accepted into a special accelerated program at a state university about an hour away. As providence would have it, we became dormitory roommates for two years.
David believed the Bible, including the account of a six-day creation. He was pursuing a degree in Biology and teaching to better defend and communicate his faith. He was an Independent Baptists and wanted to become a pastor. He prayed for me and tried to share his faith. However, I was not too open and preferred to debate with him instead. One day I found a pamphlet on my desk which documented the origins of Christian Science and how its teachings conflicted with the Bible. I read it but wasn’t sure how I could win a debate with a pamphlet! However, it did cause me to question the teachings of Christian Science and I became open to the possibility that I was wrong.
My roommate was like a John the Baptist for me. He was sent by God to prepare the way for me to come to Christ. Although it took a couple of years to soften my heart, he did the hard work. He prepared the soil and watered the seed through his life, witness, and prayers. But God used someone else to reap what he had sown.
On a late Friday afternoon in April a friend had invited me to a meeting in a local home where a free home-cooked dinner would be provided. I had planned to head home for the weekend and visit with my parents and family. After waiting over an hour for the Trailways bus, I decided instead to take my friend up on his offer. The opportunity for a free home-cooked meal at a nice home was too much of a temptation for this college dorm student to pass by! I was trying to redeem the evening but God had something much bigger and better in mind.
My friend drove us to the home of the top IBM salesman in the area. It was filled with high-school and college-aged students as it had been on many previous Friday evenings. I was favorably impressed by the friendliness of the people and the hospitality of the host who provided all of the food. After enjoying a nice dinner, I tried to join in as everyone was singing songs about Jesus, accompanied by two guitarists. But I felt out of place like the proverbial bucket under a bull. After the music was over, everyone broke into separate groups.
I joined the other first-timers in a group led by a young man with a very loving and radiant smile. After everyone introduced themselves, he told us a story about a just judge who was also a loving father. He explained how the judge’s only son had gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd and was involved in a tragic event that ended in the murder of an innocent person. The trial was to be held by the judge who was unable to recuse himself.
The judge listened attentively as the evidence mounted against his son, pointing to his guilt in a first-degree murder charge. In a heart-wrenching moral dilemma, the judge was torn between his impeccable justice and the deep love he had for his son. Justice demanded the execution of his son but love wanted to find another way. The teacher asked us if anyone had an answer to this tragic dilemma.
After waiting for several minutes with no response, we heard the judge’s sentence: “Guilty of murder in the first degree! A life for a life!” Then the judge removed his judicial robe, stepped down from the bench, and presented himself to the bailiff to be taken away. His love and justice would both be satisfied as he surrendered himself to be executed for the murder his son had committed.
The young man with the radiant smile then explained that this was exactly what God had done by sending His Son to die for us. Jesus’s death satisfied God’s love and justice and made it possible for us to be reconciled to Him. He then gave another example. He took out his wallet and said, “Let this wallet represent your sin.” After setting it down, he clasped his two hands together in an interlocking oneness and said, “This represents the original relationship and fellowship God had with man.” He then pulled one hand away from the other and clenched it into a fist as he explained how man rebelled against God. He then placed his wallet in the hand that had pulled away as he explained how our sin separates us from God.
We saw the two hands could not come together because the wallet (our sin) separated them. The teacher then took the wallet from the other hand and set it on the floor as he explained how Jesus took away our sins through His death on the cross. He then explained that Jesus left our sins in the grave as He rose from the dead and demonstrated this as one hand left the wallet on the floor. The teacher then explained how we could be reconciled to God if acknowledged our sin, were willing to turn from it (repent), and receive Jesus Christ as our Savior and follow Him. He then reached up with the one hand to grasp the other hand which was waiting to receive it. Then the two hands interlocked again as one. He assured us that we would then go to heaven if we received Jesus into our lives (John 3:16; 1 John 5:13). But I had a hard time believing I had a sin problem until I heard the next illustration.
Suppose someone stole your furniture when you were not at home and got caught after selling the furniture and spending all the money. He then comes before the judge and reasons, “Your honor, I think you should let me off because I passed by dozens of houses and did not steal their furniture. The good I did by not stealing their furniture far outweighs the bad of stealing the furniture from this one house. And this is only my first offense.” Suppose the judge accepts his reasoning and lets him off. You would probably be pretty upset but could live with the result because your house was insured.
Now suppose you spent your insurance money and bought a house full of new furniture. Then the same thief comes by and steals all your furniture again, while you are on vacation. He sells it, spends the money, gets caught, and comes before the same judge as before. He tells the judge, “I’ve passed by hundreds of houses since the last time and did not steal their furniture. The good I did by not stealing their furniture far outweighs the bad I did by stealing the furniture from this one house. And, besides, this is only my second offense!” Suppose the judge accepts his reasoning and, once again, lets him off. By now you would rightfully be ticked off at that judge and think, “This is not justice at all!”
Because your insurance was canceled, you have to empty out your bank account and buy some decent used furniture as you try to get on with your life. While you are visiting some friends for an afternoon, this same thief comes by and steals your furniture again! He sells it, spends all the money, gets caught, and comes before the same judge. He uses the same reasoning as before, explaining that because he passed by thousands of houses without stealing their furniture and this is only his third offense, his good far outweighs the bad. The judge sides with him again and lets him off. By this time you should be furious and demand the impeachment of that judge! You know this isn’t justice at all!
The teacher explained how we often use the same reasoning as that furniture thief. We think if the good (in our own eyes) we have done outweighs the bad, God will not punish us for our sin. But this is not justice. We also often think God will be lenient with us and overlook our sin. But the Bible says God will by no means allow the guilty to go unpunished (Exodus 34:7). The Bible also says that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). But what is sin?
The teacher explained there are two kinds of sin. The first is the sin of commission when we do something we shouldn’t do. The second is the sin of omission where we fail to do something we should do. The word sin comes from an ancient Hebrew term which means to miss the mark. It is related to archery when the archer misses the bull’s eye and exclaims, “I have sinned!”
Sin also means to fall short of God’s standard of moral perfection. It included not just wrong actions but also evil thoughts, rotten attitudes, and unkind words. Through the Scriptures, He showed us that we all sinned and stood guilty before God. (“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23; KJV). “There is none righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10b; KJV).) But how many times have we sinned?
Suppose I woke up one morning and stubbed my toe and thought some bad thoughts -- a sin of commission. Then suppose I also said a few choice words to my spouse, blaming her because I stubbed my toe -- another sin of commission. To top it off, I did not have a thankful heart -- a sin of omission. I have already sinned three times before even getting out of my bedroom! Suppose you are much better than me and just sinned three times a day. Multiply that by the number of days in a year and you get over a thousand sins a year. Multiply that by your age and you see what I needed to see: We all have a sin problem.
We have each committed thousands and thousands of sins! There is no way the Just Judge can overlook thousands of sins, especially since He will not even overlook one. These illustrations helped me realize that I was a sinner and needed a savior. I realized I deserved to go to hell but Jesus paid for my sin so I could go to heaven.
The teacher asked if anyone had any questions. I asked him about the heathen and was given a pamphlet to read that would help answer my question. I took it back to the dorm and read it that night. After thinking about what I had heard and read, the next morning I decided to accept Jesus Christ into my life as my Savior and I started my journey with Him.
I didn’t know too much about what it meant to follow Jesus as Lord. I am still learning about that! How about you?
If you don’t know the Lord, you have no idea how much God loves you. The Holy Spirit grieves for you but He will not manipulate you. Do you want to know how much the Father loves you? He points to His Son and said, “I gave my Son for you. This is how much I love you.” Do you want to know how much Jesus loves you? He opened His arms as wide as they would go and said, “This much!” Then He died on the cross.
How You Can Become a Christian
Jesus died to reconcile us to God so we would know Him personally as our Father instead of as our Judge. He saves us from the wrath of God and receives us in love as His Bride so we can receive all the blessings of God throughout eternity! You need not delay but can receive Him today, if you are ready. If you would like Jesus to come into your life and heart, you can simply invite Him in with this simple prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, Thank You for dying on the cross for me to pay for my sins. I acknowledge I have failed to love God with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength and have not loved my neighbor as myself. Please come into my life and change me to be what You want me to be. Thank You for the gift of eternal life which I receive now by faith, trusting in Your Word. Amen.
To grow stronger in your new life as a follower (disciple) of Jesus Christ:
Read the Bible daily.
Talk to God in prayer often.
Find a Bible-believing church to join.
Regularly spend time with other Christians to share a meal and to learn more about the Lord.
Learn to trust God to help you share your faith with others so that they can know the Lord.
If You Just Accepted Christ into Your Life, Let Me Be the First to Say, "Welcome to the Family of God!"
This Website is dedicated to helping to fulfill the Great Commission of making disciples of Jesus Christ. My book, A Disciple's Journey: 26 Devotional Studies to Draw You Closer to Jesus, was written to help you become a better disciple of Jesus. It is a tool a pastor can use to help his congregation mature as Christians. It can be used in small groups or individually. In a small group setting, an introductory class of six weeks can be offered to enable participants to read five devotionals and the questions each week and interact with others in their class based on what they have read. Willing class participants can decide to continue by taking the full one-year course as a group. This will help them to develop stronger relationships with group members and will be a source of encouragement and prayer support to help them finish the course successfully. I hope there are those who will rise to the occasion and take the challenge.