I grew up calling myself a Christian because I went to church and prayed sometimes. I knew about Jesus, but I didn’t really know Jesus. I wasn’t a true Christian. I felt distant from God and didn’t understand his great love for me.
I’m not alone.
According to the 2023-2024 Pew Research study on religion in the United States, 62% of adults describe themselves as Christian. Yet, many among them reject core tenets of Christianity. The State of Theology survey claims that 56% of “Christians” believe that God accepts all religions and 43% believe that Jesus to be a great teacher, but not God. A study by Arizona Christian University concludes that 89% of professed Christians reject the Trinity. These statistics stand in stark contrast to what the Bible teaches.
How do I know I’m a Christian?
Believe Jesus Saves
The Bible states that Jesus is the only way to God. He said to Thomas, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 ESV) Paul said in 1 Corinthians 8:6, “Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” (ESV)
Believing Jesus to be more than a great teacher, but also God in the flesh, is key to true Christianity. If Jesus isn’t God, then how can he save us from our sins? A mere teacher could not have such power! The New Testament proves Jesus’ deity. Jesus claimed to be God. His disciples believed and taught this truth, worshipped him, and died for their faith in him.
Believing Jesus died for your sins to save you is vital to becoming a Christian, but there’s more.
Repent of Your Sins
Repentance, or agreeing with God about your sin, begins the process called sanctification. Saying you believe in Jesus, and attending a church on occasion, doesn’t make you a Christian. James says, “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” (James 2:19 NKJV) Just because you’re in a garage, doesn’t make you a car. A true Christian is one transformed from the inside out, sanctified in Christ.
Peter says in Acts 3:19, “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.” (ESV) To start, you need to admit your sins. But notice, the verse also says to “turn back.” That means that you allow God to transform your life, putting off the old self and putting on the new self, as Paul describes sanctification in Ephesians 4:22-24.
According to James, “But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:18 ESV) This is not to say that we are saved by works, but that the way we live our life will be the evidence that we have allowed God to change us from the inside out. The good works become a natural part of our lifestyle.
Experience the Holy Spirit
The evidence of Christ’s transformation on our life comes to us supernaturally because Christians have God’s Holy Spirit living in them. We can’t experience this transformation of sanctification in our life without the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus prepared his disciples for his death and resurrection, he said to them, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.” (John 14:16 ESV) After Jesus’s resurrection, Acts 2 describes how he ascended into Heaven and the Holy Spirit came to believers.
I remember the exact moment when I became a Christian. I felt a physical warmth rush over me. A few years later when I learned about the baptism of the Holy Spirit I realized the rush of warmth I felt had to have been the Holy Spirit. I felt different. Something inside of me changed and I gained a deep hunger for God’s Word and a great desire to learn what being a Christian meant. This inward change occurs whether your experience with the Holy Spirit is physical or not. Everyone experiences the Holy Spirit in different ways.
When God takes hold of your heart by the power of his Holy Spirit, you will experience inward change, though this transformation won’t usually happen overnight. You become conformed to be more like Jesus over time. Some changes will be immediate, while others take root over the course of the rest of your life as you learn and grow in your relationship with God through the power of his Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit, as part of the triune God, is apparent throughout scripture. Jesus demonstrates the power of the Trinity in our lives as believers when he told his disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19 ESV) This verse reveals the truth of the triune God the best. Why would Jesus command them to baptize in the Holy Spirit as well as the Son, if they weren’t both equal with God the Father? This passage also exhibits the power of the Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) in our lives as believers.
To be assured that you’re a Christian, you need to be born again. This means choosing to genuinely surrender to Christ as the only way to God, repent of your sins, and accept God’s sanctification of your life through his Holy Spirit. Then you will experience that great desire to learn about Jesus and allow him to work in your life.
Has this article confirmed your faith? Or have you re-evaluated your faith? Whichever the case, I encourage you to discuss this article with a friend.
Bethany Marinelli is an author and speaker out of Orlando, Florida. She also supports her husband, Andrew, in his auto repair business and homeschools her son, Arthur.
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