Congratulations on accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! This study is designed to help you to better understand what it means to be a Christian.
Jesus Christ is the sinless son of God. He came to earth to die for us. Upon living a sinless life he offered himself as a sacrifice for us on the cross. Jesus bore the penalty for the sins of the entire world while he was on the cross. God showed his acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice by raising him from the dead three days after he was buried. Now all who believe these things about Christ and trust him as their Lord and Saviour will be saved.
• 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.10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Q. According to those verses if we confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead, we will be s_______________.
The Bible has many different terms which describe the life-changing decision that you have made. The Bible calls this “salvation”, “being saved”, “being born-again”, and “becoming a child of God”, among other things. All of these terms describe the exact same thing.
• Look up John 3:16 and fill in the blanks: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have _____________________________________.
• Look up John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath ________________
_________________: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
According to those verses, when you expressed to God that you believed in His Son, Jesus Christ and asked Him to save you, you received everlasting life. You were saved from the penalty of sin, which is death in Hell.
• Look up John 6:40. Q. What did Jesus say he would do for everyone that believes on him? A. I will ____________________________________.
The Bible says it is appointed unto man once to die. Everyone will die, but as Christians we can be assured that this is not the end for us. We have everlasting life waiting for us in Heaven.
Heaven is now your Home
• Jesus said in John 14:2: In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
The word mansions here does not mean a large luxurious house, it simply means “a place”. Now that you are saved you can be assured that there is a place just for you in Heaven where Jesus is.
God is now your Father
In the sixth chapter of the book of Mark, Jesus teaches us how we should pray.
• Look up Matt 6:9. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our ____________ which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
• Write out Galatians 3:26 _______________________________________
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When you put your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour you became a child of God. You can now refer to God in heaven as your “Heavenly Father”.
Having God as your Heavenly Father brings with it great privileges. Consider the following as a couple of examples.
Your Heavenly Father wants to provide for you
In your Bible look up the Matthew 6:25-34 and try to answer the following questions.
Q. Who feeds the birds? (look at verse 26) ________________________.
Q. What do you think Jesus was trying to teach us by his question at the end of verse 26? “Are ye not much better than they?”
Q. What did God promise to do for you in verse 30? ____________________.
Q. What does our Heavenly Father know? ____________________________.
God as our Heavenly Father has promised to provide for us, we do not need to spend our life anxiously worrying about the future. Because he is a good Father, he will always provide for our needs.
Your Heavenly Father wants only what is good for you
• Look up Romans 8:28 and fill in the blanks: And we know that _________ things work together for _______________ to them that _________________, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Although everything we experience might not seem good, we can be sure that it will all work together for good in the end. Our Heavenly Father does all things for a purpose and we can be assured that he is always in control.
• Look up Matthew 7:11. Q. What will our Heavenly Father give us if we ask him?
Matthew 10:29 tells us that God is so involved in his creation that he even cares for every bird that falls to the ground. He knows you on such a personal level that “the very hairs of your head are all numbered”. Jesus said these things and then followed them by saying “Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.”
Sometimes as we raise our children we have to do things that do not seem to be pleasant to them. We take them to the dentist, we discipline them, we might deny them things that they want. We don’t do these things to hurt them or to be mean, we do them because we feel we know what is best for them. They might not understand it at the time, but ultimately they will realize we only wanted what was good for them.
Our Heavenly Father is the same way. We might not always feel like what we are going through is fair or good, but we must always remember that God is in control. He loves us and everything he does in our lives works out in the end for good.
The Church is now your family
Now that you are saved, you have not only gained a new Heavenly Father but you have become a part of the “family of God”. Ephesians 3:14-15 refers to all Christians as “the whole family in heaven and earth”. As you begin to grow as a Christian you will find your friendships with fellow Christians to be some of the most important and special relationships that you have.
You will hear other Christians refer to each other as “brother” or even “sister”. This custom traces itself all the way back to Jesus Christ himself when he said: Matthew 12:50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
One of the sure evidences that someone is a Christian is the fact that they enjoy being around other Christians. Be sure to take part in whatever church activities you can and seek to make friends out of your fellow church members.
So far we have seen some of the privileges we have as Christians, but what responsibilities has God given us? Here are a few things to consider.
Bible Reading
Jesus said in Luke 4:4, “It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”
• Look up 1 Peter 2:2 and fill in the blanks: As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the ___________, that ye may ______________ thereby:
The Bible is so essential to the Christian life that it is often compared to food. Job said “I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.”
We can’t grow as Christians if we don’t read the Bible. The Bible contains God’s perfect revelation of himself to man. It teaches us how to live and how not to live. It has stories of great Christians of the past, it has books of wisdom, poetry, history and prophecy all of which can teach and encourage us. As a Christian you ought to read a portion of scripture every day!
Prayer
• Write out 1 Thessalonians 5:17 __________________________________.
• Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in _______________________ by _________________ and supplication with thanksgiving let your _____________________ be made known unto _______________.
As Christians we have access to our Heavenly Father through prayer. To “pray without ceasing” means to pray all day about everything. We don’t have to kneel down to pray. We can pray while we drive, while we work, while we’re at home or at school. To pray is simply to talk to God. We pray to thank him for what he has done for us and to make requests of him.
Consider reading Matt 6:9-14 where Jesus outlines the proper way to pray.
Now, although we ought to pray all day there should also be a deliberate time set aside in the morning or night (or both) when we have a quality time of prayer. You should schedule this daily time of prayer and begin it with a time of Bible reading. What would be a good time for you to sit and read God’s word, followed by a time of prayer? _______________________________.
As you read God’s word and pray be willing to obey the things which you learn from the Bible. With these three things – Bible reading, Prayer and Obedience, you will begin to grow as a Christian!
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