What is Being A Christian?Top of Form Ephesians 4:29-32 tells us, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Matthew 5:48 states, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Again, we hear a statement that sounds pretty simple but turns out to be difficult. Remember being told to try harder and act like God would want you to act. How many times have you struggled to be good? How many times have you thought about just quitting the Christian thing and relaxing to do whatever you wanted to do? It seems like when a person gets off track it is almost impossible to recover. The harder a person tries the more frustrating it becomes. Sometimes it seems like we are just too far gone or just not strong enough to fight the temptations. Being a good Christian is just too hard, and the devil makes it easy to quit.
Being a Christian is difficult because we must now confront our lives from a different worldview that comes with a new set of values—God’s values. We are immersed in a world system that trumpets its ideals and slanders anyone who demurs. Before we are saved, we accept what the world says without even thinking about it. We don’t know anything else. After we are saved, our eyes are opened to the truth, and we can perceive the lies of the world. Fighting against those lies can be difficult. (Got Questions, 2021 ) Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Again, it sounds easy but will be difficult. We can see our faults, we understand what needs to be done, and we continue to fail. The Christian “bar” is always just out of reach.
“There has truly never been a time in my(our) life that being a Christian and having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ hasn’t been worth it. However, just because it has always been worth it, doesn’t mean it’s always been easy. It has been difficult sometimes battling between what society says my(our) life should be like and what God, the One who created my(our) life, says my(our) life should be like. But I truly believe that now, more than ever before, though it may sometimes be hard to be a Christian in today’s society, it’s also the most important thing you should be holding on to in this world. (Ceron, 2017) Romans 5:3-5 told us to rejoice in our suffering because it produced endurance, endurance produced character, character produced hope, all of which allows us to endure difficult situations. Have you ever noticed that God works hardest in difficult situations? Romans 12:2 goes on to say, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfectwill of God.” God is not concerned with our comfort level. God is concerned that we will call Him and seek Him when we find ourselves in a situation that we cannot control. Society will tempt us in so many ways that it is impossible to recognize everything.
“The Christian life demands change and the toughest kind. It often means turning from the things that come easiest—things that satisfy our natural urges. But the ability to freely choose to say no to our urges and impulses is what makes us distinctly human. (This is why we do not lock up dogs and chimpanzees for rape and murder.) To say no—and yes! —at the right time is what makes humans happy. This is true freedom. Christianity is an invitation to actualize the human destiny of everlasting happiness; and through the Church, God has provided the roadmap to get us there. Christianity is hard because it aims to soften hearts. One of the tough facts of Christianity is that we must face up to the fact that we are fallen. We are often not what we ought to be.” (Nelson, 2018) Mr. Nelson reminds us that another challenge is the fact we have “Free Will” and that we live in a time of hedonism, “age of Self-Sedation, and the “choose your own way mentality.” The constant pursuit of pleasure, sensual self-indulgence, alcohol and Drug abuse, and the pursuit of “Me” first makes it impossible be follow the Christian message. We are bombarded 24/7 with visions and messages of sex, violence, and deviant behavior on the radio and television. The MTV song of the year title is so vulgar that I cannot type it in a message that decent people would be reading. Everywhere we read warns us that a person cannot fight the battle against sin, evil, and the destruction of society by themselves. No matter where a person turns there is a message that God and Heaven do not exist. A weak and tired person could easily succumb to this evil and destructive message.
The great 17th-century mathematician Blaise Pascal created a wager with his non-believing friend. He told his friend that being a Christian was worth the effort. He reminded everyone that if you believe in Christ you stood to win eternal life and if not, you would lose everything. Pascal stated, “If God does not exist, it does not matter how you wager, for there is nothing to win after death and nothing to lose after death. But if God does exist, your only chance of winning eternal happiness is to believe, and your only chance of losing it is to refuse to believe. As Pascal says, ‘I should be much more afraid of being mistaken and then finding out that Christianity is true than of being mistaken in believing it to be true.’” (Kreeft, 2021) This is truly a bet that any thinking person would not want to lose. An eternal life in Heaven with Jesus or if you lose an eternal life of fire and brimstone with the Devil.
So how do we become a Christian and live a life worthy of eternal life? Again, it sounds easy and it depends on the individual if it is difficult or something we all can manage. It is not by anything we can do that will earn us the right to Heaven, but it is what Jesus has already done for us. We should realize and appreciate that we do not have to try so very hard to earn our Heavenly trip. All we have to do is ask Jesus, belief in Jesus, trust Jesus, and honor Jesus. The directions to become a Christian are written on the back of our weekly bulletin at Church. It states a person must make a public profession of faith in Jesus and become baptized. John 3:16 states, “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” God paid the price, all we have to do is to ask, believe, and trust. Matthew 11:28-30 goes on to say, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Being a good Christian rests entirely upon each of us. It is up to us to fight the good fight and resist evil. God knew us before we were born and gave us every tool we need to succeed in our lives on earth and our eternal life. We need to constantly thank God for our many blessings and ask for forgiveness for our daily sins. We must be diligent in our actions and not be fooled by Satan. We all have the ability to be good Christians.
Ceron, K. (2017, 4 17). Odyssey. Retrieved from Why It’s Hard to be a Christian in Today’s Society: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/christ-over-society
Got Questions. (2021 , 4 26). Retrieved from In What Way is Being a Christian Difficult: https://www.gotquestions.org/being-a-Christian.html
Kreeft, P. (2021, 6). Peter Kreeft. Retrieved from The SArguement from Pascal’s Wager: https://www.peterkreeft.com/topics/pascals-wager.htm
Nelson, M. (2018, 11 14). Word on Fire Blog. Retrieved from The Challenge of Being a Christian: https://www.wordonfire.org/resources/blog/the-challenge-of-being-a-christian/4921/