How to become a Christian

The message of Christ is simple. He has made possible for you what you could never do for yourself. You can receive total forgiveness and have peace with God. Here's How?

Admit to God what He already knows about you.

  Stop trying to cover your guilt. Admit to God what He already knows about you- that you have not obeyed Him, you have lived life on your own terms and not on His terms.( See Romans 3:23) You are guilty before Him, and you do not have any good excuse.

Place your trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sin.

  Without Christ you are powerless to clean up your life to make you worthy before God. He willingly chose to live life as a human, without sinning, to die on the cross, and He came back from death to pay for the guilt of your sin and to give you the strength to live for God. When you place your trust in Jesus that He has paid for your sin, His payment is credited to you. ( See John 3:16) You now receive the spiritual power to live for God.

Stop insisting on living life your way.

  Once you admit your guilt, now turn away from insisting on living life your way. Give God what He deserves --- the right to direct your life based on His truth rather than you directing your own life based on what you think is best even when it goes against God’s teaching. ( See Acts 3:19 )

Acknowledge Jesus as God and the Master of your life.

  Jesus revealed Himself to be the one true God. His offer of forgiveness and new life is only genuine because of that fact. No one else can offer it. As you receive His offer of forgiveness, you acknowledge that He is God, the Master of your life. You place Him as the number one priority of your life. ( See Romans 10:9-10 ) Now all the rest of your life is to be lived with this thought in mind, “ What does my Lord Jesus want me to do?”

What should I do once I become a Christian?  

  Find a church where you can grow as a follower of Christ. In a lot of ways you are like a newborn baby in a spiritual sense. You need to be cared for and taught more about how to live as a follower of Jesus Christ. Jesus created the church as the way for His followers to be cared for and to learn about His teaching. If you are not already a part of a church, we invite you to join with us at Alberta Baptist Church in this journey of following Jesus Christ. ( See Hebrews 10: 24-25 )

Experience the ceremony of water baptism.

  Jesus commanded that those who choose to follow him should be immersed in water as a means of physically symbolizing the spiritual reality of what has happened to them. Just as Jesus died, was buried, and raised again to new life, your descent into water depicts that your old life is dead and buried, and emerging from the water depicts that you have been given new life in Jesus Christ. (See Matthew 28: 19-20 & Romans 6:3-4 )

Study the Bible.

  To be a follower of Christ, you need to know what He desires from you. The Bible contains the answers to life’s deepest questions and will provide the help you need to live each day as a Christian. ( See 2 Timothy 3: 16-17 )

Live by the power of the Holy Spirit

When you trusted Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, the Holy Spirit came into your life to enable you to say no to sin and to say yes to God. You do not become perfect suddenly, but now you will find strength to do what you could never do before. Now you can please God by your life as you submit your will to Him. This is being led by His Spirit. ( See Galatians 5:16 )