Bible Study No 5


C H R I S T I A N S


What is it to be a Christian (converted, born again, saved)? We have the so called Americanism 'Born Again Christian', this is not an Americanism, it's our Lord's own words - ".... no one can see the Kingdom of God, unless he is born again" (Jn 3:5). Unfortunately a lot of Christians just leave it at that, along with the blessings of Pentecost. There is more to being a Christian than just calling Jesus into your life and your heart, and being baptised in the Holy Spirit and water. In all there are 15 points we should know of and strive to live up to, they are:

1. A New Birth (Jn 3:5,7).

Calling the Lord into your life.

2. A Growth (2 Pe 3:18).
To grow as Christians, we must love everyone, and show it - show them that we are not just saying it (paying lip service).

3. New Clothes (Isa 6:10).
Most of us know the chorus 'I delight greatly in the Lord', but by His word we have been clothed in garments of salvation and robes of righteousness - we are saved by His word and our own declaration - we must be righteous in His sight by both our words and deeds.

4. A Radiant Life (Mt 5:16).
We must let the light of the Lord shine forth from us and touch the unbeliever - so that they will want what we have got. We must radiate to all around and be a shining example to others.

5. Character Building (Mt 7:24).
We must build our character on the Lord, and His teachings, and be likened to wise men; and to practice what we teach (what we are taught by our Lord and Saviour).

6. A Fellowship (Lk 24:32).
We must always meet together to share the teachings of the Lord and Holy Scriptures, and to sing praises to the Lord our God.

7. A Sonship (Jn 1:12).
By His word we are all children of God. There is an old saying 'we are but small cogs in a big machine'. What exactly is a cog? - (Child Of God). A machine will not work unless all cogs are engaged with each other and operating in unison - what a challenge for us!

8. An Education (Jn 8:31,32).
We must hold to the teachings of the Lord and scriptures to learn what must be taught us through the Holy Spirit to earn our GCSE (God's Certificate of Spiritual Education).

9. A Service (1 Ti 6:18).
We must serve the Lord, by keeping rich in good deeds. Be generous to all other - including unbelievers - and be willing to share all things (share what? - worldly goods, heavenly goods and the gifts of God).

10. A Sacrifice (Ro 12:11).
We are commanded to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, through God's mercy, as a spiritual act of worship.

11. A Walk (Col 2:6).
There is a beautiful hymn 'I walk with God' - that is what we must endeavour to do at all times - live in Him and walk with Him.

12. A Warfare (1 Ti 6:12).
Like another old hymn 'fight the good fight' - we must always fight the workings of Satan through faith, prayer, the Bible and the Holy Spirit.

13. A Race (Heb 12:1).
The Apostle Paul puts it beautifully 'cast off all that hinders and sin, and run the race ordained for us' - a race with God where we are assured of:

14. A Victory (1 Jn 5:4).

Everyone born of God overcomes the world. we are victors and conquerors, through believing that Jesus is the Son of God, and by belief in this we have:

15. An Assurance of Immortality (Jn 17:1-3).
By knowing Christ, we are assured of eternal life, by the Father.


What a wonderful thing it is to be a Christian. The easiest part is to ask Him into our life. then the hard part starts - living by faith and being delivered from sin and temptation, and trying to become Christ-like, and by living up to the above points.

Previous | Index | Next