Becoming a Christian is one of the easiest things you can do. It has often been said, and I think it is true, that the only thing easier than becoming a Christian is not becoming a Christian. God has made His plan of salvation simple enough for all to comprehend and obey. It is not like joining a club in which one has to earn entrance. One does not have to meet a series of man-made requirements in order to become a member of our Lord's church. A person does not have to go to one of our higher schools of education to become a saint. Obedience to the gospel is all that is required by the Lord (Romans 1:16), and what the Lord requires is the only thing that counts. God has made salvation a matter of faith. Why? That it might be by grace (Romans 4:16), and if it is of grace, it cannot be by works, meritorious works that is (Romans 11:6). So, salvation is easy to obtain because the loving-kindness of God has made it so.
God's plan of salvation involves hearing the gospel (John 6:44, 45), believing that Jesus is the Son of God (Mark 16:16), repenting of sins (Acts 3:19), confessing Christ (Acts 8:37), and being added to the body of Christ by being buried in the waters of baptism (Acts 2:38).
Staying a Christian
Staying a Christian is much more difficult than becoming a Christian. Staying a Christian involves a lifelong commitment to Christ. It has to do with purposely imitating the life of Jesus every day for the rest of our life. Let's take a closer look at this. To stay a Christian, one must:
Continue to hear God's word. God's word has transforming and life changing power. However, common sense tells us that one must hear the word for it to have any impact on one's life. "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath" (James 1:19). Being swift to hear is always good advice in any walk of life; but specifically, we should be swift to hear the word of God which is able to save our souls (James 1:21). If we are to remain Christians, we must have a healthy diet of the gospel (2 Timothy 2:15; 2 Peter 1:3; 3:18).
Continue to believe the message of Jesus Christ. Can a person believe the gospel message in vain? Paul indicates that it is not only possible, but a very real danger. "We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain" (2 Corinthians 6:1). One problem at Corinth had to do with Judaizing teachers mixing the gospel with portions of the law of Moses. To believe and obey the incorruptible gospel, only to later accept a perverted version of that same gospel, is to believe in vain. Does this indicate that one can fall from grace? Of course, it does. The Bible affirms in many places that it is possible (Galatians 5:4). To stay a Christian, you must continue to believe the true gospel. If you stop believing in the deity of Christ, your faith becomes vain. If you cease to believe that baptism is necessary for the remission of sins, your faith becomes vain. If you start teaching something contrary to the word of truth, your faith becomes vain (1 Timothy 4:1-3). Staying a Christian demands that you continue to believe.
Continue to repent. We all sin from time to time (1 John 1:8-10). We must always have a repentant attitude and repent every time we become aware of a transgression. Peter told Simon to repent and pray God after he sinned (Acts 8:21-23). Just because we are Christians does not mean that our sins are going to automatically vanish. We must be filled with godly sorrow (2 Cor. 7:9) and have a change of heart, determining not to sin against God again. And let's remember that true repentance always brings forth fruit (Matthew 3:5-8).
Continue to confess. In becoming a Christian, we were required to confess the Lord with the mouth (Romans 10:9-10). Now we must confess Christ, not only in word, but also by our lives (Matthew 10:32-33). We confess Christ everyday by living according to the gospel and by telling others about our Savior. However, when we fall short and sin, we must confess that sin to God (1 John 1:9). This is required if we want to remain Christians.
Continue to meet the demand of baptism. "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4). Christianity is not a stop-and-go game. It is a way of life. It is a continuous walk. It is only when we are faithful unto death that we can have eternal life (Revelation 2:10).
These things should demonstrate to us that while it is easy to become a Christian, it is more difficult to remain one. It truly takes a lifetime of commitment to God. But the reward of eternal life far outweighs any problems that we have because of obeying the gospel. Make up your mind, right now, to either obey the gospel and become a Christian or remain a Christian by walking with God.
- brownstreetcoc.org