“By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you…” (1 Corinthians 15:2)
After my wife read last week’s column on salvation, she turned to me and said, “Next week you need to give a little advice for the new Christian.”
She didn’t realize just how timely her suggestion was. You see I just celebrated my 9th birthday yesterday. Oh I turned 47 in April, but my born-again birthday is May 5th. Nine years ago yesterday, I asked the Lord Jesus to come live in my heart. As I thought about what she said, I remembered how hard I struggled to find my way.
One of the first things I did was to tell someone about my salvation experience. In my case, it was a Sunday School teacher, but it doesn’t matter whether it’s a family member or a friend. Just tell someone. The Bible says, “Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart.” (John 5:10) In other words, you now have something new to share with someone and sharing the Gospel is what Christianity is all about.
You’ll probably feel uneasy about your testimony the first time around. That’s okay. You’ll get used to how it feels to feel totally forgiven because you’re going to be asked to talk about it several times over your life. Why? Because Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.” (Matthew 5:14-15)
I wasn’t saved in a church, so one of the first persons I went to see after I found Jesus was my pastor. You should do the same. Be sure your pastor knows about the change in your life.
When I talked with my pastor about my own salvation experience, I confessed to him that while I had never been a very good student of the Bible, I now had a hunger for God’s Word. He suggested that I start with the Gospel of John. “You’ve just experienced a miracle in your life,” he told me. “Read John and I think you’ll be amazed at the other miracles what Jesus can do!”
He was right. The words jumped off the page. It was one of the fist times I realized that something was very different about me now.
But I have some other advice for the new Christian. Something that I once heard my current pastor tell my daughter. He told her, “There are thirty-one days in most months and thirty-one chapters in the Book of Proverbs. Read a chapter a day.” He was right, too. If you want to learn how to apply divine wisdom to the daily problems life will bring your way, you’ll find out how in Proverbs.
Bible study is important. People often lament about how difficult it is to figure God out. I can tell you from personal experience that He’s not as hard to figure out, if when you read what he has to say!
Finally, if you don’t go to church regularly, start going. You’ll never grow spiritually at home watching your favorite television preacher the way you’ll grow sitting on a church pew listening to your own pastor. But there’s more to church than sermons. There are opportunities to meet and learn from others, which is exactly why God’s Word says, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25) Church is not just a house of worship. It’s a house of encouragement.
Living the Christian life is not as difficult as it is different. But you know what? The last nine years have taught me that different is better. In fact, I had a lot more fun on my 9th birthday-the second time around.
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