If you’ve ever wondered what Christianity really is or how someone becomes a Christian, you’re not the first—and you won’t be the last. But there is an answer.
All my life I knew what Christianity was because that’s just how I was raised. But I wasn’t saved until I was 18. That’s when I rediscovered what Christianity really is––what it truly is.
So…
In this post, we’ll look at the basics of Christianity:
- what Christianity really is
- who God is
- what the gospel means
- and how someone becomes a Christian
“What is Christianity?”
To put it simply Christianity is not a religion but an intimate relationship with our Creator.
He calls us His children and we call Him our Father because that is the very nature of our relationship. It is a relationship of unconditional love from a Father to His children.
“Who is God?”
God is good. He is just.
God is Love. He is the reason Love exists.
God is the creator of everything. He created us.
He has always existed and so He wasn’t created. Some people struggle with this concept but the thing is at some point something just has to have always existed.
Even if you don’t believe in God and believe the big bang is what created our universe the question of “what created the big bang” would still be there.
So God has always existed and He created our entire universe and created earth for us specifically.
He is Omnipotent – all powerful
He is Omnipresent – everywhere all at once
He is Omniscient – all knowing
There is nothing He cannot do, there is nothing He does not know, and there is nothing that happens outside of His will.
God exists as three persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), God the Holy Spirit.
“Who is Jesus”
Jesus is God’s Son and God in the flesh.
“In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God.”– John 1:1 (NIV)
And the only way to God and salvation.
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”– John 14:6 (NIV)
Many struggle with the idea that Jesus is both the Son of God and God and also that He is God and Man but I’ve never really understood that struggle. Ever since I was little and this was first explained to me this was how I made sense of it: if God is all powerful and can do anything you can imagine and more then of course He can be both Father and Son and God and Man. He’s God!
As humans with finite understanding, we have a hard time wrapping our brains around a God who is infinite. But we don’t need to wrap our minds around it––we just need to accept this core fact: because He’s God, He can do anything.
Once that is accepted the issue of Jesus as God’s Son and God Himself disappears.
Jesus was simply God’s way of relating to us and being able to pay for our sins. It’s not really important how. All that’s important is the fact that He did and He did it because He loves us.
“What is the Gospel?”
The gospel is… John 3:16.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever should believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
So, God created us in love with free will, He called us good, He gave us everything we could ever need.
We sinned because we desired more than what He gave us. Sin separated us from God spiritually.
God still loved us and sent His Son Jesus Christ to suffer and die our death in order to rescue us from the punishment of our sins—which is death.
He then rose from the dead and conquered death for us so we could live forever with Him.
So, the gospel is… justice demanded payment for our sins, and Love chose to pay it for us.
“What is a Christian?”
Biblically, a Christian is someone who believes in Jesus Christ and chooses to follow Him.
The word Christian actually means “little Christs”.
Originally meant as a derogatory term it actually is quite the compliment and perfect summation of who we are meant to be.
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”—Romans 10:9
Anyone who professes Christ may call themselves Christian but it’s important to note that calling yourself Christian and behaving like a Christian are two different things.
If a Christian is going to profess Christ as their Lord it is also their duty to always try to have good character (act like “little Christs”) so as to reflect well on God and His Church.
When you are saved God gives you His Holy Spirit (God’s Spirit) to live in you and help you in your Christian life.
“Why is this all important?”
Because it’s the only reason we exist.
When a parent “creates” a child and then cares for them all their life the child cannot say they “raised themselves” or “survived on their own”.
God created us but we in our human pride say “we are the authors of our life” or “we are our own gods”.
When we forget the One who created us and center ourselves as the god of our life we live in a sort of delusion or falsehood.
Just like it’s delusional or false for a child to say they never needed their parents and could have parented themselves.
We didn’t put ourselves here and our lives were not created for any purpose less than God’s. This is all important because without God we could have done nothing.
Reflection
I invite you only if you are willing to give your life to Christ today. It doesn’t have to feel like anything or look a certain way, it just needs to be honest. If you are ready to accept Christ in your heart today then,
Say this prayer, “Lord, I humbly give You my life today and accept Your Son Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, amen.”
If you sincerely prayed this prayer and believe in your heart, welcome to the family of God!
Prayer
Dear Lord,
Please bring clarity and understanding to those who come across this post to understand not just with their minds but accept in their hearts the truth of You today.
I pray that You help them to recognize Your gentle spirit and quiet voice and lead them to respond to Your calling.
I pray that You provide them the same comfort, joy, peace, and fulfillment as You have provided me and many other Christians throughout time.
I pray that You soften the hearts of those reading this and those seeking You and that You remain faithful to Your promise to draw nearer to those who draw nearer to You and that You will freely give wisdom and knowledge to those who ask.
In Your Son’s gracious name I pray and give thanks,
Amen.
What happens next?
- Begin talking to God in prayer. Don’t stress about how to pray, just talk to Him. Prayer becomes more natural the more you do it.
- Begin reading the Bible (see resource below). The Bible is what God has already said and often answers many questions new believers have.
- Find Christian community (fellowship) this is important especially for new believers because you can learn so much and have your faith strengthened by spending time with Christians who have been where you are and are farther in their walks with God. Don’t worry though if this doesn’t come right away, God will lead you to your community just pray, be patient, and try out a few churches in the meantime.
- Allow yourself to continue growing in faith. Don’t put pressure to be perfect or get everything exactly right. The whole point is that we fall short of God and He makes up the difference. God is not a God of pressure.
“Come to me all who are weary and I shall give you rest for my yoke is easy and my burden light”—Matthew 11:28-30
Where to Go Next?
- If you just accepted Christ —> read “What Does It Mean to Be Saved?”
- If you’re new to the Bible —> read “Bible Study Basics for Beginners”
- If you want to know more about God —> read “Understanding God’s Grace and Character”
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