When I was a youngster we attended a Lutheran Church.  It happened to be located about a block away from the Catholic Church.  I remember also the Methodist Church, mainly because some friends went to that church.  There were many other churches also, but the point I want to make is that I grew up a Lutheran.  I had friends who grew up as Catholics and so on.  It wasn’t until later in life that I realized that even though we were all different ‘denominations’, all of them were classified as Christianity. So even though we actually kept our distance from those Catholics, we were all part of the same Christian Faith. 

 

So since the Reformation in the early 1500’s there have been many denominations that were started as they broke away from the Roman Church, and we will just stick to the thinking here that all of the churches and denominations that started up were Christianity based, although some of course were not.  But all we are dealing with here is what a Christian is.  I do know from my church upbringing that our Lutheran Church name came from Martin Luther.  But, we are still focused on Christianity.

 

A person does not become a Christian by simply attending church.  There are plenty of warm bodies sitting in church every Sunday.  They are in the right place to become a Christian though.  To be called a Christian, you have to be a follower of Jesus Christ.  Christ is the Umbrella that covers all of those many different denominations that fall under Christianity.  Now, keep in mind that the reason the reformation happened is because the Roman Catholic Church was doing some un-Christ like things that Luther challenged them on.  So we had all these Christian denominations happen from that point.

 

So to become a true Christian, you are a follower of Jesus Christ.  Now you can’t follow someone that you don’t know or trust, so yes, you have to put your Faith and Trust in Jesus Christ.  To know Him you would have to study God’s Word to know Him really well.  The New Testament especially tells you everything you want to know about Jesus Christ.  And each time you reread it you will pick up something new.  To be a Christian, “other people” should be able to tell that you are a Christian by your actions.   You won’t find anything written about Jesus that does not spell “LOVE”.  He was here to serve. 

 

Now I’m not saying that non-Christian cults or religions don’t have nice people.  There are nice people all over this world.  I guess you could say, you don’t have to be a Christian to be a nice person!   The bottom line is where you want to spend eternity.  You see, to be classified as a non-Christian religion or cult means there is something in their belief that is contrary to God or Jesus.  To be a Christian, a follower of Jesus, you have to believe the whole story, you can’t pick or choose what you want to put in your own Bible.  

 

Does becoming a Christian change one’s day-to-day life?  When have you ever gone out of you way to help someone, and not felt good afterwards?   When have you not seen some poor person in front of a store with a “I’m hungry” sign and not purchased something for them, and not felt good afterwards?  When have you ever stopped and helped someone who had run out of gas, and not felt good afterward?  Doing good without thinking about doing good takes no time at all, and I’m sure it makes Jesus smile.  As far as getting to know this person that you are putting your trust in, start with a ½ hour a day, start with the New Testament, add to your time from there.   It will change your eternal life!