If you ask this question of individual Christians, you will get a variety of answers, depending on how long they have been a Christian, how serious they are at trying to live out their faith sincerely, what denominational affiliation they have (such as Methodist, etc.), how knowledgeable they are of the Bible, etc.  So, what is the right answer?  As concisely as possible, a Christian is defined as one who believes Jesus Christ is the Savior of his/her soul and the Lord of his/her life.  Of course, this begs a myriad of other questions, such as "How is one's soul saved by Jesus?", "What does it mean to have Jesus as the Lord of one's life?", "How does one practice the Christian faith after being saved by Jesus?", "Where do we get all these ideas about Jesus and living the Christian life, anyway?"

 

 

Simply put, our soul is saved by our acceptance of Jesus' substitutionary death on the cross for our personal sins.  Personal sins are the things we personally have done wrong, such as lying, stealing, profaning, killing, etc.  It is by the pure grace of God that He came into the world in human form as the Man Jesus Christ to live a sinless life (meaning Jesus never did any of the wrong things the rest of us have done) so He could take the punishment for our sins by dying in our place.  In other words, Jesus endured the punishment of death, which was meant for all sinners, just because He loved us.  Salvation from our personal sins is ours for the asking, but we must ask for it.  God doesn't save anyone against his/her wishes, nor is He deceived by people who claim to believe in Him and accept Him as Savior while continuing to live like unbelievers.  Sinners (like you and me) can escape the punishment for our personal sins by genuinely accepting Jesus as our substitution and asking Him to be our personal Savior.  There is nothing we can do to save ourselves, such as doing good deeds (read Ephesians Chapter 2, verses 8 and 9 in the Bible), and there is no one else anywhere who can save us either.  Therefore, we are saved by placing our faith (our confidence) in this amazing grace of God. 

 

 

Now, after we come to the knowledge and acceptance that we can be saved only by placing our confidence in the amazing grace of God, what does it mean to have Jesus as the Lord of our life?  To answer that, we must understand what it means to be under lordship in the first place.  A lord is one who has ultimate power and authority over another, such as a monarch.  In fact, a true King (not a figurehead, as in Great Britain) is indeed a Lord, because he has complete and ultimate power and authority over his subjects.  If Jesus has become the Savior of our souls, then we will also live as though He is the Lord of our lives.  He once asked those listening to His teaching, "'Why do you call me, "Lord, Lord," and not do what I tell you?'" (Luke Chapter 6, verse 46 in the English Standard Version of the Bible).  This, therefore, begs the question: Can Jesus be Savior of our souls if He is not also Lord of our lives?  That decision is up to Him and His grace, of course, but why would anyone want to take such a terrible risk with his/her eternal soul?  It is truly amazing how anyone in his right mind will not risk his physical life by sauntering onto a busy freeway, yet, this same person is risking his eternal soul, which is far more valuable, by ignoring the gracious offer of salvation from sin, which includes everlasting life with God in Heaven!

 

In a very real sense, Jesus is already both King and Lord of all creation, but until He returns to earth to take the throne once and forever, He permits human beings to choose whether to live under His power and authority. When He returns to reign forever, however, He will separate all those who chose not to live under His rule and put upon them the everlasting punishment He offered to satisfy, if only they had believed and accepted His offer of salvation. 

 

 

This question is now easy to answer, since answering the previous question.  We practice the Christian faith after accepting Jesus' offer of salvation by living according to His holy Word, which we read in the Holy Bible alone.  There is no other source of instruction for living the Christian life that has an equal or higher authority than the holy Scripture, the Holy Bible.  While there may be a variety of other writings which may strengthen our faith in God or encourage us in living for Him, none of them have the same authority to demand our obedience as the Holy Bible has. 

 

 

Like the previous question, the answer to this question is also found in the one before it.  We get all our ideas about Jesus and living the Christian faith from the Holy Bible.  We can gain some good insights into living the Christian life from reading such master writers as St. Augustine, St. Francis, Thomas á Kempis, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, or C. S. Lewis, but none of them carry the same power or authority as holy Scripture.  Indeed, we may be confident each of them would be swift to say so themselves, if they were here now.  Therefore, if you want to know how to be truly saved, how to live a sincere and godly Christian life, how to know beyond a shadow of any doubt that you're headed for eternal Heaven with Jesus, then simply read and study the Holy Bible, and pray to God for understanding of what you read and study in the Holy Bible.  Everything God wants us know about what He loves and hates, approves and disapproves, can be found in the pages of the Holy Bible.  Anything or anyone which contradicts what the Holy Bible says is not to be believed or trusted. 

 

 

If you have never asked Jesus to be your personal Savior, or if you are unsure whether you have been truly saved because you have not made Jesus the King and Lord of your life, then you can do so right here and right now.  It's as simple as sincerely praying this prayer:

 

 

If you prayed this prayer and meant it from your heart, I encourage you to seek a godly congregation of Christians who are genuinely striving to live out their faith as true believers and tell them of your newfound commitment to Christ.  Join them in worshiping and serving the Almighty God of all creation, the risen Lord Jesus Christ.  You are also welcome to contact us at Rosinton United Methodist Church using our contact form on this site to let us know of your commitment to Christ.  We will celebrate and rejoice over your decision with you.  Now, may God's richest blessings come upon you and remain with you forever!