How Do People Become Christians?

It’s fairly common to define a Christian in terms of their religious affiliation. Do they associate with a religious group? Is it a Christian group? If so, then they’re a Christian. But Scripture defines a Christian in terms of their spiritual state—specifically on the basis of their faith in the atoning work of Christ.

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36).

So, in light of this reality, how does a person become a Christian? What must take place in order for that to happen?

The way we answer this question — and, in many cases, whether or not we even ask it — will have massive implications on the way we approach the Christian life and ministry. When we say we want to “reach” people for Christ, for example, what exactly does that mean? When we say we want to “make disciples,” how exactly does that work? How do people become disciples in the first place?

Some take this discussion too far, going beyond what is written and adding to the list of biblical essentials. On the other hand — and, in my opinion, far too often — some don’t take it far enough, choosing to avoid defining these essentials altogether as though Scripture doesn’t sufficiently address these topics. My aim, then, is to weigh all of Scripture in order to determine the essential elements of a genuine gospel transformation — the things which, according to Scripture, must be at play in order for a person to experience true, biblical conversion.

So, without further adieu: In order to become a Christian a person must [fill in the blank]…

1. Hear the True Gospel

In Romans 10, Paul declares that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Simple enough, right? Here’s the catch: we have to call on the real Lord, Jesus Christ (as revealed in Scripture), and we have to call on him for the right reasons (for the forgiveness of sins which only comes through faith in his atoning work). Paul explains:

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?…So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:14-17).

The gospel is a specific, word-based message rooted in Scripture and based on historical events. For that reason, it is possible to get the message wrong. Not everyone who uses the word “gospel” is referring to the true gospel revealed in Scripture. We are saved by the grace of God through faith in a specific set of truths about a specific person — namely, the atoning work of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8). Therefore, in order for a person to place their faith in Jesus and his atoning work (the true gospel), they must first hear about it. And, of course, they must hear the truth about it.

So, what exactly is the true message of the gospel, or, as Paul calls it, “the word of Christ”? It can be worded in many ways but it goes something like this: On the cross, God poured out his wrath on the fully-divine, fully-human Jesus Christ. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus overcame sin and death so that, through faith in his atoning work, his perfect righteousness is counted as a free gift leading to eternal life for those who believe.

This is the only message which, when believed, makes someone a Christian. Therefore, anyone who has never heard this message has never been given the opportunity to become a Christian.

2. Turn From Their Sin (Repentance)

The gospel fundamentally changes the way a Christian views their sin. Instead of hiding, minimizing, or justifying their sin, they will acknowledge and turn from it. Prior to having faith in Christ, Paul explains, we are all “slaves to sin.” And anyone who is in Christ, he writes, becomes a “slave to righteousness” (Romans 6:18).

Paul also instructs the church in Rome, saying:

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness” (Romans 6:12-13).

Anyone who continues to deny or willingly tolerate their sinfulness has not been transformed by the gospel, at least not yet. Even as a Christian becomes more like Jesus — and thus, less sinful — they also become more sensitive to the sin that remains, even though it is diminishing. This is why we can say, as Martin Luther famously said, “All of life is repentance.” This life of repentance involves both an initial acknowledgement of our sinful standing before God and an ongoing commitment to battle against our sinfulness.

“No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God” (1 John 3:9).

Therefore, a true Christian must go from enjoying sin and rejecting Christ to enjoying Christ and rejecting sin. This process of rejecting and turning from their sin is called “repentance.” But it’s not enough for us to turn from our sin, we also have to turn towards Christ.

3. Trust in Christ for Salvation (Faith)

The next necessary step in becoming a Christian is to believe in the gospel — to begin depending on it for salvation. In other words, we must stop trying to earn God’s favor on the basis of our own righteousness (which is lacking) and, instead, seek God’s favor on the basis of Christ’s righteousness (which is perfect). This is what the Bible refers to as “faith.” Consider Paul’s words in Galatians:

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

And in Romans, Paul laments the spiritual state of his fellow Jewish friends who had not yet trusted in Christ and gained access to his perfect righteousness. He writes:

“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness” (Romans 10:1-3).

It’s one thing to understand and affirm that Jesus rose from the dead, but do we also believe that our eternal standing with God depends on it? A person who believes they would still be a Christian whether or not the death and resurrection of Christ ever took place is obviously not a Christian. Their faith is resting on something other than the death and resurrection of Christ. Every true Christian believes, not only that Jesus died and rose again, but that they desperately needed him to. Their eternal life and standing with God depend on it.

Notice, then, it is entirely possible for a person to go from disliking Jesus to liking Jesus without ever becoming a Christian. Saving faith is not based on any-old-ideas about any-old-Jesus; it is based on a specific set of truth claims about the person and work of the true, historical Jesus (as revealed in Scripture).

4. Commit to Living as a Disciple (Sanctification)

And finally, to be a Christian is not merely a temporary experience or a one-time “fix.” We don’t simply become Christians and then move on to bigger and better things. To be a “disciple” means to be a follower of Jesus. This has lifelong implications. As Christians, we are to devote the rest of our lives to obeying the teachings of Scripture and becoming more like Jesus. If a person has no intention of doing this, then they have not yet become a Christian.

We get a clear glimpse of this ongoing, lifelong pursuit of Jesus in the Great Commission. Just before ascending into heaven, Jesus instructs his disciples, saying:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Notice the deeply relational nature of Jesus’s commission. In order to obey this command we must live in close proximity to others who are intent on doing the same. Why? Because it is possible to teach someone a single lesson in just one interaction, sure, but we cannot teach them to “observe” a set of teachings unless we have a meaningful, ongoing relationship with them. In order to be a true disciple, then, we have to pursue Christ together with other disciples.

This design is built into God’s plan for the church. The gospel creates communities of disciples (local churches) who, in turn, devote themselves to proclaiming the gospel and making disciples. When we become a Christian, we’re welcomed into the new covenant community of Christ. It’s not only our relationship with God that changes, but also our relationship with others — particularly other Christians. Many Christians today are either disinterested in the local church or, worse, eager to explain away its significance. Jesus, on the other hand, promised that he would “build [his] church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). As Christians, then, we should be careful not to presume that the church which Christ died to create is somehow “not for us.”

A person who has no intention of devoting themselves to the lifelong pursuit of Christlikeness has not become a Christian. And a Christian who has no intention of doing this within the context of a local church is at least confused about the life of a disciple, and certainly at risk of living a less-than-healthy one.

“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

If any one of these four essential marks are missing from a person’s life, then we have good reason to believe that they may not be a Christian. Now, of course, that doesn’t mean we should judge or dislike them. Quite the opposite! It means we should continue to love them, care for them, patiently share the gospel with them, and pray that someday they will respond in repentance and faith and begin living as a disciple.

Being reformed in my theology, I also believe that no one can become a Christian by their own sheer will power, but only by the power of God’s Spirit moving within them. God alone is the initiator and sustainer of our salvation. We cannot manufacture these spiritual results in anyone, including ourselves. Even still, as we strive to make disciples, these are the distinguishing marks of spiritual transformation we ought to hope for, pray for, and look for in others — the evidences that God has in fact transformed a person.

When we see these signs of transformation in anyone’s life, we should celebrate them! Assuming they’re genuine, of course, we’ve gained a brother or sister in Christ. In the long run, the validity of our faith will come to bear as we live out the Christian life. That’s not to say that any of us will live a perfect or sinless life, that’s only true of Christ. And, for that reason, unless there is some obvious excuse to question a person’s faith (i.e. They deny Christ or continue to live in clear, unrepentant sin) it’s not wise to continually assess the validity of a person’s faith by some kind of subjective standard that we impose upon them. We should be careful not to “play God” in that way. On the other hand, we should also be able to say with confidence that, if our saving faith is genuine, then we will continue to grow in our affections for Christ, depend on the gospel in faith, and live the life of a disciple, earnestly striving to become more like Jesus.

So, in short, anyone who truly hears the gospel, repents of their sin, depends on Christ in faith, and commits to living as a disciple has become a Christian. Praise God for that! And let’s pray that many more will.