Released from prison... "By to-morrow morning I would either have had a pile of money, or a bullet in my body"

For the one who has begun the race... "There is nothing more important in the Christian life than beginning right"

The clearest description of a true Christian is given us in the Bible.

A Christian is a person who has realised his sinfulness.“All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).

A Christian is a person who has knowingly come to Christ for help.“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give yourest” (Matt. 11:28).

A Christian is a person who has repented of his sin.“Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:1).

A Christian is a person who has put his faith and trust in Jesus Christ to save him.“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life” (John 3:36).

A Christian is a person who has opened the door of his life to Christ and let Him take control. “Behold I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him” (Rev. 3:20).

A Christian is a person who has called on the Lord Jesus for salvation.“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21).

A Christian is a person who has been born again.“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).

A Christian is a person who has been changed by the power of God. “If any man be in Christ, He is a new creature, old things are passed away, behold all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).

A Christian is a person who is seeking to discover and endeavouring to obey the will of God. “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Mat. 7:21).

A Christian is a person who is trusting Jesus Christ and confessing Him as Saviour and Lord, by life and lip. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Rom. 10:9).

Put all these verses together and you have a pretty good definition of a real Christian.

There are several simple steps you need to take in order to meet the requirements God has set out in His Word.

It must be understood that none of these things in themselves save you and make you a Christian. It is CHRIST’S RESPONSE to your repentance and faith that effects salvation.

The Lord Jesus is the One – and the onlyOne – who is able to meet our need.

In order for Jesus to make you a Christian you must :

1. Realize that you are a sinner.

Rom. 3:22, 23. “For there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

1 John 1:8. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”

2. Repent of your sin.

Mark 1:15. “Repent ye, and believe the Gospel.”

Acts 17:30. “God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.”

3. Recognize in Jesus, the only One who can save you.

1 Cor. 15:3. “Christ died for our sins.”

John 14:6. Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me.”

4. Receive Him, by faith, as your personal Saviour.

John 1:12. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God.”

Acts 16:31. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”

5. Rely upon the clear promises God has given.

John 5:24. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”

1 John 5:11-12. “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son hath not life.”

A real life story of what happens when we don't forgive others...

...In his early life, he had been hunting one day when a shot from someone’s gun struck him in the arm, and as a result the arm had to be amputated...

The notion that we enter the Christian life by an act of acceptance is true, but that is not all the truth. There is much more to it than that.

Billy Bray was born at Twelveheads, a tin-mining village near Truro, Cornwall, on June 1, 1794. His paternal grandfather worshipped in the Methodist chapel, which he had helped to build. Billy’s father was also a devout Methodist. He died when his children were very young and Billy lived with his grandfather until he was seventeen years old.

He then moved to Devon. Here he married and here, too, he lived a wild life of drunken debauchery...

Over the heads of the crowd the confident cry rang out, “There is no answer to prayer; it’s all imagination. Don’t be carried away. Use your own common sense. There is no hereafter. When we are dead, we are done for.”

There is a story told of a man who tried to weigh a prayer. This man owned a grocery shop at a time when money was scarce and food was being rationed. The year was 1918...