I am certain one of the biggest roadblocks to many people
becoming Christians is a misconception about what being a Christian is. I’m going to focus on two of these
misconceptions.
The first misconception is that being a Christian means
belonging to a church. I’ve had friends worry that making a
decision to follow Christ would mean having to attend a certain church or
follow a set of rules. This is
highly inaccurate. They’ve asked
me, “Do I have to go to church to become a Christian?" Becoming a Christian is
actually quite simple. It means
believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He was sent to redeem us
from all the mistakes we have made or will ever make, and that by believing in Him we will be
made right by God. It also means
acknowledging our own personal mistakes and our own need of God and accepting the free
gift that God has given us in Christ.
The changes He will affect in us after accepting that gift will come as
we allow Him to work in us, but attending church is not a requirement to become
a Christian. Being around others
who have also made this determination is something we will desire to do to gain
insight into understanding Him better, but I believe there will certainly be
people in heaven who have never done this. Look at the thief on the cross. Jesus promised Him that he would be with Christ in heaven,
yet he never attended a meeting where Jesus taught or was baptized (as many
wrongly assume you need to do in order to be right with God). Likewise there are parts of the world
where it is dangerous to meet together in the name of Christ. People either do so in secret or they
are unable to meet at all.
Certainly God does not fault them for this. The sheer fact that there are believers around the world who
don’t have the freedom to meet publicly should inspire us to meet ourselves,
but we shouldn’t look at church as a requirement. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not suggesting that being part of a
church is not a positive thing.
The bible is clear that we should gather, “Let us not give up meeting
together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another…”
(Hebrews 10:25 NIV84) However,
attending church is not a requirement for our salvation and hopefully not a
hindrance in forming a relationship with Jesus. Being a Christian is just that, a relationship with Christ
and a desire for Him to shape our lives to be more like His.
The second
misconception has to do with a belief that becoming a Christian means aligning
yourself with many people who have done horrible things in the name of
Christianity. Why would they want
to be part of something like that?
This becomes a huge roadblock.
I recently read an amazing article on this. Instead of attempting my own take on this, I’m going to link
the article itself. It is
definitely worth the read.
Lastly, to those of us who have already made the decision to
follow Christ, we need to consider how the previously mentioned roadblock
applies to ourselves. We might not
be Hitler or killed people in the name of Jesus, but how we live our lives is a
picture to many of what being a Christian is. Whether or not we do a good job representing Him can impact
others decision to follow Him or not.
This verse really struck me when I read it this morning, “As it is
written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”” (Romans
2:24 NIV84) Essentially this was
referring to the way the Jewish people, who had God’s law of right and wrong,
were living their lives. Instead
of preaching the laws and following them, they were preaching them with their
mouths and then not acting in accordance with what they were saying. In so doing they were making a mockery
of God and the Gentiles who watched this, chose also to mock God. But we know that while this verse in
context was referring specifically to the Jewish people of that time, it is
really meant for all of us who believe.
If we profess to be a follower of Christ and then act in ways that do
not reflect Him, we become a mockery to those watching us, and so does He. We need to ask God to guide our actions
and to refine our hearts so that when people look at us they are drawn to
Christ, and not turned off.
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