Becoming a Christian is a very simple process. It is an act of faith, which is then freely given to us by the grace of God. It is not something we do, it is a gift of God.
Christianity is not a “western” religion, a modern religion or even one of the great religions of history. Christianity is at the heart of God’s plan for every soul ever born regardless of place, time or position.
There is no other plan, no other saviour, no other Lord than Jesus Christ who is over time, creation, heaven, life, sin, death, the church and eternity… there is nothing left to be Lord over!
That is why the admission, “I believe that Jesus is the Son of God” is the greatest, deepest, most insightful, life changing declaration anyone can ever make.
This site is about early Christianity, the first 100 years, the period during which eyewitnesses of Jesus were still alive and the Apostles spread the Gospel throughout the known world. Christianity grew because the missionary journeys of the Apostles did one, simple thing – it preached the Gospel. And 2,000 years later, it still works the same way!
Salvation is obtained through hearing the Gospel, believing what it teaches and professing that belief to both God and other believers in the Church. The days of speaking in tongues, performing miracles and other such spiritual gifts at the time of salvation, died with the Apostles. But what has never changed is how we are saved.
Hearing the Gospel
While we don’t have Apostles to teach us the Gospel, which literally means “good news” (εὐαγγέλιον in Greek), we have the advantage of modern technology. I have made available, each of the four Gospels in a dramatized, easy to understand English audio file, that can be downloaded as ZIP files. Included, is a text file with the timestamps for each chapter. I recommend you first download Mark, as it is the shortest and believed to be the first Gospel written:
For those of you who are deaf, you can watch this video with subtitles turned on, simply read Mark in your Bible or read my combined Gospels narrative.
Believing the Gospel
The whole purpose of the Gospel, whichever one you hear or read, is to tell of what Jesus did during his three years of ministry that proved he was (and still is) the Son of God. And most importantly, that he died on the cross as ransom for all mankind’s sins, both past and future. He then rose from the dead and was seen ascending into the clouds, to sit at the right hand of God, the Father.
Believing that what is written in the Gospel is true, is something only you and God will know, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” [John 3:16].
I could quote numerous passages regarding salvation, but I’m not going to! The world tries to make things complicated and full of rituals, pomp and ceremony. Salvation is simple, either you believe what you heard or you don’t. God does not want to make it difficult. He is offering you a gift, either you want it or you don’t, it’s your choice.
Professing Your Belief
The final aspect of salvation is baptism. While salvation does not come through any “works” on your part, baptism is a public sign of your repentance and belief as Jesus said, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” [Matt 28:19]
And as the Apostle Paul said, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” [Ga 3:26–27]
Baptism by full immersion in water, represents the washing away of your sins and is symbolic of being buried and resurrected into your new life, just as Jesus did for all mankind.
After all, if Jesus humbled himself to be baptized by John the Baptist, why should we not do the same?