What Makes a True Christian? The Road to Salvation

Are you a Christian? There are many people that will answer, “why yes I am! I am a good person and I hope that I’ve done more good than bad”, or “I was baptized as a baby”, or “I grew up in the church and that makes me a Christian”.

From the perspective of the inerrant, unchanging, infallible and authoritative Word of God, none of those answers are hallmarks of what it takes to be a Christian. Instead, the Bible teaches in that everyone – that is virtually the entire human race from history to now – are ALL enemies of God.

Scripture is clear that there is nobody that is righteous on their own. As Romans 3:10 declares, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” Romans 3:10-12 continues: “There is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is not one that does good, no, not one [emphasized]”

This universal sinfulness leads to death as the just penalty: Romans 6:23 states, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Yet God provided the solution through His love: Romans 5:8 says, “But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Salvation comes by grace through faith alone: Romans 10:9-10 explains, “That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Finally, Romans 10:13 promises, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” That “whosoever” is ANYONE that calls upon the name of the Lord.

True Christianity is not about being “good enough,” infant baptism, or church upbringing—it is personal repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

This glorious truth underscores a profound reality: man did not first seek God; rather, God in His sovereign grace reached out to lost and rebellious mankind first. As Romans 3:11 emphatically states, “there is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God.” Humanity, in its fallen state, is spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-3), blind to divine truth, and hostile toward the Creator—incapable of initiating reconciliation on its own.

Yet, while we were still enemies, God took the initiative. John 3:16 declares, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son...” It was the Father who sent the Son (1 John 4:10: “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation [definition: the satisfaction of God’s righteous wrath] for our sins”). Jesus affirmed, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him” (John 6:44). Even our faith and repentance are gifts from God (Ephesians 2:8-9; Acts 11:18).

This is beautifully illustrated in Scripture:

• The parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15:4-7), where the shepherd actively searches for the one stray, not waiting for it to find its way back.
• The prodigal son (Luke 15:20), where the father runs to embrace his returning child, symbolizing God's welcoming grace.

From the very beginning, God has been the pursuer—from calling Adam in the garden, to seeking Israel, to the ultimate outreach in Christ. Salvation is entirely of the Lord (Jonah 2:9), a divine rescue mission motivated by His love alone. Praise be to God for seeking us when we could not—and would not—seek Him!

Is God pursuing you? If you have a yearning in your heart for learning more about God and the things of God, you can reasonably be assured that HE IS!! Call out to Him in response to His calling on your life!

If you have any questions or would like to reach out to discuss further, please contact the church leadership.