About My Faith

I am what is called a Born-Again Christian, we are called many things, including Bible-thumpers, Holy Rollers, Jesus Freaks and "those crazy guys over there that don't believe in having fun." We also may be referred to as Charismatics, or Evangelicals I'm not sure if any of these names really applies, as I am in no way a very charasmatic person, nor do I evangelize very much, I try not to "thump" anyone with my Bible, and I don't even know what a Holy Roller is, I for one can't roller-skate, so if that's what it means, that doesn't fit either. This leaves Jesus Freak, which, I don't have any real argument about. But I prefer Born-Again. This term is taken from the 3rd chapter of The Gospel of John. When Jesus tells Nicodemus "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3 (NKJV)

We are not an organized church like the Catholic Church or the Lutheran Church, in fact Born-Agains go to many different churches, such as Calvary Chapels, Assemblies of God, Christian Fellowships, Foursquare Churches and many others. Many Born-agains attend no church at all preferring to study and pray by themselves or with their families. What we have in common is a belief. We believe that our salvation is dependent not on our works, but on belief in Christ, who paid the price for our sins with his death on the cross. We believe that his crucification was the finished work of our redemption, and all we have to do is accept the grace he has given us. John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."(NKJV) That's it, that's all we have to do! Believe! What easier plan can there be? We're not required to do any special works, or act any certain way. We're not required to follow any list of "do's" or "do not's" We believe that as the Bible says "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23 NKJV)So there's nothing we can do to pay him back. Nothing we can do is good enough, and that's ok. He doesn't ask anything in return except that we believe in him and love him.

Any good thing we do after that, shouldn't be to get into God's good graces or to give us higher glory, but should be done because we love Jesus and want to do things that please him. Rick Brown, pastor of my home church Calvary Chapel Idaho Falls, has compared it to his relationship with his wife. He doesn't do nice things for her because he has to, but because he loves her and wants to make her happy. It's the same with the Lord.

But there's more, The Lord is also making a change in us. Once we've committed our life into his hands, we are a work in progress. The Bible says we are like clay in a potter's hands (Isaiah 64:8) He is sculpting us into something else, into a new, better us, still the same person but buildt up and stronger. We can't expect to always be doing right, because we continue to sin, but we are forgiven of our sins and are being given the tools to overcome our sins.

Now, let's come back to the part earlier where I said some people know us as "Those guys that believe in not having fun." It is true that we don't do a lot of the things that a lot of people think are fun. We don't believe in permiscuous sex, drugs, or hard-core partying, and most of us don't drink or smoke. But personally I think we're capable of having lots of fun, for we believe that true freedom is found in Christ, that he frees us from the bonds that is our sin.

But the fact that we don't do many of these things the rest of the world enjoys doesn't make us any better than any one else. We are still sinners, and are no better than anyone else, but what has happened is that we have responded to our Lord's love, knowing that although all things are lawful for us, not all things are helpful.(1 Corinthians 6:12 NKJV)

But I digress, the important thing can be summed up by one phrase, "Jesus loves you." The Bible says he died to take your punishment, my punishment, and the punishment of everyone who ever lived. All we have to do is accept his offer. Jesus is everywhere all the time. He can hear you now if you ask Him for forgiveness. Please turn your life over to Him now. Time slips by so quickly, don't miss this opportunity. If you want to pray and ask Jesus to be your Savior, you can say a prayer something like this:


"Jesus, I know that I have sinned against you. I know the truth is that I have sinned by my own choice,
and I am the one responsible for it. I know that I have earned punishment from You, and that the fair
punishment would be death.

Jesus, I believe that You died in my place. Forgive me for my sin. I cannot cover or take my sin away.
Take away my sin, and show me how to live my life in a way that is right and pleasing to You."


Remember, it's not the words that are important, it's how you feel, and that you communicate that to the Lord. There are no Thees or Thous required in this prayer, and it can be as short or as long as you need it to be. If you need to pour out your heart to God and talk to him for hours, go ahead, he's listening. If you're not that talkative, he understands that too, just remember he loves you and he'll always be there to listen when you need him. If you have prayed something like this, YOU ARE SAVED! You are now completely forgiven, a new creation, innocent in the eyes of God. You'll still make plenty of mistakes, but it's a very rewarding road to travel. Welcome to the family of God!

            -Ryan Atwood