How does one begin their Christian life? The first and most important thing is to become a Christian. Jesus says that He is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to God or will see heaven without accepting God’s gift of salvation. You don’t deserve it and you can’t earn it with your tithes and good works. But God’s mercy and grace provides eternal life freely to all who accept Jesus’ death on the cross as payment for their sins. Once you have accepted God’s gift, your spirit will be reborn and God’s Holy Spirit will take up residence in your heart. Then, and only then, you can begin living as a Christian and a son or daughter of God.
Without that decision, nothing you do or say will matter. Church membership; showing up every time the church doors are open; tithes and offerings; helping the needy, even trying to be a kind and good person. None of it will matter in the end. Multitudes of people have convinced themselves that those things without salvation has purchased a fire insurance policy to keep them out of hell, Those people are in for a very sad surprise when they stand before Jesus at the final judgement. The saddest words in the English language are, “I never knew you.” Without a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, there is no hope.
Of course, there is also some very good news for those of us who have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. When our sins have been covered by the blood of Christ, our acts of obedience are pleasing to our heavenly Father and Jesus personally accepts our kind acts as if they were done to Him. All we have to do is obey the Holy Spirit and follow Jesus.
Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus? Does He know you and do you know him? It is not too late to start a real Christian life today.