A preacher preaches a message on sin and salvation, and invites people to come forward to the front of the worship space to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Around the world, in many pulpits, this “invitation” is given. And hundreds and thousands around the world respond. Sometimes the person who responds to the invitation signs a document, saying on this day they received Christ and many will then, at a later date, be baptized. Its at this point that they can say – “Hey, I am Christian”. However, the more accurate statement would be, “Hey, I have become a Christian.” This second statement implies that there is yet a “becoming” that will be unfolding. “I’m a Christian, now what ?“ is an attempt to explore, understand and apply what it means to be and become a Christian.

Let’s explore this question by examining the phrase, “born again”. This phrase has fallen out of us in recent years because it is associated with Christians of a fanatical bent. Nevertheless, Jesus himself said, “you must be born again” (John 3:3). Before one comes to faith in Jesus Christ, the Bible says that an individual is dead in their sin. They are completely incapable of saving themself. Jesus says that the Holy Spirit is the agent of one being born again (John 3:3-8). The Holy Spirit convicts dead sinners of their sinfulness, by which they know they are guilty before almighty God. The Holy Spirit convinces them to repent, causes them to be born again (regenerated) so that they can receive Christ by faith through grace.

It is at this point they become a new person (2 Corinthians 5:17). The are no longer dead in sin, but alive in Christ. They are “born again” as a child of God. This is the implication behind John 1:12 – “to all who believe and receive Him (Jesus Christ) have been given the power/privilege to be children of God”. This means that they are “babes” in the faith and the expectation is that they will, by the Holy Spirit, grow into toddler, infants, children and adults. This “new life” is called “spiritual growth”, “spiritual formation” and “discipleship”. Jesus said, “I have come to give life and life to the full” (John 10:10). Jesus is that life, but we will examine that topic another time but the implication is that it is a life that is growing abundantly.

Here are some Bible verses to consider:

1 Peter 2:2 “Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation.”Psalm 92:12-14 “But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. 13 For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house. They flourish in the courts of our God. 14 Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green.”

Galatians 5:22-23 “the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”

Note the connection: from newborn babies to the older mature Christians, they are to bear fruit. In John 15 Jesus says we are the branches and He is the vine, and it is the Heavenly Father’s desire that as we live, dwell, abide in Christ, we would bear fruit, more fruit and much fruit. This fruit listed above in Galatians 5:22-23 is the character of Jesus Christ being formed in us. And that is because the goal of the Christian life is to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus (Romans 8:29).

Now let’s revisit our opening question: “I’m a Christian, now what?”  The answer to that is – now that you have become a Christian, born again and baptized by the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is going to lead you on an incredible journey of becoming more and more like Jesus. New believers are baptized in the Holy Spirit, it is the infilling and refilling of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) that releases the power gifts and the fruit to be like Jesus. It is this journey of infilling and growth that we are going to explore, examine and learn to live by.