The process of becoming God’s child…

When I make a quilt, the steps are in order: select pattern and fabric, cut as required, sew pieces as the pattern says, make a ‘sandwich’ with backing, batting and the finished quilt top, sew the layers together, finish with a bound edge or facing, then label and find a home for it. 

The process of becoming a Christian follows certain steps also. Their order: first believe there is a God and that He is there for me…

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Second, believe what He says about Himself. Many false gods and ideas exist so check out His Word. It says much more than I can grasp, but the essentials are there: He loves me and wants me to know Him through faith.

Next, believe what He says about my condition. For many, this is the most difficult part… “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8) God also says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way” … even going our own way, no matter how good it looks, God calls it sin. (Isaiah 53:6)

Without these steps of acknowledging God and admitting my need, the process stops at that point. I cannot make a quilt with chunks and bits, but need to move forward. In salvation, moving forward means realizing and admitting that I fall short.

However, these first steps do not mean anyone can now become a Christian and start doing Christian things. Jesus says what is next and considered carefully:

Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:28–40)

I cannot do “good works” without participating in the life of Christ. He will give me that life when my faith and hope is in Him, not in what I have done or want to do. The rest of the NT is clear that good works identify me as a Christian but they do not make me one. Only Christ can give forgiveness and eternal life, and both are in Him. He is my righteousness and my Savior.

Like quilting, after that “sandwich” is made and sewn together by the power of God and the internal dwelling of the Holy Spirit, only then can Jesus be fully realized and enjoyed. He gives me new life and changes everything.

PRAY: Lord, as I make quilts, I’m thinking of You and how You took me through the process of knowing Your existence, realizing Your goodness, seeing that I do not measure up to what You created me to be, and remembering that glorious moment when You gave me Your life and the faith to wholly trust You. While all this is ‘old hat’ in a way, reviewing redemption is a good idea. You remind me of what You rescued me from (a scrap bin) and that You are making my life like Your life; lovely and useful, like a quilt. May I always remember to confess both my sin and Your amazing goodness. This is Your power to make my life is a warm blessing to those around me, just like Your life is a total blessing to me.

How to become part of God’s church

To those who live in our country, immigrants are strangers and aliens from the outside. In the same way, to the Jews who rightly understood themselves to be the people of God, the Gentiles were aliens and foreign to God’s family, but Jesus Christ changed that by uniting both into one . . . 

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. (Ephesians 2:19–21)

This union is not universality. That is, not every Jew and not every Gentile became part of the family of God. It happens only to those who receive Christ, who “believe in his name” for it is to these “He gave the right to become the children of God.” (John 1:12) That is, being part of the church is not about nationality or any other thing. It is about a mighty work of God who brings sinners to Himself “by grace through faith.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

In the early church, a man called Simon thought he could get in another way. He saw that the Holy Spirit “was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands” so offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

He wanted to buy his way into the family of God, but Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.” Simon asked for prayer, but nothing further is said about him. (Acts 8:18–24)

Money will not do it. However, being part of the church does require a confession of faith. Jesus and His disciples were traveling and as they walked, He asked them, “Who do people say that I am?” This is a crucial question. Very few understand the importance of knowing His identity.

The disciples answered, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets,” but Jesus pressed them further with, “But who do you say that I am?” and Peter replied, “You are the Christ.”

In Mark 8:27–30, Jesus strictly charged them not to tell anyone, but Matthew adds more. Jesus also said, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:13–20)

This understanding of Jesus’ identity was a revelation from God, but also the very foundation upon which the church is built. We don’t get in by money or anything else we might offer, but by the work of God who reveals the identity of Jesus as He chooses and gives eternal life to His people, putting them into His Body, the church.

Being in the Body of Christ is also about intimacy with Jesus and reliance on Him for life. At one point in His ministry, Jesus declared that living forever meant feasting on His flesh and drinking His blood. Those who heard Him were offended. His disciples grumbled. But Jesus explained that, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” He knew who did and didn’t believe, but He also knew that “No one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

This was a dividing point. Many of His disciples turned back. They knew their own motives and knew God had not drawn them. They were not interested in this kind of intimacy with Jesus, and Like Simon, their hearts were not right.

At this point, Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:60–70) The disciples knew who Jesus is, as do all who are saved and part of His Body.

Salvation has many facets. It is about being justified by faith, reconciled to God, forgiven of sin, regenerated to a new creation, adopted into God’s family, and having the identity of Jesus Christ revealed. It is also about a change of heart and repentance, and about becoming a part of His church. It is being no longer a stranger or an alien, but becoming a fellow citizen with the saints and members of the household of God. Together, we are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, and it is in Him that we are joined together and are growing into a holy temple in the Lord. None of this is possible without the work of God through the grace that is found in Christ Jesus, the Son of God and our Savior.

I’ve been drafted

Becoming a Christian is something like being drafted or conscripted into the army. Probably the biggest difference is that God’s army has no draft dodgers.

Instead of drafted or conscripted, the Bible uses the term “called” for those God draws to Himself. While human choice plays a part, I’ve known people who were “called” and responded without much choice in the matter. One of them told me that when God called her to move to the front of the tent and receive Christ (it happened in a church camp), she resisted so much that she grabbed the chair in front of her and almost tipped the man off who sat on it. She had no intention of going, but the call was stronger than her resistance.

The words “called” and “calling” are used throughout the New Testament. One of them is in the verse that guides my life:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

“The called” are those who have experienced the sovereign, regenerating work of God in their hearts and been brought to new life in Christ. Without this, no one can rightly call themselves a Christian. As verse 29 says, each believer is chosen and redeemed by God and securely predestined as His children. The goal for a called person is to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

My faith is essential to that calling, but God had to initiate the process. His calling preceded my choice, but also made that choice possible and effective. John 6:65 says that, “No one can come to Me [Christ] unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

This call happened once. I am now in God’s army. However, it also continues. I am aware of Him calling me every day. He motivates me to “press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). This does not mean that I work toward being His child, but like a drafted soldier, I am daily called to learn better ways of acting like one.

My current challenge is listening. I’m like a soldier who takes orders only from his superior officer and do only as my Lord commands me. Yet I also realize that calling is not about careers or occupations. As a well-known fiction writer once said, my calling is not about what I choose to do with my life, but that I love God and take orders from Him. She said, “Today you might be called to write, but tomorrow He may ask you to do something else.”

A soldier is a soldier, but a Christian can be asked to wear many hats. Not only that, learning to listen to Jesus is also unlike the experience of a soldier. He hears the loud barking orders of his sergeant, but the Lord speaks softly and gives gentle nudges. He does not insist that I jump when He shouts. Instead, if I refuse His prompting, He stands back and lets me find out by the consequences that I should have listened.