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Monday, November 26, 2012

Why I Am A Christian: A Story of Faith.



When I was eleven years old, I was baptized into Christ at my home church in Mahomet, Illinois.

The formal cause for this occasion came about after I had a lengthy conversation with a non-Christian friend about the important connection between baptism and salvation, only to remember that I, myself, had not even been baptized.
 

Being raised in the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ (and being convinced by Scripture), I believed that baptism is the final step in accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, so this was no small issue for me.

However, the real or material cause for my baptism was much deeper.

I was adopted at a young age by Christian parents and ever since then, I have been surrounded by all things "Christian".

However, going to Christian "things" and having Christian parents does not a Christian make.


I have always believed that Jesus was the Son of God and that the Bible was the Word of God, but even the demons believe (and they tremble; James 2:19).

I remember confessing my sins to God and "asking Jesus into my heart" after an "Unshackled" radio drama, but I was plagued with worry about the effectiveness of my prayer because I didn't feel like a weight had been taken off my back, which was how the experience had always been described on the program.
 

 I have long since moved past that bad theology; praise God!

 So, knowing my need for a Savior and the truth of Jesus' divinity, I trusted in Him for my salvation, confessed Him as Lord, repented of my sins, and was baptized.

My testimony is hardly cool or exciting, but it is very special to me. 


As a person who has long struggled with not measuring up, I am thankful to know that I don't need to try to "be something" in order to approach the cross and have a relationship with God.
 

To sum things up, if I could cite three reasons for why I am a Christian, they would be the following:
 

            Observational Confirmation

Seeing the absolute coherence, rationality, and sincerity of Christian faith has been an enduring testimony of its truth to me.

I love what C. S. Lewis said about his faith in the faith:
 

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. 

By seeing godly men and women live out the biblical faith in their daily lives, I cannot doubt that the Spirit of God is truly working in them and through them.

                   Internal Confirmation

The witness of the Holy Spirit to my heart has been a testimony to me of God's existence and activity in our world.

(I believe that God has hardwired us all for belief, but that man  suppresses this innate knowledge through sinfulness [Romans 1:18]).

There's not much I can say about this, except that for me the witness is more than a "burning in the bosom", is closer to what philosophers a "properly basic belief", and even closer to an eternal truth, whispered in your ear by the most trustworthy person in the whole universe

   
   Evidential Confirmation

While too lengthy and outside of the scope of this blog post to explain fully here, I believe that the proposition "God exists" best explains the origin of contingent beings, the existence of the universe, the fine-tuning of the universe for intelligent life, the reality of objective moral values and duties, and the very idea of God, as well as the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth and more.

The explanatory power of Christian theism is, I believe, unparalleled in scope and power.
 

You can see more about that here.
 

 In closing, I am very aware of the fact that I am still young and it seems everyday my faith is changing and growing as I learn more and try to better conform my life and doctrine to the Truth. 
 It gives me supreme joy to call myself a follower of Jesus and I consider it a privelge to share my faith with others.   

                  One More Thing

A Restoration Movement initiative
In addition to being a proud Christian, I am also proud to belong to a movement of churches which I believe best exemplify the biblical model for how the local church is supposed to look and act.

 You can read more about this fellowship of churches here.

Also feel free to leave a short testimony of how you came to Christ in the comment box below.    

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