First, let me share my testimony and then I’ll elaborate. As a child my parents felt it important that we have a Christian upbringing, so they sent us to the nearest church for Sunday school. It was a little Baptist church within walking distance. I learned Bible stories and very little else. It was a strange little church and eventually I and my siblings refused to go. I don’t remember why I was uncomfortable there, but I knew I didn’t want to attend. I was raised to obey parents the Ten Commandments and the laws, but I wasn’t really immersed in Christianity. I was a “Christian” by heritage rather than by faith. In High school I met a girl named Kelly that reintroduced me to Christianity, by asking me to attend church with her, so I reluctantly took her to church. I got little or nothing from my trips to her church, but I did get time spent with her, which was my true desire. I ended up breaking up with Kelly and dated several other girls. Then I asked Melissa to the Senior Prom. She refused to go with me unless I was a Christian. I was perplexed and took a few moments to think about it, but finally said “Yes, I am a Christian.” I had a “Christian” upbringing and I remembered even professing faith as a young child. I thought I was telling her the truth, but really had no concept of true Christian faith. So, before and after the prom, I started attending her church. It was a loving, wonderful church called First Baptist Church of Pine Castle and in it I learned what true Christianity is. As I continued to attend, with many of my friends from school, the Holy Spirit compelled me to make a public profession of faith. I had already given my life to Jesus, but I was compelled to make it known publicly, so I finally did. I spent about 3-4 years basking in the grace of God, but then I fell into the sin of lust, got married to the wrong woman, had to join the military, because I couldn’t afford her extravagant spending. I also allowed her to shame me into discontinuing reading the Bible, because every time I did, she called me a hypocrite. It was my fault; I should have been stronger. My 20 years in the military were steeped in Christian mortality, but very little service to my Lord. I finally divorced my wife and began searching for a church to attend. Then I met my current wife, Sharee, at my brother’s house. She was a friend of my brother’s wife and a powerfully devout Christian women that understood Christianity and humanity and the inexorable conflict Christians have with their old natures. I started attending Proffit’s Grove Baptist Church and rededicated my life to the Lord and never looked back.
Second, I’d like you to understand that all that come to faith in the Lord Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior must come by faith. You can’t intellectualize your way into Christianity. It also cannot be an exclusively emotional experience, heck I can get emotional about a football game or a sappy love story, so don’t let your emotions falsely guide you. You must come to faith by the leadership and drawing power of the Holy Spirit as you know to the core of your being that Jesus is your Lord and your Savior. Then you can profess your faith and accept God’s free gift of grace.
Third, after you have committed your life to Christ and you have voluntarily turned from your sins as an act of worship, not requirement, then you can start living an overtly Christian life. People will see the difference in you as you learn to seek the leadership of the Holy Spirit, and try to act and react as Jesus would.
Fourth, you then begin to prepare yourself for the questions non-Christians might ask as you. You outwardly demonstrate the Hope that is in you, as written in 1 Peter 3:15, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” You want to start accumulating in-depth knowledge of scripture, Biblical history and everything else you can, so that you can provide non-Christians an intelligent, wise and truthful answer about your faith and your Savior.
This is the formula you learn from the Bible if you carefully read it. This is not my formula, but God’s formula as revealed in scripture. I do everything I can to live this formula daily, out of worship for my Lord and Savior, not out of any misguided obligation. Jesus did it all, when he shed his blood on Mt. Calvary, and my works have nothing to do with my salvation. My works are a direct result of my salvation, and my desire to worship my Lord. So, in my quest to be able to answer people’s questions about my faith, what have I learned?
The Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God, through research into its origins, accuracy and accurate prophesies.
Supernatural creation by God makes much more sense than the physically impossible theory of “inorganic molecules to multicellular organisms” evolution. Evolution is not just improbable, but completely impossible.
Morality is fixed and established by God, it is not relative in accordance with each individual. The thought of your morality being distinct from mine, because of moral relativism is ludicrous. Either we adhere to the morals of our creator or we get moral chaos – immorality.
When the Bible refers to knowledge (science) it is always correct. Christianity makes the most sense of the natural universe around us.
Biblical prophecy is the only 100% accurate prophecy. All other people or religious writings that have tried to prognosticate have failed.
I’m a Christian, because by faith I accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, because I chose to live in Christian morality, the Bible is unquestionably the Word of God, and because the universe clearly demonstrates design, engineering and creation, by an all-powerful, all knowing, Creator God.