Do you go to a church to become a Christian?
How did one become a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ?
1 Thessalonians 1:4-7 "Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. 5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. 6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost: 7 So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia."
Notice in verse 5 it says “For our gospel came not unto you in word only…”, which is to say that it was the gospel that came unto you, and not the other way round. You did not go and look for the gospel, but the gospel came unto you. Then we look in verse 6 “And ye became followers of us…” So, after a person heard the gospel, and came to the knowledge of the truth, he became a follower of “us” (the church), and of the Lord.
Paul calls this “your election of God" in verse 4, which is to say, you elect to become a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. You choose to become a Christian after you have heard the gospel which came unto you not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance. This passage of Scripture also tells us what the true gospel is about:
it comes in the form of words, and words being the physical form of a spirit (Proverbs 1:23),
it is very powerful and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12),
it comes with the Holy Ghost who will reveal the truth to you from the word, and
it comes in much assurance that what you have heard is faithful and true.
It is mystery how people from different times and era and different walks of life around the world are separated into "saved" and "lost", according to how they react to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Proverbs 1:20-23 "¶ Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: 21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, 22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? 23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you."
Solomon by inspiration of the Holy Ghost tells us that there is a woman by the name of “Wisdom” (the church) who crieth without: her voice is in the streets, her voice is in the chief place of concourse, her voice is in the openings of the gates, and her voice is in the city. Her message to the people is this:
Proverbs 1:22 "How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?"
The simple ones, the fools and the scorners include those who like what Paul has shared in 1 Thessalonians 1:4-7, “pre-believers” of the word, but after they have received the gospel, they became followers of “us” (the church) and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, there are also those who will continue to love simplicity, delight in their scorning, and hate knowledge despite the gospel which came to them in word, in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance. In fact, these are the majority of the people out there.
Wisdom continues…
Proverbs 1:23 "Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you."
What is “Turn you at my reproof”? That is the true gospel message, calling the simple ones, the scorners, and the fools to REPENT!! The elaboration of “Turn you at my reproof” is given in the part after the ‘:’ mark, that is, “I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.” So, what would be a person’s reaction when he was asked to repent? This will determine the next step he is going to take right? If his heart was to make a recourse, then this is where the Holy Ghost will reveal to him the truth from the word, and it will come in much assurance that what he have heard is faithful and true.
John 10:27-28 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."
In 1 Thessalonians 1:6, Paul says “And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord", and that is after that person has heard the gospel and came to the knowledge of the truth. Jesus tells us in John 10:27 that “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” The voice of Wisdom (the church) is always one with the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Timothy 3:15 "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
Paul calls the church of the living God “the pillar and ground of the truth.” She is the externalization of the kingdom of God to the world, and her message to the world is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The words that came out of her mouth is the voice of the Lord, which is to say, the voice of the Lord can be heard in the streets, in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates, and in the city. John 10:27 tells us that “My sheep hear my voice”, which is to say, those whose heart is set to repent will hear the voice of the Lord in these places.
1 Thessalonians 1:6 "And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:"
Those whose heart were set to repent will receive the word, and the word will afflict them, yet they have the joy of the Holy Ghost. There is joy when it was the Holy Ghost who reveal the truth of the gospel to you from the written word of God. This is when God will open your eyes to spiritual things, and you can now see the kingdom of God.
John 3:3 "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
When your eyes can see the kingdom of God, that is when you know you are “born again”, God has forgiven your sins, and you have eternal life henceforth. You are no longer your old self: a transformation has taken place within you.
2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
The old things about you “are passed away”, which is to say, it doesn’t pass away all at once, but there is a process to it. At the same time old things are passed away, all things “are become new” for you.
Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
The word of God is “quick”. What does it mean?
Acts 10:42 "And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead."
1 Peter 4:5 "Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead."
According to these two verses, “quick” is the opposite of “dead”, which is to say, quick means “living”. Therefore, the word of God is living word according to Hebrews 4:12. When it is received in the heart of a person, it will perform a work in him. Therefore, if your salvation is by the word of God alone, then you can be sure that you won’t ever lose it, because it was not by your own works that wrought it to begin with.
Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast."
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Paul calls your salvation (eternal life) “the gift of God”. A gift is a thing given, the property of which is voluntarily transferred by one party to another without any form of compensation involved. As such, salvation is a free gift. It is not earned by works, because it is a gift of God. Paul further tells us:
Romans 11:29 "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance."
When God bestows the gift of eternal life unto a born again believer, it is WITHOUT repentance i.e. he cannot take it back. God who knows the end from the beginning: he who foreknew his people cannot make mistakes. Therefore, the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. So, to answer the question “Do you go to church to become a Christian?” Then I will ask back the question: “Why do you go to church on the first place?” If you can answer this question according to what has been revealed from Scripture, I believe the kingdom of God is not far from you.