Count the Cost -- Become a Christian

QUESTION: Count the Cost -- Become a Christian

ANSWER:

A Christian is, literally, “Christ’s one,” someone who is not just vaguely influenced by Christian teaching, but who has switched his or her most fundamental allegiance to Jesus. Christians understand the all-or-nothing choice that is forced upon us by the magnitude of Jesus’ claims. Indeed, we must count the cost to become a Christian.

From the earliest days, the confession of Christians was Christos Kurios – “Jesus is Lord.” In the historical context, in which it was required to say Kaiser Kurios, “Caesar is Lord,” this confession meant that Jesus was the supreme power. He was not just a teacher, prophet, or even a divine angelic being, but, as an early Christian hymn put it, he had “the name above every name” (Philippians 2:9). In Him “all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9).¹

Count the Cost, Become a Christian, and Find True Hope
Again, Jesus is who He says, or He’s not. His identity has nothing to do with time or tradition, rules or rituals, leaders, or labels. Similarly, our response to Jesus has nothing to do with signing-up for a “religion.” Simply, it's all about Jesus. He's either the Son of God who offers each of us the only true hope, or he's not.

Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

Now, who do you say that He is…?

Footnote:
¹ For more awesome material in the area of counting the cost of Christianity, please see “Where Do We Go From Here?” in The Reason for God by Timothy Keller (Dutton 2008), p. 228-231.

Count the Cost and Become a Christian