What To Expect If You Become A Christian

Many people are reluctant to become a Christian. Perhaps they associate it with bad church experiences or with a list of rules. Maybe they view Christians as hypocrites because they don’t live and act the way you think they ought to. Or the other way around, that Christians seem self-righteous and look down on particular segments of society as sinners. (Which is sadly true in some cases).

One of the first things to expect when becoming a Christian is having peace with God with an assurance of going to heaven and eternal salvation. Secondly, the Holy Spirit of God will enter your heart and give you a new spiritual nature. This is what it means to be born again. (John 3:3). Your desires will begin to change. You will maybe want to change the type of friends you have and the type of entertainment you watch. You may experience deliverance from addictions.

All of your struggles will not automatically go away. Neither will your life issues of family, money, sickness, emotional reactions, or negative character qualities. Christians struggle with the same problems as everyone else, but God by his Holy Spirit and by his grace can give victory over the problems.

You will still have your natural nature and personality, but the Holy Spirit over time will begin working in your life to overcome, with your persistent effort, things in your life that need to change. Some things will happen quickly while other things can be a lifelong battle. However, through all of this, you will have a hope and peace that was not possible before.

God will not necessarily change your life goals or plans, but He will allow you to go your own way apart from Him if that is what you decide to do. Free will to act and live the way you want to will still be present but over time you will want to see positive changes in your attitudes, actions, emotional responses, and negative habits. There will be a battle between your old and new natures, but you have been delivered from the kingdom of darkness and transferred into God‘s kingdom of light (Colossians 1:13-14).

You will begin to realize that you are a creation of God and that He loves you. Your worldview will change with the realization that God is sovereign over the world and humanity, and at times intervenes in the activities of the human race. The difference between being religious and having a personal relationship with God will become apparent.

Maybe you are thinking that you like the way you live and see no need to change. You are living a moral life. But are you experiencing peace and purpose? Are you living in loneliness or depression? Are you putting all your hope and trust in wealth and success? What happens if you lose all of that? Are you afraid of what you might lose? You can gain the whole world but lose your own soul (Matthew 16:26).

After all that has been said, don’t use the lives of other Christians to determine whether or not to become one. However, there are many Christians who are excellent examples. What you don’t see on the surface is the inner peace and hope the Christians have regardless of what’s been going on in the world. You don’t see the answers to prayer or how God works in their lives with His love and grace.

You will initiate a journey of spiritual maturity and, in the long run, really get to see what it means to be a Christian.

What has been holding you back from becoming a Christian? Has anything said in this article changed your thinking? Click on the link to the “Roman’s Road” at the top of this website that will tell you how to become a Christian.