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Next Steps for New Christians

First Steps for New Christians

An old Chinese proverb teaches a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. As a new believer you are beginning a wonderful lifelong walk with God.

You will still experience the normal difficulties and bumps of life that all of us face, such as possible loss of a job, heart break from a loved one, etc. However, the difference now is you won't have to go it alone when life throws you a curve. The Lord God along with your new brothers and sisters in Christ can help you get through the especially difficult circumstances that many of us experience. At the end of the journey, your joy will be complete and that is a promise (Rom 14:17-18) !

Five recommended steps for a new Christian:

1. If you don't already own a Bible, obtain one as soon as possible, read it daily, and obey what it says. A good place to start is the Gospel of John, maybe followed by one of Paul's new testament epistles such as Romans or Ephesians. Before beginning, go to God in prayer and ask him to open up your eyes and heart to the truth written within its pages.  

2. Locating a doctrinally sound local church is very important to your growth as a new Christian. Start visiting churches in your area and look for friendly and outgoing interactions among the church membership. Does the church seem dead or alive? Trust your instincts. There is no such thing as a perfect local church, but there are good ones. Is Jesus openly praised as Lord and Savior? If you don't hear words preached that line up with the example statement of faith referenced on this page, you should keep looking for a church home.  If the church you are visiting has a web site, check out their particular statement of faith. If you can't find it on line, ask for a written copy from the pastor of the Church. 

3. Find good mature believers, grounded in faith, to aid your learning process.  Hopefully you will have found a church home and you can start getting to know the members. Approach the pastor and ask if they have a class for new believers. Likely they will have one, or the pastor will recommend a discipleship path for you. It is also extremely important to obey the Lord and be baptized in water, so if you haven't been baptized (Acts 2:41))ask the pastor to do so.

4. Study, study, study. The bible will be your primary resource (and you should read from it every day (Ps 119:11).  Another book recommended for new Christians (or any Christian, for that matter) is J.I. Packer's classic, "Knowing God". Unfortunately, especially in western nations, many have a flawed basic understanding regarding the attributes of God. Packer's book will provide a beginning foundational knowledge of  God which will help you avoid flawed religious paths as you grow as a Christian. The book is available at most any Christian bookstore or you can buy it on-line for about $13. You can also ask your local library if they have it available, or maybe they can order it for you to borrow.

5. Go to God in prayer and ask him to help you identify and deal with present sin in your life. Some sin issues are more serious than others, so attack the big ones as soon as possible. Sin can be defined as any thought or attitude that violate God's moral law (the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20:1-7) The Bible has much to say about these sins so buy or borrow a Biblical concordance and look up the appropriate scriptures. Pray to God and ask him to help you and consult your pastor or Godly friend if necessary. Although tough to do, confessing our sins to one another is a healthy and freeing action. (James 5:16)

Each believer's life-long process to conform with the image of Christ is called sanctification. Is sanctification hard work? Yes it is, but your obedience will be rewarded and at journey's end your joy will be exceedingly great.  

May the love of the Lord bless you greatly as you love Him back and seek His will.