First Steps: Session One
Becoming A Christian
By Paul Johnson

How great, you’ve found God and started to follow Jesus! We must celebrate!
This means that “anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.
The old life’s gone; a new life has begun!” -The Bible 2 Corinthians 5.17  (Helpful Hint: look up each verse in your Bible, and underline it or highlight it)
When we become Christians, we become new persons. We experienced a second birth, We were born into a new life. It means God gave us a brand new start! But it’s puzzling too. How can God enter my life and make me a new person? Let’s solve this puzzle! How? By examining how we become a Christian.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN?

The most basic question anyone asks is, What’s life all about? What’s the meaning of life?
Some people answer, Life’s all about…
…acquiring more and more things
…becoming a VIP (very important person)
…seeking pleasure.
…exercising power over others
No, this isn’t what life’s about! If we pursue these, we’ll waste our life. Ruin it. How? Here’s a simple exercise about purpose. What’s the purpose of these objects?

A cup is made to __________________ (your answer)

A pen is made to __________________ (your answer)

Easy, right! A cup’s made to hold liquids. A pen, to write. If you use a cup and a pen for their proper purpose, they’re very helpful. But if you use them for wrongly, you can ruin them. Could you use a cup as a hammer and a pen as a nail? Sure! But if you did, they’d break. Whose fault would it be? Not the manufacturer’s. No! It’d be your fault!

When God made us, he had a purpose in mind. Any idea what that was?
God made men and women, boys and girls for _____________________________ (your answer)
How would we find out God’s purpose? With a cup or a pen, we’d ask the manufacturer. We must do the same with God. Ask him, God, why did you make human beings?
What’s my purpose, God?

God already answered that question:
“So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do,
do it all for the glory of God.” -The Bible, 1 Corinthians 10. 31

Our primary purpose as a human being is to glorify God.
A famous training book for new Christians expressed our purpose this way:
Question: What is the chief end of man?
Answer: Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. – (Westminster Shorter Catechism of 1648)
What does glorify God mean? – ___________________________________ (your answer)
Here’s one response: to glorify God is to give God the highest honor, the first place in our lives. love him supremely and obey him as the Lord (Boss).

Why must we do this? because…
He’s our Creator. He made us. He deserves our gratitude.  He knows our purpose. He’ll show it if we respect and honor him.  He has a dream for each of us, if we give him first place in our lives.  What would you say and do to really honor someone?
________________________________________ (your answer)
You might say, I appreciate you! I enjoy being with you! I really admire you! You’d bring them gifts, offer to help them, ask if you could serve them. You’d want to hang around them and imitate them.

That’s how to treat God!
We should love and honor him, treating him with the highest respect.  But how do people actually treat God? Sadly, not like that. We find another purpose or substitute
another dream to live for. As a result, we waste and ruin our lives.  God has a term for these substitutes. Idols. Idols are God-replacements, something or someone we
substitute for God.  We give these idols honor and respect. We fixate on them instead
focusing on God. We miss our purpose, to glorify God in all we do or say.

Some idols people put into their lives are
_____________________________________________________________(your answer)

It’s offensive to God, these God-substitutes. It shows we don’t respect him, nor depend on him.

Idol: a God-replacement .

“Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.” -The Bible, 1 John 5.2 1

The only life-purpose that lasts forever is God’s purpose. We get to glorify God our Creator and live for Him forever! No other purpose lasts. Imagine being an architect. Your purpose in life is building a great project. When it’s completed at some point, then you’d have no more purpose. If your purpose is raising a family, at some point they’re up and out. Same with a career – at some point you retire.
Let’s help you learn how to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. If you find your purpose and put passion into it, you’ll have a fruitful life. If you don’t, you’ll end up empty, frustrated. A wasted life!

How do you come to glorify God? Next study, we’ll discover how.
Let’s review:

When we become a Christian, God starts all over again with us –we’re a brand-new person!

Our purpose in life is now to glorify God and enjoy him.

Forever!

(Helpful Hint: write this on a card or in your cellphone and refer to it this week)