How would most people in our culture define what a Christian is?
Does your own view of what a Christian is differ from that in any way?
A Personal Relationship With God
The Bible explains that a Christian – a follower of Christ – is someone who has a personal relationship with God.
God uses the imagery of hospitality to give us a picture of this special relationship that we can have with Him.
Read Revelation 3:20
Revelation 3:20
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”
What does Christ offer to those who invite Him into their lives?
What kind of relationship does this portray to you?
What would you want to talk about as He sits and eats with you?
The Bible also describes your relationship with God in terms of a family. Read John 1:12.
What kind of relationship does this create between you and God?
Have you viewed God differently than this? If so, how have you viewed Him?
What are we asked to do in order to have this relationship?
Have you given Christ an invitation to enter your life and make you God’s child?
If you have, why did you choose to do this? If not, would you like to know how?
The Basis Of Your Relationship With God
Many people think a person becomes a Christian based on where he is born, what kind of person he is, or what he has done for God. But the Bible says you become a Christian – a follower of Christ – by faith accepting what God has done for you through Jesus Christ.
According to Colossians 1:21-22, what was your position in relation to God before Jesus saved you?
Colossians 1:21-22
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.
What did God do to make it possible for you to enter into a relationship with Him?
How does God view you now?
When we understand what God did for us, it affects our relationship with Him. Ephesians 2:4-5, 8-9 portray God’s forgiveness and offer of relationship as a gift.
Ephesians 2:4-5, 8-9
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our sins, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved . . . For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
What is His gift, and what does it tell you about God’s attitude towards you?
What does God say is your role in making the relationship possible?
What do you think it means to have faith in Jesus to save you?
Suppose you were standing before God and He asked you, “Why should I let you join Me in heaven?” What would you say?
How does knowing what God did for you affect your attitude towards Him?
Three Aspects Of Your Relationship With God
Jesus’ purpose in giving up His life was for you to have a new kind of life through your relationship with Him.
Based on John 10:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:17, what are two aspects of the life God has made possible for you to experience?
John 10:10
“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
What changes will these make in your daily life?
The Bible writes about a third aspect of your new life from God. Read 1 John 5:11-13.
1 John 5:11-13
And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
If you have asked Jesus, God’s Son, into your life, what else does it say you have?
When does this eternal life begin? When does it end?
How does Jesus describe eternal life in John 17:3?
The relationship that you begin with God is eternal and continues forever, through difficult times and even physical death. It is the most significant relationship you can have, and you can depend on it.
Certainty In Your Relationship With God
Trust is an essential element in a relationship. Christianity is based on faith, but the Bible is clear that you can know your relationship with God is secure. Look back at the highlighted sentence in 1 John 5:13.
1 John 5:13
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
Since, by faith, you have asked Jesus into your life, what does God promise you can know with certainty?
If you were to die tonight, how sure are you that you would spend eternity with God?
Not at all confident 0% ––––> 100% Very sure
When God gives us promises in the Bible, we can be sure that they are true because God does not lie. His promises will build a strong foundation for your relationship.
Hebrews 13:5-6 is another amazing promise expressing God’s commitment to you.
Hebrews 13:5-6
. . . He has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
What assurance does God give you in this verse?
How will knowledge of this truth affect your continued relationship with God?
There may be times when it is difficult for you to feel that God is with you, but your relationship with God is based on His trustworthy promise, not your feelings.
How could Romans 8:38-39 encourage you if you began to doubt that Christ is in your life?
Romans 8:38-39
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God also describes our relationship with Jesus as one of care and protection. In John 10:27-29 Jesus is portrayed as a shepherd guaranteeing the safety of his sheep.
John 10:27-29
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
What does Jesus say about His commitment to you?
On whom does the security of your relationship with God depend?
Summary Thoughts And Steps Forward
Which of the truths we explored spoke the most to your heart today?
Is there someone you could share that with this week?
Based on these passages, is there anything you would want to include when talking about what it means to be a Christian?
As we finish, let’s thank Him for these truths about what He has done for us.
This week you can be encouraged by looking at more benefits of your relationship with God. Each day read one passage and think about what God has given you and how it affects your life. Write down what you discover, then thank God for His gift. To help you remember these important truths each day, select a few verses to memorize.
John 3:16-18
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Ephesians 1:7-8
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight.
Colossians 1:13-14
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
1 Peter 1:3-5
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
