Why Not become a Christian?

 

There are many reasons why you might not want to be a Christian. Some of these are not right, but some of them are very real and will cause you problems.

 

The Cost

Jesus said that anyone following him will have to bear a cross - Jesus really had to carry the cross he was to be killed on, and those who follow him will have some sort of burden to bear. Jesus said someone deciding whether to follow him is like a man deciding to build a tower. Before starting he must work out the cost and see if he has enough money to finish it. If he cannot finish it everyone will laugh at him. Jesus said unless you forsake all you have you cannot be his disciple. from Luke14 v 27-33

 

Persecution

More people have been killed for being Christians in the last hundred years than in all the years before. How much people will attack you if you become a Christian depends on where you live and who you know. Perhaps if you are in a Moslem family they will feel that you have let them down and brought dishonour, and may even try to kill you. In other places you may be laughed at or feel that you are hated.

Jesus said , "Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in Heaven." Matthew 5 v 11-12

 

Doing good things

Jesus wants those who love him to do good things to other people. This takes time and sometimes money and means helping people you don't like.

 

Stop doing bad things

There may be things which you like doing which are not good, and which you will need to stop if you are going to follow Jesus.

Don't worry if you think it is too hard to stop. If you really want to stop Jesus will give you the help you need, and if you are really sorry for what you do wrong he will forgive you.

 

Losing friends

Some of your friends may not want to know you any more if you become a Christian. If you live in a society where you can meet freely with other Christians you will find new friends, but it may be hard being rejected by some who are your friends now.

 

Time and money

As a Christian you should not let other people tell you how to spend your time or your money, but you may find that God is wanting you to do things which take up your time and may find that he wants you to give away money.

 

Forgiving

Jesus died so that we can be forgiven and he wants us to forgive other people for the bad things they have done to us. This is not always easy. If you are not willing to try to forgive others you will not be able to follow Jesus.

 

Needing to admit when you are wrong

All of us do things which we wish we had not done. Often these are things which hurt other people. Just as we need to forgive other people, if we are to follow Jesus we need to say sorry when we have wronged someone, and to ask for their forgiveness.

 

Leaving your present religion

You cannot be a Christian and bow down to other gods as well. If you decide to follow Jesus you will have to stop worshipping any other god or gods you may be worshipping now.

 

 

All of these are real problems, and you must decide for yourself if you are willing to face up to them. If you do decide to follow Jesus you will have problems, but you will have much greater blessings of knowing that God has forgiven you, knowing that he loves you and that he is always with you, knowing that you are pleasing him, and finding that he has great and exciting things for you.

 

 

THINGS WHICH DO NOT MATTER

There are some things which people think will stop them from being a Christian but which should not stop you

 

I am not good enough

Nobody is good enough. Even the people who have done most good in the world are far below the standard God wants. Also Jesus said that he did not come to call good people but sinners( people who do wrong) to repentance. Matthew 9 v 13

I am not clever enough

Thank God that he has made you as you are. There is no need to be clever, or to be able to read and write, or to be able to pray in fine sounding words, or to understand every part of the Bible. All you need to understand is that God loves you, that Jesus has died for you and wants you to believe in him and to follow him. Anyone can understand that.

When Jesus chose his first 12 followers he chose some clever men (one was a doctor and one a tax collector) and some simple workmen -some were fishermen. He did not look just for clever people.

Nobody in my family has ever been a Christian

You have to decide for yourself whether to follow Jesus, and your family cannot decide for you. Anyway in every family there must be somebody who was the first to be a Christian.

I am too old (or too young)

Jesus told his followers to let the little children come to him. So long as you are old enough to know what you are doing there is nothing to stop a child becoming a follower of Jesus. Also although it is harder for old people to make a big change in their lives Jesus still wants them to turn to him.

I will not be able to keep it up

In our own strength none of us can keep on being good all the time. God gives us his strength to help us to resist what is bad. Even then we all often fail, but God knows we are weak, and so long as we are sorry and ask him to forgive us he will carry on doing so, time after time.

 

I come from a non-Christian country

Jesus was a Jew and at first people thought he had come for the Jews only. He said "I have other sheep who are not of this flock." The Bible says that there will be people from every tribe and nation with Jesus in Heaven.

 

Click here for What is a Christian?

Click here for Why should I become a Christian?

Click here for How do I become a Christian?

Click here for What should I do when I have become a Christian?

Click here for What is the Bible?

Click here for Home Page

 

 

Contact

If you would like to contact us e-mail mail@beachristian.info