If you have just received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and want to know about the next steps of your Christian journey, then you are in the right place. We are glad that you have taken the most important decision of your life. In order to live a faithful Christian life, you need to learn the fundamental truths of Christianity. This section will help you understand the fundamentals of Christian faith and help you in your journey with Jesus Christ.
1. Faith
You are now a Christian and it is indeed a great joy to receive Jesus as your personal Savior. The decision to follow Jesus is the greatest decision you could ever make in your life. In order to express your Christian faith, you need to get baptized in obedience to God’s word. Baptism is the outward expression of the inward reality. Though baptism is not essential for salvation, it is the way to tell the world that you are now dead to sin and alive in Christ. It is important to understand that you are not saved because of your deeds but by the grace of God. This does not mean that you can live your life just as you want. You are now dead to sin and you can no longer live in it. Sin no longer has dominion over you as your life is now being built on your faith in Jesus. Faith is the most important virtue in every Christian’s life. It is by grace you are saved through faith. But being a Christian with immeasurable faith makes no sense to others without deeds. It thus becomes important for a Christian to express the faith possessed within our hearts by our deeds. Though deeds don’t qualify one to be saved, a Christian life should be a life that reflects Christ in action. It is a personal longing to live for Christ and to be His very own. Being a Christian is not a momentary feeling but a lifelong experience.
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Ephesians 2:8,9) "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:38) "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." (James 2:26)
2. Holy Spirit
You cannot live a faithful Christian life with your own strength. But God has not left you alone. He has given you a helper, the Holy Spirit. You need the help of the Holy Spirit everyday of your Christian journey. Holy Spirit is the third person of the triune Godhead. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He is the helper given by God to every Christian to grow in their Christian faith. When you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, the Holy Spirit came into your heart. He dwells within you and guides you with His gentle voice. You need to carefully listen to His voice and obey Him. He will teach you the truth and guide you every moment of your life. When you do not know what to pray, the Holy Spirit Himself will pray for you. When you are weak, the Holy Spirit will give you the strength to exercise your faith in Jesus. Though the Holy Spirit dwells within your heart, only a complete submission and attentiveness to His meek voice would lead to an explicit work of God in your life. The presence of Holy Spirit in your life is known through the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. It is God’s desire for your life to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit.
"And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever." (John 14:16) "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things." (John 14:26) "When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth." (John 6:13) "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30)
3. Prayer
Prayer is talking to God. This is the very first thing you would have done after accepting Jesus Christ in your heart. You naturally like to talk more with the person whom you love the most. Praying to God is just the same as talking to your dear ones. Prayer comprises praise, thanksgiving, confession, worship, supplication and intercession. Praying for others makes prayer more beautiful and meaningful. Prayer brings victory. A prayer with faith can even change the most difficult situation of our lives. It is good to have a scheduled time of prayer every day. But you can always pray within your heart and stay connected with God. In the Bible, we find Jesus teaching His disciples how to pray and this is famously referred as “The Lord’s Prayer”. This simple prayer teaches us how to pray (Refer Matthew 6:9-15). This can be considered as a model for Prayer and even can be prayed when you fall short of words or do not know how to pray. Though God is Holy, we are given the privilege of being His children. That is why He expects us to spend time with Him through prayer. We can ask anything to God in prayer which we would ask our earthly father. It is important to submit to the will of God while praying, before asking for our own needs. It is also necessary to pray for God’s guidance to overcome the temptations and to live a victorious Christian life.
"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation." (Matthew 26:41) "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Philippians 4:6) "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." (1 John 5:14)
4. Bible
The powerful tool that helps every Christian in his journey with Jesus is the Bible. Reading the Bible and meditating upon it would help you get closer to God. The Bible is very powerful because it contains the inerrant, and infallible written Word of God. The 66 books of the Bible organized under the old and the new testaments are written by various holy men inspired by God. The Bible explains how godly people lived their lives and also tells us the life story of Jesus. It teaches us how to progress in our Christian Journey. God’s important way of communicating with you is through the Bible. God will give answers to your prayers through the Bible. He will assure you hope in distress with His promises recorded in the Bible. He will guide you with His words to choose the right path in your life’s journey. He will console you in times of trouble through His words. To live a faithful Christian life, it is necessary to keep meditating upon the Word of God. The Bible is the weapon given to us by God to stand against the works of the devil. Jesus Himself conquered the devil by quoting the Word of God (Refer Matthew 4:1-11). However, it is not possible to understand the truths of the Bible through human efforts. We need the guidance of God’s Spirit to understand His Word. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you as you read your Bible and He will help you in understanding His Word and applying it in your life.
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16) "How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word." (Psalm 119:9) "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." (Joshua 1:8) "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever." (Isaiah 40:8)
5. Church
You are not alone in your Christian Journey. There are Christians living all around the world with whom you can have fellowship with and grow together in Christ. Fellowship is a key aspect of Christian life. The fellowship is not just being together but also doing together. Together you can do greater things for Christ as His children. Find a Bible believing local church and worship God together with other Christians. Get connected with the members of the church. The members of the church belong to one family. Interact with other members of your church and get to know more about them. Listen to their testimonies and be encouraged by their faith in Christ Jesus. Share with them how God you came to faith in Jesus. The Lord has promised to be in the midst of the gathering where two or three people join together in His name. Get together as a group to study the Bible and learn more about Christian faith. Pray for one another and especially for those who are in crisis. Share your problems with one another and get encouraged by strengthening each other in Christ. Remember that your home is in heaven and you are strangers in this world. Be quick to forgive, help, support and love one another.
"Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2) "Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing." (1 Thessalonians 5:11) "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness." (Hebrews 3:13) "And let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:25)
6. Share
Now that you have found the meaning of life in Christ Jesus, is it not your duty to share this good news with others? The great commission given by our Lord Jesus Christ to all Christians is to share this good news of Jesus Christ with others. Every Christian has the responsibility to share the good news and the Holy Spirit will teach how you ought to share when you do. There are millions of people in this world who are wandering for hope. They don’t have the assurance of salvation in their lives and it’s our duty to share God’s love with them and save them from eternally perishing in their sins. It can be through a personal conversation with your colleague or even with a stranger. It can be through a mission work amidst the less privileged people or a ministry among the self-sufficient ones. It can be in a neighborhood village or a country thousands of miles away. Wherever you are, keep proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ and make disciples for Jesus. Through whatever means God wants to use you, He will do so through His Holy Spirit. All you need to do is obey His voice and be rest assured that He will fulfill His Great Commission through you.
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19) "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) "God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:4) "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." (Romans 1:16)