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NOW THAT YOU BELIEVE
Ed Bulkley
What your decision to accept Christ Means
"You have today declared the Lord to be your God, and that you would walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments and His ordinances, and listen to His voice. And the Lord has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments" (Deuteronomy 26:17,18).

This passage is about the agreement God made with His people, Israel. In the same way, He makes a covenant with believers in His Son Jesus, to make them "children of God" (John 1:12).

If you accepted Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior, you have made an eternal agreement with God. You have begun an entirely new way of living and thinking. Your motives and goals will become more and more directed by eternal concerns. You have become a "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17); you have been "born again" (John 3).
The purpose of this web page
The reason we have prepared this page is to help you get off to a solid beginning in your new Christian life. Just as a new-born baby needs help during the first years of life, so a new believer needs encouragement and instruction in the early days of growth. PLEASE TAKE TIME TO READ THIS ENTIRE ARTICLE! If you are serious about the commitment you made to Christ, you will want to know what God expects of you and how you can grow in your spiritual walk. Let's begin by looking more closely at the passage from Deuteronomy 26.
"You have today..."
The decision to accept Christ as Savior is one that took place at some point in time. It was an actual conscious decision when you realized that the Bible is true, that Christ died for your sins and rose to guarantee you eternal life, and that you had to make His sacrifice apply to your own soul before you could go to Heaven. Mark down the date of your decision; it is your new spiritual birthdate. Remember it and celebrate the day you "passed from death into life." (John 5:24).
"Declared"
Perhaps you raised your hand at the end of a worship service when the invitation was given. Raising one's hand will not save anyone; it is the definite and genuine choice of one's heart that God recognizes. But it is important for you to publicly declare your allegiance to Christ. This can be done in many ways: by telling a friend or relative about your new decision; by "going forward" in a worship service as a visual public testimony; by sharing a verbal testimony at a Bible study, telling how God is changing your life; by being baptized in water as a symbol of your identification with Christ. (see special brochure, "Should I Be Baptized?"). However you do it, a public declaration is important. It has similar significance to a wedding ceremony. Just as you would question the sincerity of someone who refuses to allow his marriage to become public knowledge, so one must question the sincerity of the person who says he loves Christ, but is ashamed to let others know. Declare Jesus proudly.
"The Lord"
The word "lord" means "a ruler by right or preemenence to whom service and obedience are due." In the passage in Deuteronomy, the literal Hebrew is "Jehovah." The name Joshua in the Old Testament is the same as "Jesus" in the New Testament and it means "Jehovah is salvation" or "Jehovah saves." How fitting then, that we call Jesus "Lord," for He is the One who saves. When we declare our decision to make Him Lord, we are saying that we will obey Him. Jesus asks in Luke 6:46, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?"

A true believer in Jesus has declared that he will follow his Master and obey Him whatever the command or cost.
"To be your God"
To make something or someone our god means that that thing or person is first in our priorities. The nations that surrounded Israel when Deuteronomy was written worshipped many gods -- idols of stone, wood, or gold. But Israel was set apart in what they believed: in only one God -- the One who had created the entire universe. As a result, God had the right to expect their total worship; everything they had belonged to Him -- family, property, and life itself. And that is what God expects of us. If we have made the Lord our God everything we are and have belongs to Him. Think about that. Count the cost...and the benefits.
"And that you would walk in His ways"
If you have chosen to serve Him as your God, then there are serious obligations which follow. You have declared your intention to "walk in His ways." The word "walk" in the Bible consistently speaks of one's lifestyle. This means that if Christ is your God, you have pledged to "walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory." (1 Thessalonians 2:12). When our President appoints someone to his administration, that person is expected to conduct himself in a way which will not embarass the one who has called him to share in his power and and fame. Isn't it reasonable for God to insist on as much? And He has written down for us a code of conduct to guide us in our lifestyle -- that code is called the Bible.
"And keep his statutes, His Commandments and His ordinances"
This is a way of emphasizing that our allegiance of love compells us to obey God's will in every way. His "statutes" convey the idea of His permanent, unchanging moral and ethical laws. His "commandments" speak of His direct will for us as individuals. And His "ordinances" reveal the outward ceremonies connected with the inward change God has made in the life of the believer. We cannot say that we will obey our Lord in those things which suit us, but we will disregard any part of His will which offends us. He is our Lord, and we must obey Him as such. Let's put this to a practical test. What could God ask you to do that would cause you to say "no!"? At what point will you draw the line? Baptism? Witnessing? Morality? Worship? Regular fellowship with other believers? Tithing? Studying the Bible? Prayer? Changing jobs? Changing friends? Outward appearance? Language? Habits?
"And listen to His voice"
When a person becomes a Christian, the Holy Spirit literally enters that person's body and lives there (1Cor.6:19). The more we submit our hearts, bodies, and minds to Him, the more He is free to guide us in moment by moment decisions. It is important to understand, however, that God will not give us new guidance until we are obedient to what He has already shown us. That is why if you decide to disobey His "statutes, commands, and ordinances" He is under no obligation to give you wisdom in other decisions.

It is like the boy who says to his father, "Dad, I don't know what to do. I have $5 and I don't know whether to buy a book or candy. What do you think?" His father replies, "Well it would probably be wiser to buy a good book. That way your body and mind will benefit." But the boy says, "Nah, I'd rather have the candy." The father is right in wondering, "Then why did you ask me in the first place?" If you want God to guide you and help you, make it a practice to "listen to His voice." One caution, however: Don't make the mistake of believing that every inner feeling is the Lord's leading. Our feelings are too subjective and prone to error to trust them without question. Always check inner "leadings" by the written Word of God.
"And the Lord has today declared to to be His"
What a beautiful truth! When you made the decision to accept Christ as Savior, God also chose you to be His child. (John 1:12). And because you are now His child, you can expect certain things from Him, just as a baby has the right to expect certain things from his parents. Here are just a few of the benefits of being in God's family:
  1. MATERIAL SUPPLIES (Psalm 37:3, Philippians 4:19)
  2. INCREDIBLE POTENTIAL (Mark 9:23)
  3. ANSWERS TO PRAYER (Mark 11:24, John 15)
  4. ETERNAL LIFE (John 3:14-16)
  5. SPIRITUAL FULFILLMENT (John 6:35)
  6. UNDERSTANDING (John 12:46)
  7. POWER FOR SERVICE (John 14:12)
The promises God has made to the believer are showered throughout the Bible! What a glorious thing it will be for you to study the Bible and find one new promise after another!
"A treasured possession"
God cares about each of His children. Matthew 6 tells us that He knows when we are suffering and in need and He will provide for us if we cooperate with Him. He also cares enough to discipline His children. Hebrews 12 says, "For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines...God deals with you as sons..." Take it as a warning: now that you are a child of God, if you willfully return to sin, God will discipline you until you turn back to Him.
"As He promised you"
God always keeps His promises. Most of them, however, are conditional upon our actions and obedience. If God does not answer your prayers, remember, He is not the one at fault. In addition, sometimes God says "no" when He answers our prayers because we are His treasured children and He wants only the best for us.
"And that you should keep all His Commandments"
God returns to this thought one last time in our passage to remind us that our decision and our relationship to Him will cause a walk of obedience if it is genuine and sincere. If there is no obedience, no change in your life, you have good reason to question whether you really did accept Christ as Savior.
Are you still declaring that you chose Him as your God?
After looking at what it means to make a decision to follow Christ, are you still willing to pay the price of commitment? If so, read on, because I want to share with you some practical things you will need to do in your new walk.
Spiritual growth is like physical growth
The Bible uses physical illustrations to help us understand spiritual growth. John 3 says that unless a person has been born physically ("born of water") and spiritually ("and the Spirit") he cannot enter Heaven. Just as physical birth is the beginning of one's earthly life, so spiritual birth is the beginning of one's eternal life. Spiritual birth, however, is one's choice.
Four things are required for healthy development
  1. FOOD: As one must eat physically to survive, so you must take in nutrition spiritually to keep from starving. Spiritual food is God's Word, the actual thoughts of God as written down in the Bible. Deuteronomy 8:3 says, "Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord." If you want to grow spiritually, you must make it a habit to feed on God's Word daily. Just as you cannot eat enough at a single banquet to live without hunger for an entire week, so you cannot take in enough spiritual food at a church service to last for a whole week. Keep your Bible handy. Get one you can understand easily; read it; meditate on it; believe it; obey it.
  2. EXERCISE: In order for one's muscles to develop properly, you must use them, stretch them, push them again and again. Spiritual exercise is witnessing. To grow in your new faith, you need to put yourself in testing situations by telling others about Christ and what He means to you. Some will receive your witness gladly and will also want to accept Christ. Others will criticize you and still others will ridicule you. Some will ask questions you will not be able to answer right away. Don't despair, dear friend. You will discover the answers as you study the Bible. In addition, you have the LIFE STAFF to help you when you need to find something in the Bible. Feel free to call.
  3. REST: This is the third of the four things necessary for healthy growth. Without physical rest we grow weary, irritable, and ineffective. Spiritual rest is found in prayer. One's strength is renewed by rest and one's spiritual power can only be found in prayer. Prayer is simply talking to God about every need of our lives, every concern, every desire, every disappointment. Jesus was the perfect example of the need for prayer. You will discover, as you read the Gospels, that Jesus often felt the intense need to pray -- so much so that he would sometimes get up long before daybreak in order to find a place of quiet and solitude so he could be alone with the Father. If our Lord needed to pray, how much more do we! There is no secret to learning how to pray; as a child learns to talk (by trial and error), so we learn by praying. Matthew 6 is a primary passage on how to pray.
  4. FELLOWSHIP: The last thing that is necessary for healthy physical development is interaction with others. You have, no doubt read of those tragic cases where children were kept locked away from society for years, and when they were discovered by authorities, though the children might be in their teens, their minds were still stunted. It is just as true spiritually. If you isolate yourself away from other believers, you will be stunted spiritually. You might think, "Oh, I can worship God by myself. I don't have to go to church." I suppose you could, but do you? And why would a genuine child of God not want to be with fellow believers? Hebrews 10:25 says, "not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near."
Here are, then, four things you need to do IMMEDIATELY
  1. Read the Bible daily. Don't skim it; read it and meditate on it for spiritual food.
  2. Witness to others every chance you get. Their eternal destiny may depend upon you.
  3. Pray about everything. Don't wait until you can get on your knees. You can pray anywhere, anytime, in any position.
  4. Attend services regularly at a Bible-believing church. Get into a Bible Study and a ministry right away, and get started in your new life!

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