Q. I don't know if I'm a Christian. How do I know? I've been trying to see what the Bible says about salvation and faith, but I don't know where to look. Can you give me advice?

A. Lots of people claim to be Christian. Some because their family goes to church. Others because they live in North America and they're not Jewish or Muslim or Hindu or Buddhist or atheist.

But the Bible teaches that a Christian is someone who follows Jesus Christ. "Christ" was not Jesus' last name. "Christ" is a title meaning "anointed one" or "Messiah," referring to the one the prophets foretold—the person sent from God who would bring salvation and deliverance and light and life.

The simplest answer to your question is what the Bible says: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31, NIV). And Romans 10:9 (NIV) says, "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Another great salvation passage is this one: "God has also said that he gave us eternal life and that this life comes to us from his Son. And so, if we have God's Son, we have this life. But if we don't have the Son, we don't have this life. All of you have faith in the Son of God, and I have written to let you know that you have eternal life" (I John 5:11-13, NIV).

There you go. It's all about what's going on inside. Do you believe Jesus was the Son of God who died for your sins? Confessing with your mouth means that you can say, "Jesus is my Lord"—and mean it.

Believing in Lord Jesus means you view Jesus as your boss. It means learning what Jesus taught, and living your life by those teachings. The place to start is to read the Gospels and then the rest of the New Testament and ask, "Is this what I want my life to be about?"

Marshall, a former pastor, is editor of Leadership, a magazine for pastors.

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