(upbeat music) - We open the week with an email from Carla, who writes in with a very short question, and to the point, "Pastor John, how does a person know "when he or she is ready to become a Christian?" What would you say to Carla? - It's a good question, because Jesus told a story one time that really emphasized the importance of counting the cost before you become one of his followers.

Here's what he said, "Whoever does not bear his own cross "and come after me cannot be my disciple." In other words, it's not easy. "For which of you, desiring to build a tower, "does not first sit down and count the cost, "whether he has enough to complete it?" Otherwise, "When he has laid a foundation "and is not able to finish, "all who see it will begin to mock him, saying, "'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'" So that's Jesus' story, and I think it means, in other words, being a Christian is not a bed of roses.

Believing and living the truth cost Jesus his life, and the same may be true of anyone who follows him. I just read this morning about Christian missionaries being crucified and beheaded in Syria. That's what he meant when he said, "Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me "cannot be my disciple." So I am glad that Carla is taking this as seriously as she is.

And I think the question, when is a person ready to become a Christian, will become plain, the answer will become plain, if we define what becoming a Christian means, or what a Christian is. So let me try, and I'm gonna base all, I'm not gonna quote a lot of passages of Scripture, but virtually every sentence that I speak now, I have thought through from particular parts of the Bible.

So this is not just, I hope, and I believe, John Piper's opinion, but really what the Bible teaches about what it means to be a Christian. Jesus Christ, the eternal, divine Son of God, who was never created, but who always existed, along with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, in a mysterious unity, as one God, this Jesus Christ came into the world about 2,000 years ago, conceived in the womb of a virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit, not with God like some celestial man shacking up with a virgin, like some religions say we believe.

That's not what we believe. The power of the Holy Spirit will overshadow you. And a God-man was conceived in the womb in a most spiritual and holy and pure way, and he came, grew up in order to solve the biggest problem in the universe. And the biggest problem in the universe is that all of us human beings, and every one of us knows this in our heart, from the beginning have failed to love God, failed to trust God and obey God and live in a way that treats God as the supreme value in our hearts and in the universe.

We have failed. And so we've dishonored God and belittled his infinitely beautiful glory as though it weren't worth anything. And as a result of this, and it's treason, as a result of this treason against our creator, God's justice and holiness demands that we be appropriately punished. And given the fact that God is an infinitely worthy God, therefore our punishment in order to be just must be infinite, and that's why hell exists.

But God is not only holy and just, the Bible reveals. He is also gracious and patient and loving, and therefore he planned a way to solve this biggest problem in the universe, namely the massive chasm that exists between us sinners and God in his holiness and justice and purity.

And the solution that he designed was that God sent Jesus Christ into the world to become a substitute for everyone who would believe in him. In other words, when Jesus Christ died on the cross as the God-man, he bore, this is an exact quote, he bore the sins of all of those who would trust in him.

He bore our guilt, he bore our punishment, he bore the wrath that we should receive and don't have to receive if we are hiding by faith in Jesus as our asbestos protection, because he bore it for us. And then he rose again from the dead to vindicate the success of his saving work on the cross.

And so everyone who trusts Jesus is viewed by God as united to Jesus so that the death of Jesus counts as our punishment and his resurrection guarantees our eternal life. And so the chasm between us and God is overcome and we are enabled to live with overflowing joy in the presence of infinite beauty, namely God, forever and ever.

And the reason this is possible is not only that God took our guilt away through Jesus, but also because when we're united to Christ by faith, we receive that other person of the Godhead, namely the Holy Spirit. So all three, the Father, the Son, the Spirit are at work in our salvation.

We receive the Holy Spirit who begins to work in us new desires, new passions, new loves, so that we're actually able to enjoy the God that we once were so afraid of or hated or didn't believe in. Now, what all of that means is that becoming a Christian involves something more than a mere decision to believe certain doctrines or perform certain behaviors.

This is so crucial. Becoming a Christian also involves a miracle of a changed heart. Before we become Christians, our heart does not embrace Christ. It doesn't see him as Savior and Master and supreme treasure of our lives. Before we're Christians, we feel self-reliant. We feel like we're the masters of our own fate.

We treasure many things more than we treasure Jesus. That's the condition of my heart before I was a Christian. And the change from self-reliance to Christ-reliance and from being master of my own fate to being utterly dependent on Jesus and from treasuring the world and a zillion things in it more than I treasure Christ or God the Father, that change is a miracle.

It is a miracle. It is so beyond me. I can't snap a finger and change all those passions and desires and loves in my life. It's called in the Bible, the new birth. Jesus said, "Unless we're born again, we can't see the kingdom of God." And that new birth is what makes us a Christian.

It's a change of heart so that we love to trust Christ as our substitute and we love to trust Christ as our master and Lord and guide in everything. We love to receive Him as our supreme treasure in our lives. And nobody can make that happen to themselves. But we can listen to the Word of God and we can pray that God would come and open our eyes so that we can see Christ for who he really is and want to be drawn to Him.

And the Bible says that faith comes by hearing. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God so we can listen to the Word of God. So the real answer to the question, how can I know if I am ready to become a Christian, is this, as you listen to the Word of God, as you read your Bible, or as you listen to a sermon about the Christian gospel, do you find yourself being changed?

Do you find yourself being changed so that Christ now is appearing as true and beautiful and your sin is starting to appear ugly and God-dishonoring and shameful and God is starting to appear to your mind and your heart like a loving father pursuing you and having you as his child and the death of Jesus is no longer foolishness or a myth.

It's now precious and utterly needed. If this is happening, yield to it, yield to it. Give thanks that God is at work in your life. Lean into this new condition with all your heart. You are ready. Don't resist. Welcome the work of God when that is happening. Jesus said, and I'm gonna quote now, Jesus said, "To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become the children of God, who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." And the last chapter in the Bible says, let the one who is thirsty come.

Let the one who desires take the water of life freely without price. It is absolutely free. Come and drink. So that's how you know that you're ready. It is happening to you. Find your eyes being opened to the beauty of Christ. And just one last thought. At desiringgod.org, there's a free book called "Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ." It's the one book that I wrote explicitly with Carla-type people in mind, people who were on the outside looking in, wondering, who is this Jesus?

How do you get to know him? And how might I be shown to be ready to become a Christian? Amen, yes. And you can find "Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ" at desiringgod.org/books. And look for the title, "Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ." You can keep up with the daily Ask Pastor John podcast online or through our free apps, of course.

For more, go to our online home at desiringgod.org/askpastorjohn Well, tomorrow, a listener wants to know if God directs our lives in part through feelings of anxiety, which cause us to avoid certain choices, even non-sinful ones, should we be led by our anxieties and how? Pastor John will look at that question and a series of complex related issues and entanglements with it.

I'm your host Tony Reinke. We will see you tomorrow. (upbeat music) (upbeat music)