7 People Every New Christian Needs To Know About

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Who are some people that new Christians need to know about as they grow in their faith?
Find out below!

The hardest part of first becoming a Christian was being dropped into 2000+ years of history, handed a Bible, and then told the Bible is easy-to-understand and I should just get it . Yeah, I didn’t get it.

I was led to Christ with an NIV Bible. Immediately afterwards, I was told that I should only be reading the KJV Bible. Like I even knew the difference!

The first time I went to church, they excommunicated someone! 

Soon after, I’m watching a TV show, sweating bullets, because the characters start to get into some risky situations. I was afraid I might be in trouble for watching TV.

I was blessed. God had placed a woman in my life who knew the answers to my questions (No, Mormons are not Christians). She was willing to be patient as I grew into my faith (I voted Obama *facepalm*). And she helped me to understand what I was doing as a Christian.

Does this matter to new Christians?

A lot of this stuff doesn’t matter when you first become a Christian. You will learn and grow. Don’t sweat it if you “mess” up which Bible translation you read first. After 10 years, it still doesn’t really matter unless you want to start a steamy debate at a Bible study, or anger a stodgy old Calvinist. (I didn’t know what a Calvinist was either, now I might be one. The jury is still out.)

These stories have become funny over time, but I think a list of resources/people might be in order.

 

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7 People Every New Christian Needs To Know About

There are some people every new Christian needs to know about as they grow in their faith. People that might help you understand the faith better. In fact, they are people you can look up to and learn more from them.

Remember-Christ first!

Take this list with a bit of salt. My goal is not to replace Christ with some human theologian or to replace the Bible with some guy’s thoughts. These are men of God, who have studied and can help you understand the faith a little better. It should also be noted that these are just men. They are fallible and not everything they have ever done, or will ever do, is perfect.

Start with first, and foremost, reading your Bible and filtering everything through your Bible. If ANYTHING disagrees with the Bible, it is wrong.

 

The Bible Project

Technically, the Bible Project not a person…but this is a must-have resource created to help you learn your Bible well. (And people created this resource, so I counted it.)

Okay, I don’t care what white-bearded old guys like to spout. (You know, people who have been fed the Bible since birth.) The Bible is hard to understand!

It’s a translation of a book written to a people in a completely different context and culture. The Bible spans over 6,000 years of history. It is written by 35 different people. Oh, and it contains everything we need to live a life dedicated to God. That is not an easy-to-understand book.

However, just because something is hard doesn’t mean we don’t need it.

I won’t get into a translation debate, but I would recommend NIV or NKJV until you have read enough to have an opinion on the matter. You need to be reading your Bible DAILY. I can’t make it any clearer than that. Just like anything, reading the Bible will take practice. Just like a toddler taking its first steps, it will look painful. You’ll fall down, and it won’t always make sense. Keep reading. Power through those moments and keep reading.

Start your reading with a prayer, ask God to show you what He is telling you, but don’t be silly enough to believe that any single passage is meant for only you at any single given moment.

This is where the Bible Project comes in. They have little videos for every book of the Bible. Plus, they provide resources on a ton of topics within the Bible. They do not replace a good Bible reading. However, when you are just starting out, or trying to build some good habits, it can be worthwhile to watch a little video. Watching these videos before your Bible reading will help you to know what you are looking for. They hit the high notes, and can get you started on what a book of the Bible is telling you.

The Bible can be hard to understand, but that is no excuse for not reading it. We still must dive into the word of God. The only way to know the Word of God is to dive into the word of God (that’s a little word play there, look at John 1:1 if it doesn’t make sense.)

 

Your Local Pastor

You need to be going to church. I will write a post at some point about what to look for in a church, but find yourself a good church and start to put down roots. We can worry about in-depth theology later. For now, look for Bibles close at hand and the pastor should open a Bible and read from it at some point during the sermon. As long as those two things happen, for now you are probably going to be alright. Get connected with other Christians, make friends, go meet your new pastor. Eventually, you may grow apart from this church but that is okay. For now, get connected with other Christians.

Christianity knows nothing of solidarity. This is hard. I am a hermit by nature; an introvert’s introvert. I got married and intended to never have to deal with people again. There are a million excuses to not go to church, but there is one reason to go to church: Jesus. Jesus is the majority. Get over the hang-ups, find a church and stick it out.

 

Frank Turek 

A lot of people will have us believe that being a Christian is crazy. We have no reasons to believe, and we are the enemies of logic and reasoning.

A quick vocabulary lesson is in order. The study of defending something is called “apologetics.” Frank Turek is a Christian Apologist. That doesn’t mean he apologizes for anything. Just the opposite, Frank Turek offers reason and explanation for why our faith is true. 

Christians are not called to a “blind-faith” but encouraged to question and seek answers.

If you’re like me, I didn’t have all the answers when I joined. I was still unsure if Christianity had any substance to it. Christianity sounded good. It was emotional when I converted, but that fades in about 24 hours. Suddenly, I was stuck holding this new faith. I did not understand what it all meant or why it was any better than any other “crazy” religion I had avoided.

Well, Frank Turek has written books, speaks around the US, holds classes, and has YouTube videos that all share why Christianity has a leg up on the competition. Watch his videos on the Cross Examined YouTube channel. (Try this one first.) If you are a reader, check out his books and the books of other Christian apologists.

 

See also: Ravi Zacharias, Norm Geisler

 

Ken Ham (Answers in Genesis )

A number of problems people in our world have with Christianity stem from the Creation account.

Now, I do not believe you have to be a creationist to be a Christian. The Bible does not teach that. However, if we can’t trust Genesis 1:1, why should we trust John 3:16? The world has built a foundation against the cross by working against Genesis.

You’ve probably experienced the same anti-Christian teaching I did. It’s literally all they teach in public school. Ken Ham started Answers in Genesis with the goal of pushing back at those ideas. He presents science in a way that places the Bible at the center of the conversation. Once you start to see what he is saying and how the Biblical answers work you realize the apologetics that are being used. More importantly you can begin to see your place in history and start to understand that flawed reasoning and thinking has perverted our entire way of life.

We are new creations in Christ; this is one of the first steps to understanding how that new creation fits into the context of God’s story.

Check out Ken Ham and Answer In Genesis if you want to learn how to reconcile your Christian faith with what the world’s scientists like to teach.

 

See also: J.P. Moreland, David Noebel 

 

Ken Davis 

As I grow in my faith there seems to be a huge division among Christians. The problem revolves around how much we consume worldly entertainment.

Some Christians see no problem in joining the world wholesale. They consume popular media without question. Eventually many become liberals who have abandoned the Lord and look no different than any common atheist.

On the other side of the divide are Christians who seem to think if you enjoy anything beyond the Bible you are a sinner. You enjoy chocolate cake? That makes you a sinner! You enjoy walking outside? HOW DARE YOU, SIR! They become no better than the Pharisees Christ battled in His lifetime.

Ken Davis is a Christian comedian. He helped me divide that line. Christians are not called to consume every evil thing on TV. Nor are Christians called to a joyless existence. There is a level of discernment needed here, but there is Christian media out there to be consumed and enjoyed-anything from movies, TV, music, and comedy. We should laugh, have fun, and enjoy life. Ken Davis helped me learn it should look different than the world’s definition.

Check to see if your church has a Right Now Media account. That can be a great place to start.

See also: Kendrick Brothers, Chris Tomlin

 

Chip Ingram

You might find fairly quickly that Bible studies are hard. They tend to focus heavily on feelings, your thoughts, your interpretations, and feeling good. These are very modern ideas (actually postmodern), and are part of the reason Christianity is struggling in the 21st century.

The modern world focuses heavily on feeling good, but the Bible tells us to expect suffering and persecution. When feelings become the way we gauge the world, Christianity doesn’t win. These Bible studies are incredibly flawed.

Chip Ingram is a Bible teacher. I’ve found his Bible studies to be well written and focused on the Truth revealed in Scripture, not the lies of feelings and personal experiences. He delves into the Bible and helps us understand the promises of God and the sacrifice of Christ.

It is important to remember that the Bible is not about us, the world does not revolve around us, it is about Christ. The world does revolve around Him.

You can find out more about Chip Ingram and his Bible studies through his ministry, Living on the Edge. He also has a daily podcast that you can follow for free daily Bible teaching.

See also: Alistair Begg, Luis Palau

 

False Teachers

As a final note, as important as it is to know people to look for, it can be just as important to know people to avoid. The Bible teaches that there will be false teachers.

Apostle Paul, in the first century, was already dealing with false teachers. We need to be aware of them as well and avoid their teachings. It can be hard to pick them out. For every Joel Olsteen (prosperity gospel) or Rob Bell (accepts homosexual behavior, denies existence of Hell) there is a pastor in a small church committing sexual sin with his congregants. There is no way for anyone to know every teacher who is out there. Given the current political climate it isn’t out of the question for some of the people I’ve mentioned above to apostatize (leave the faith) and become false teachers themselves.

Be on the lookout for a future post about what to look for in a church setting.

Until then, here are two simple rules of thumb:

First, Biblically sound preachers should rely solely on the Bible. Not outside teaching, not “inspiration,” not dreams or prophetic visions or whatever. If they disagree with the Bible, fail to use their Bible, or try to convince you the Bible is mistaken in any way, they are wrong. The Bible is our message from God. Sometimes they will use verses out of context. For instance, Matthew 7:1 does not teach you not to judge but how to judge righteously. Be diligent and consistent in reading the passage around the verse. Often, false teachers will come up with an excuse for why they are not teaching from the Bible.

Second, the world should not embrace the teachings of Biblical pastors. The days of Billy Graham are over, and even he was never given true celebrity status. If “pastors” appear on talk shows, or are regularly interviewed in popular culture, that is generally a bad thing. Christ was rejected and crucified. His teachings will not make us famous and beloved by the world. You probably won’t find deep Christian thinking on the shelves at Wal-mart. Be alert to false teachers if you see the world loving a certain pastor or Christian leader. If people outside the church enjoy their teaching, it might be a red flag.

That’s why I felt the need to write this article. The world wants to suppress Christ’s teachings by forcibly keep them down. It is difficult to find false teachers unless you already know about them. Stay alert and keep reading your Bible.

 

Final Thoughts

I hope this article can provide a little guidance. When I first became a Christian, I was incredibly blessed but I know it can be a difficult time. I had just fallen into the greatest love the world has ever seen. My heart burned with unbelievable amounts of passion for the Lord. I practically read the Bible cover to cover and simply couldn’t get enough of what the Lord had to tell me.

Being a new Christian is a time of growth. Embrace it, enjoy it, love it, but realize the incredible high fades and the world returns.

Maybe these Christians and the resources they provide can help keep your passion for Christ alight with wisdom, love, and by keeping you pointed to the foot of the cross.

Stay faithful,

Nick

 

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