Why should anyone become a Christian? What happens when someone becomes one?
In addressing this topic, I would like to first turn to the Affirmation of Faith on behalf of the General Baptist Conference of Canada, the denomination I've been immersed in throughout my life. Here is what that statement says about regeneration:
We believe that all people are sinners by nature and by choice and are, therefore, under condemnation (Romans 3:10-19, 23, Eph. 4:18, Rom 5:12; 6:23). We believe that those who repent of their sins and trust Jesus Christ as Saviour are regenerated by the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 5:17, Titus 3:5, Eph. 1:13-14).
This statement cites several passages from Scripture, perhaps too many to adequately cover in a single blog post, but the main themes are easy to identify: sin, repentance, Christ as Saviour, and the Holy Spirit's transformative work in a person's life.
It seems to me that these four themes can further be divided into two categories: that which falls on our side, and that which falls on God's side. Our side includes sin and repentance, for humans are the ones who sin, yet also have the opportunity to repent. God's side includes Christ being our Saviour and the Holy Spirit's transformative work, since Christ and the Holy Spirit are two of the three persons who constitute the Trinity, along with God the Father. Our side is based on rules, duties, and obligations, while God's side is based on mercy. Both sides are of an ethical quality and maintain an equilibrium between imperfection and human reality on the one hand (our side), and perfection and ultimate reality on the other (God's side).
A few passages from Romans display this dynamic nicely. Concerning our side, Romans 3:20 reads: "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin." This verse expresses the contrition one experiences of not meeting the ethical standards they know they ought to. Romans 6:19, however, speaks of moral improvement as a consequence of following God: "Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness."
As for God's side, Romans 6:23 says: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Notice the contrast between the words wages and gift. Both are economic in the sense that they denote the giving of resources, but the former is owed, while the latter is given without obligation. It is the Father's mercy that saves us from death, made possible by his Son's work on the cross (Romans 6:6). The Holy Spirit is not excluded, for Romans 15:13 tells us that the Spirit has the power to impart hope to believers.
That we should find such profound thoughts about salvation and regeneration in Romans is not too surprising considering the life of its author, Paul, also known as Saul. (Paul is the Greek name, while Saul is the Hebrew. In Romans, only Paul is used, while in Acts both names are used.) As we read more about Saul's life in Acts 9, he had intentions of imprisoning Christians. When we turn back to chapters 7 and 8, we see that Saul had even approved of the killing of a Christian man, Stephen, on the basis of his beliefs.
But as we continue reading chapter 9, Saul has a mystical experience while traveling to Damascus, where he's overtaken by light, hears Jesus's voice, and goes blind for three days. Verse 18 mentions that "something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes" and that he regained his sight, and by verse 20 Saul is preaching that Jesus is the Son of God.
Not every Christian's conversion experience is quite as dramatic as Paul's. But similar to him, when someone becomes a Christian, they are offered a brisk break with reality as they've known it. Ephesians 1:13-14 explains the beginning of salvation in this way:
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
This passage speaks to God's reliability concerning salvation. And this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this topic. As theologian Gregory Boyd points out, "the New Testament describes salvation both as a past act, a present process, and a future arrival point." Indeed, New Testament scholar Mark Allan Powell, referring to Romans 8:19-22, writes that "Paul maintains that all creation is in bondage to decay and yearns for the freedom and glory of God's salvation,"[1]
When someone becomes a Christian, they begin to come to terms with ultimate reality, God. It is a sober realization of one's own sin and the limitations of self-reliance, but it is also a hopeful response to Christ's saving power. Becoming a Christian enlarges meaning in a person's life, for with ultimate reality in the picture, a person has something to direct every aspect of their life towards.
Notes
[1] Mark Allan Powell, Introducing the New Testament: A Historical, Literary, and Theological Survey (2nd edition, Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2018), 283.
Good analysis! Where I think most of us get tripped up is cause and effect, and what the extent of our role is. God moves in eternity but we're stuck with time: what elements of salvation are the cause and what are the effects? I don't know if we can pinpoint and order, and we shouldn't spend so much time doing that, but I'd say God moves first by reawakening our spirit, and everything follows from that. It's for me to conceive of anything happening in the eternal realm while our spirits are dead. We do have some say in how things work, since as God's image we have some kind of will to exert and our spirit's awakening involve an awakening of our will, too, but I don't pretend to know exactly how it works.
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