Video Transcript: What does it mean to be a Christian?

What does it mean to be a Christian?

Henry Reyenga: Henry and Steve are back here exploring a journey with you on becoming a Christian leader.

Steve Elzinga: Right. And these first three sessions are going to be about calling, and I guess the first call is God's call in your life to become a Christian.

Henry Reyenga: Oh, so Christian Leader is the Christian part of the Leader.

Steve Elzinga: Right. So, you have to be Christian to be a Christian leader. 

Henry Reyenga: Okay. So, let's talk about that first.

Steve Elzinga: Okay. There are some pre-decision behind-the-scene things at work in becoming a Christian.

Henry Reyenga: Ephesians 2:4-5. "But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. It is by grace you have been saved."

Steve Elzinga: So, sometimes there's a mix-up as to who saves or what has to happen. And a lot of people think that if they live a good life, then maybe God will save them. But these couple of verses suggest that while were dead in our transgressions, we can't even want to be alive when we're dead. You need the paddles of life to get you going before you can even decide, and that's what grace is all about.

Henry Reyenga: Yes. Ephesians 2:9. "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not thy works so that no one can boast."

Steve Elzinga: So, our access to the grace that God wants, through what Jesus did on the cross, is by faith. But this verse suggests that even that is a gift God gives you.

Henry Reyenga: John 3:8. "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you can not tell where it comes from or where it is going. So, it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

Steve Elzinga: So, we know that belief is a gift of God. God has to somehow make you alive. And all these mysterious things happen because of God's Spirit. And this verse, here in John, suggests that we don't control the Holy Spirit, that God can have his Spirit do whatever God wants the Spirit to do.

Henry Reyenga: Right. There's something so miraculous about the work of salvation, and as church planters and leaders for over 30 years - 40 years actually; we're coming right up to that - we've noticed that it is both God's work, but there's also something that we receive, and we have actions as well.

Steve Elzinga: Yeah, because we were both raised in denominations that sort of emphasized what God did, and so then we're like, "Well, okay, I want this guy saved at the next meet, but God has to do it, and it's mysterious, and what can I do about it?"  But remember, we were in Romania when we read this passage in John. And we finally read it. It's like, okay, we don't control the wind, but we do know where the windy places are or where the wind typically blows. We can know where the wind typically blows without controlling the wind.

Henry Reyenga: A lot of times, denominations sort of pick one of those things. I know I have a lot of Baptist friends, and they right away go, "The wind is at the decision point."  But then I also know, in our background, we had knowledgeable people.

Steve Elzinga: And the wind is knowledge.

Henry Reyenga: Right, knowledge. And then we also have other friends who are more Pentecostal and believe it's when the Holy Spirit comes; that's where the wind is. And then, of course, our ancient churches really have a liturgy or a practice or habits. So, which one is right?

Steve Elzinga: Yeah, that's what denominations fight about; which one is right. We decided that all of them are right

Henry Reyenga: Yep, they all have an element.

Steve Elzinga: Because they all are taking a piece of something called a relationship, and that's what it is. And the relationship is made up of all of those things.

Henry Reyenga: So, really, it's about the windy path. The Baptists are right.

Steve Elzinga: Yes, that God Spirit tends to blow when a person makes a decision.

Henry Reyenga: That's right.

Steve Elzinga: And we see this with Paul and Silas. They were in prison, and all of a sudden, the prison doors opened, and the jailer thought he was a goner. And he brought Paul and Silas out of the jail, and then "Sirs, what must I do to be saved"?

Henry Reyenga: And Acts 16:30-31. "He then brought them out and asked, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?'"

Steve Elzinga: They replied.

Henry Reyenga: "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you'll be saved, you and your household."

Steve Elzinga: Right. So, make a decision.

Henry Reyenga: Acts 2:37-38. "Then the people heard this."

Steve Elzinga: So, this was Peter's - at Pentecost - his big sermon.

Henry Reyenga: Oh, that's right.

Steve Elzinga: His big sermon to thousands of people.

Henry Reyenga: Yes, and that's where Joel, sons, and daughters prophesied. So, leaders are going to be raised up. He preaches this whole sermon, and then he says, "Then the people heard this. They were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what must I do to be saved?'  Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.'"

Steve Elzinga: So, there's this decision that you make, but part of that decision is what? I just accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. What does that mean? Well, that means repentance. 

Henry Reyenga: Right. 

Steve Elzinga: Repentance answers the question: Why does one need a Savior?

Henry Reyenga: Psalm 32:3-5. "When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groanings all day. For day and night, your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the guilt of my sins.'"

Steve Elzinga: Okay, again, we want to try to help you with this whole process, so we have a repentance worksheet so that you can just download it. You can make one copy for yourself. You can make a copy for every family member. Friends come over. Make it a party, a repentance party. Or someone you want to lead to Christ. A lot of people will just pray the sinner's prayer, and then they wonder why they're bogged down with all their addictions and problems, emotional things, sins, and their burdens.

Henry Reyenga: Right, their burdens.

Steve Elzinga: Part of it is they've never acknowledged them, they never thought about them, they never ended them. So, you can fill this out.

Henry Reyenga: Do you know one of the things I like about AA? I'm just going to have a little break in here. I love, and I've seen the power of that making amends. That actually realizing--

Steve Elzinga: Step five, I think, is admitting to someone else all your transgressions.

Henry Reyenga: Yeah. It's powerful stuff to think about. And that's been in the Bible about coming to be a Christian.

Steve Elzinga: Right. And it's acknowledging your sin, that your sins don't sap you as in the heat of summer. And so, the more things you can put down on a piece of paper and hand it to Jesus, the more things he can save you from.

Henry Reyenga: We have found, as leaders over the last 30 or 40 years, that this is an important step. And if you have not done this step, it will change your life.

Steve Elzinga: Yeah, you can be a Christian for 30 years and still never have really repented.

Henry Reyenga: You just still have the burdens that weigh you down.

Steve Elzinga: Yeah. Okay, so the windy path, the decision, the knowledge. Okay, knowledge, that's our denomination. But they were right too.

Henry Reyenga: Yep, in 2 Timothy 3:14-17. "But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of."

Steve Elzinga: Become convinced; I love that. 

Henry Reyenga: Become convinced of - because you know those from whom you've learned it.

Steve Elzinga: So. this is Paul talking to Timothy, who is sort of his young lieutenant. And Timothy had grown up in a Jewish home, and so Paul is reminding him of all of these things.

Henry Reyenga: "And how, from infancy, you have known the Holy Scriptures." That's our background

Steve Elzinga: Right. "Which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus." So, in other words, the knowledge of the Scriptures is helpful in terms of your faith and your salvation.

Henry Reyenga: I notice that many people who come to Jesus later and make a decision often had many seeds of knowledge planted in their childhood or all of a sudden, they read the whole Bible, but they really didn't commit their lives to Jesus Christ. But they knew the knowledge that made them wise to salvation, even if they did not actually decide.

Steve Elzinga: It's hard to make a decision without knowing something about what you are deciding.

Henry Reyenga: And then, all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Steve Elzinga: So, our denomination emphasizes knowledge - Bible knowledge - but also church history knowledge, theology knowledge. And we have courses that will help you know all the different ends and outs, the ups and downs of Christianity.

Henry Reyenga: Now be really clear about this. Our denomination of background is not the Christian Leaders Alliance, whereas this new denomination that is for everybody is not the denomination that we are a part of.

Steve Elzinga: No. Well, as we said, we love the Baptists because the decision is a windy place.

Henry Reyenga: We like it all in our Christian Leader's Alliance. We love decisions, we love knowledge, but we love also. Number three is the experience of the Holy Spirit.

Steve Elzinga: So, our Pentecostal brothers and sisters, who say the Holy Spirit is what it's about and the church services, we agree with that too because the windy place is where the Holy Spirit works.

Henry Reyenga: Right. This is Acts 2, back to the Pentecost. Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Steve Elzinga: In Thessalonians 5:19, "Do not quench the Holy Spirit." And our Pentecostal brothers and sisters are probably really good at reminding us that - that sometimes with our knowledge and just our decision, we then put down the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is, again, the wind blowing and the gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit, and you'll learn about all those things.

Henry Reyenga: Here are a Christian Leaders Institute and Alliance and College.

Steve Elzinga: Okay, finally, number four. The windy path is the walk, the habits of relationship. Now you and I have known each other for 30 years. I remember the first time we met. We did a lot of talking and listening. But if we had never talked or listened again for the rest of these last 30 years, we wouldn't have much of a relationship.

Henry Reyenga: I would've actually befriended you on Facebook.

Steve Elzinga: Maybe. That might have been interesting. If we had missed that conference, where might we have met? Maybe on Facebook. I don't know.

Henry Reyenga: But your point is, repeatedly, and back in the early days, you were in Canada. And I was in British Columbia, and there was actually--

Steve Elzinga: I was in Canada. You were in Chicago.

Henry Reyenga: Oh, yeah. My memory fails me. I'm in Chicago, and he's in British Columbia. I'm so sorry. But then there were the long-distance phone calls. And we did; we saw the spark, the Holy Spirit, the experience. We sensed the Holy Spirit had us for a purpose together, and he was in our relationship.

Steve Elzinga: How we learned about you. I visited your church, and you visited my church. I visited your home; you visited my home. You met my parents; I met your parents. So, our knowledge grew.

Henry Reyenga: Actually, our families went on some camping trips.

Steve Elzinga: Yes, so all of that was part of the repeatedly. And so, if you want a relationship with God, we call that talking piece a prayer, and we call the listening piece Bible - studying the Bible, reading the Bible, meditating on the Bible. And the habit of repeatedly doing prayer and Bible, we call that devotion.

Henry Reyenga: In some ways, this is where the ancient churches connect with us. The ancient churches have a liturgy. And really, the liturgy is a lot of talking and listening repeatedly, and that can be over and over and over again. But then, of course, some of the other denominations feel like, no, we want more of the emphasis on the Holy Spirit, other denominations on the decision, and then other denominations on not just the liturgy but on the knowledge, the depth of learning Scripture. So, this piece is also important.

Steve Elzinga: Yes, because without it, we wouldn't have had this relationship without this habit. We had a habit. We had something that made us call and talk. Eventually, we started ministries together, and those things just forced us to do more talking and listening. And so, we need habits. Some people will call this religion sometimes. And people will sometimes say I want a relationship, but I don't care about religion. But religion is the glass that water can be held into. And just like your house is the glass that your marriage can exist, if you don't live in the same house, if you never saw your spouse, what kind of relationship would you have?  

Henry Reyenga: That's right.

Steve Elzinga: So, this whole windy path, all of these things are important. And so, in a way, I would say that our students reflect all these different traditions. We have Baptists, and we have Pentecostals, we have Catholics, we have Lutherans.

Henry Reyenga: Tens of thousands of various traditions, but they're all about relationships. Think of our marriages. We met our wives 38 years-- what are you on? Forty?

Steve Elzinga: Forty-something. The winter of '78. 

Henry Reyenga: Yeah. A long, long, long time ago. 

Steve Elzinga: Forty-three years as of this. 

Henry Reyenga: Now, think about that. When you meet someone, there's a relationship of knowledge.

Steve Elzinga: Enough to say I want to get married.

Henry Reyenga: I do. 

Steve Elzinga: So, you make a decision.

Henry Reyenga: You make a commitment. And there must be the experience - that spark. But then there's the going home to the same wife for 43 years. That's, in a sense, a habit. All of that is part of a relationship. Now, it is true that somebody can be in some ritual habit and not give their heart and not experience--

Steve Elzinga: Yes. Each one of these can be thwarted. You can learn a lot about God. Well, the devil knows a lot about God, but he doesn't believe. You can have experience, but people can be fooled by all kinds of experiences. People make decisions and then break their commitments all the time. So, yes, of course, sin can mess any one of these up, but we feel like if the combination of all of them together, working together, again, it's a windy place. We don't control the wind.

Henry Reyenga: Well, that's actually John 3 where you were talking earlier about Nicodemus, and then Jesus said the wind blows, but in John 3:16 is "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son." Now that's the plan of salvation, the work of Jesus Christ. He died on the cross. He took his sins upon himself. He rose again from the dead victorious. He ascended on high. He gave the Holy Spirit. This is the Gospel. All of that. So, "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes," - okay, now that's faith, that's trust, that's relationship. Whoever has a relationship with and believes will not perish but have everlasting life.

Steve Elzinga: Not only in eternity but life now.

Henry Reyenga: Right now. And that's the seed of a Christian leader. 

Steve Elzinga: So, we have a walk with God worksheet, actually. Again, you can download that, print it off, and print as many copies as you would like. And now, maybe you are not a Christian, and you maybe need to make a decision to get started.

Henry Reyenga: Actually, many people have come to Christian Leaders through the Wedding Officiant program. And they grew up, maybe, in some church, and that felt like a ritual to them. Or they made a decision, but it didn't amount to anything. Or they went for a while to a church, and then they left. And then a daughter, a niece, a son, a cousin, a friend asked them to do a wedding, and they just didn't want to get an immediate ordination, a piece of paper. They actually wanted to do well at doing a Christian wedding.

Steve Elzinga: Do it right.

Henry Reyenga: Do it right. So, they came here, and maybe that's you right now, and you're wondering about this. Well, many have then found out what a relationship is like, and this has infused a new life and a walk with God for you.

Steve Elzinga: Or maybe you've been a Christian and have been going to church for the last 30 years, but you really don't have a walk with God. You made a decision, but you didn't incorporate the talking and listening repeatedly. And so, the knowledge hasn't grown. The experience hasn't really been there. And so, maybe this is what you are going to do. So, this worksheet is going to help you identify what's going on. To get a walk with God, you have to figure out what I am going to do. What's it going to be? And in this course, we're actually going to show you some of those things that will help you succeed. It's simple. It's easy. You can do it. Your family members can do it. You can help other people do it. It's not a complicated thing.

Henry Reyenga: It will change your life.

Steve Elzinga: Yes.

Henry Reyenga: We are going to close this out. Can I lead a prayer? Maybe this prayer is you. If this is you, just follow along. Lord God, each of us here wants the wind. We want to sense your presence. We want to walk with you and live with you. That's why we're here. And Lord, we confess that we have fallen short, that we do need you as our Savior. And we confess our sins before you.  

We've remained quiet, maybe for too long, and we ask that you will take our transgressions and bury them at the cross of Jesus Christ. We ask that you will fill us with your Holy Spirit. We ask that you will make us alive through your grace. And Lord, some of us here, who are praying this, are going to ask that you save them now, that you make them born again. They believe, and they are saying this prayer because they are here with humble hearts, and they know your voice. They hear your voice. Lord, if that is someone here and they are praying, we pray, and we celebrate that you save and will save them. 

And then, Lord, the next step to become a Christian leader, to learn more, more knowledge, to take that knowledge to the next step. Oh Lord, fill us now, all, with your Holy Spirit, that your work will be done. Amen.