This blog post is a slightly modified transcript from the YouTube video below.
So you just got saved and you have no clue what to do next.
I can remember being in this same position years ago when I got saved, and it was like a whole new world was being opened up to me. Unfortunately at that time, I didn’t really have a lot of guidance. When I got saved I was just told to read my King James bible, pray to God and come to church every chance I could.
Looking back now, however, I realize there were some other things I could’ve been doing to help me establish a firmer foundation for my newfound faith in Christ. So in today’s blog post I want to talk to the new believers out there and give you the advice I wish I would’ve received when I first became a Christian.
Let’s get started.
Tip #1 – Read & Study the Bible
Tip number one is to read and study the Bible. So why is this important? Why do new believers, and all believers for that matter, need to read and study Scripture? Well, the Bible is God’s revelation of himself to mankind, meaning that everything that God wanted to reveal to us is contained within it. So everything we need to know about who God is, what God requires of us is, how God says we should live, is all found within Scripture.
And if we want to know these things which, as Christians, we should, then we have to dedicate ourselves to the practice of reading and studying God’s word because God’s word is our source of knowledge, especially when it comes to understanding what it is that we actually believe.
And as believers, we have to take the time to build this foundation because nothing which isn’t firmly established ever remains, and if your relationship with God isn’t rooted and grounded in Scripture, then your faith is resting on a very unstable foundation and in due time, when you’re faith is challenged, you may find that you’re not equipped to handle whatever it is that life throws at you.
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…it’s not just refraining from sin that makes us an obedient Christian, it’s doing all the other things as well.
So reading and studying God’s word, being rooted and grounded in it, and trusting in it, is absolutely essential to building a strong foundation for your newfound faith.
Related Post: 11 Practical Tips for Reading & Understanding the Bible
Tip #2 – Pray
Tip number two is to pray. Like reading and studying the Bible, you’ve probably already been encouraged to do this but I want to talk about why praying is important. And to do that, I want us to look at a quote from from John Calvin because I think he accurately summarizes this point.
He says, “Prayer is the chief exercise of faith and the foundation of our relationship with God.” Meaning that faith is expressed through prayer. If you pray regularly, then this is a sign that you do, in fact, have faith in God. Because why else would you pray to him if you didn’t believe that he would answer your prayers. Now on the opposite end, if you don’t pray, then this too is a sign that you lack faith. Because why would you pray to someone if you don’t believe in them, or don’t believe that they’ll answer your prayers.
Our faith is demonstrated by prayer and it’s exercised by prayer. Meaning that the more we pray, and exercise our faith by praying, then the more our faith will grow. And of course, this is something that all believers should be striving for.
Furthermore, Calvin says prayer is the foundation of our relationship with God, and it is. None of us have ever come into a relationship with Christ without praying. And in order to grow that relationship and maintain it, we have to continue communicating with God through prayer. This is no different than a human relationship. We can’t expect to get to know someone and grow closer to them if we don’t take the time to speak to them on a regular basis.
That being said, if we wish to grow in our faith, and to grow closer to God, we have to be in consistent communion with him.
Tip #3 – Join a Local Bible Believing Church
Tip number three is to join a local Bible believing church, and there’s a few reasons why this is important.
First of all, the church is where we come together to corporately worship God, to praise him, and to hopefully hear the word of God expounded to us every single week. And if you’re in a solid Bible believing, Bible preaching church, then you’ll have the opportunity every week to hear a sermon, a message or lesson that’ll help you grow in your knowledge of the Lord, that’ll encourage you, or challenge you in some way, and this is important for growing in our faith.
If we’re not consistently hearing the word of God, and taking it in and applying it to our lives, then it’s easy to become complacent and that’s obviously not what we want. So having someone every Sunday putting the word of God in front of you and challenging you with it is vital for your growth.
Second, the church is a great place to make new friends and to have fellowship with other believers. Oftentimes when we’re at our jobs, which for a lot of us, consumes a large period of our time, we’re not in the best of company, to say the least.
More often than not, at least in my experiences, we’re surrounded by people who aren’t Christians, who aren’t seeking to live a life that’s pleasing to God and that can take a toll on you. When the only fellowship and communion you have is with people who aren’t like minded, it’s easy to start becoming like them in some ways, even if you don’t intend to. So just knowing that there’s other Christians out there, and being able to fellowship with them can be a huge encouragement.
And lastly, the church provides a way for you to discover and use your God-given gifts and talents. Every single one of us, regardless of what we think of ourselves, have been gifted by God in some way, shape or form. Now what exactly that looks like for you, and how exactly you can use that to contribute to the body of Christ is up for you to discover.
But being in a church setting, and having people around you who can recognize your gifts, help you cultivate them, and allow you to use them for God’s glory is something that all of us should be excited about. Because we all have a part to play, we all have a role in God’s kingdom. And we don’t want to be like that wicked servant who went and hid his talent in the ground (Matthew 25:18), we want to use what God has given us for his glory.
Tip #4 – Discover and Use Your Gifts
As I just mentioned, every single one of us has at least one gift and some of us have multiple gifts, but regardless of how many you have, God expects us to use them for his glory. So how do you discover what that gift is?
First of all, I want us to look at Romans 12:6 where Paul says this, “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”
The point is that there’s a wide variety of gifts that God gives us and not everyone’s gift is going to look the same. So with that being said, how do you know what your gift is? Well, what is it that you feel inclined to do? What’s in your heart that you just feel so strongly that God is leading you to do?
Perhaps you feel called to pulpit ministry, that you want to shepherd God’s people. Maybe you feel inclined to give generously to the church or to the homeless, or to missions?. Maybe God’s blessed you financially and you’re in a position where you can fund some of the work that the church is doing. Or maybe you like to cook and you want to volunteer at your local homeless shelter and help feed those in need. All of these are gifts from God. And if you have a heart to do something, and it aligns with God’s will, then chances are that’s one of your gifts.
Another question you could ask yourself is what is it that you’re naturally good at? What is something that you can do that doesn’t take a lot of effort on your part to turn out well? Maybe you’re a gifted writer and you could start a Christian blog. Or maybe you can sing, and you could participate in your church’s choir or start a YouTube channel. Anything that you can do, that comes natural to you, or that’s a skill that you’ve developed over time, can be considered a gift from God and should be used for his glory.
And we should also keep in mind what Jesus said in John 15:8 – “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” If we want to prove ourselves to be disciples of Christ, and glorify the father, then we have to bear fruit with the gifts that God has given us to do so with.
Tip #5 – Learn Obedience
Tip number five is to learn to be obedience. Jesus said in John 14:15 that “if you love me you’ll keep my commandments.” Now a lot of us will see this verse and immediately think that we’ve got to do all these different things, that we’ve gotta start doing this, or stop doing that, or that we’ve got to develop a stronger sense of self-discipline and cut out all these things in our life as though this verse only pertains to sin. Now, it does pertain to sin, obviously there are lots of things that Christians shouldn’t do that are morally wrong. And so yes, we do need to be obedient to the commands that tell us to do certain things or to refrain from doing certain things that God says are sinful.
But aside from this, we also need to learn obedience with regards to having faith in God, to trusting in his word, to loving him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, to treating others as we want to be treated, to being content in him and finding joy in him, and in seeking to live a life that’s wholly pleasing to God, because it’s not just refraining from sin that makes us an obedient Christian, it’s doing all the other things as well. It’s being a complete Christian, not just someone who’s overly legalistic and lives according to the letter of the law.
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…it’s not just refraining from sin that makes us an obedient Christian, it’s doing all the other things as well.
Being an obedient Christian means living your life in accordance with all of God’s word, and fashioning your life according to the life of Jesus, not just with regards to sin, but with regards to everything pertaining to the life of a believer.
Tip number six is to share your faith with others and this is a very difficult thing for a lot of us to do because we tend to be very mindful of what people think of us. But this is a fear that all of us need to overcome because all of us are called to be witnesses of Jesus. This isn’t something that’s reserved just for the pastors and teachers, this is something that all of us have to do.
As parents, this means sharing the gospel with our children and teaching them about the Lord. As husbands or wives to an unbelieving spouse, this means sharing your faith with them and trying to lead them to Christ. As employees, this means sharing the gospel with your co-workers. Regardless of what position we’re in, we need to make sure that we’re sharing the gospel with others because this is the ultimate act and display of love that we can give.
If we truly love others as we love ourselves, as Jesus commanded us to (Matthew 22:39), then we’d have no other choice but to tell them about Jesus and their need for him. If we let people continue living in sin and ignorance when we know the truth, and we’ve been set free by that truth, then we don’t actually care about these people.
Now I know this is a challenge, it’s still a challenge for me, but if we’re going to be faithful to God and live a life that’s pleasing to him, then witnessing to others is just something that we’ll have to get comfortable with.
If you’re brand new to the faith, however, I would like to offer a word of caution. If you’ve only just recently been saved, then you probably don’t know enough about what you believe to be able to lead others to share that belief with you. You know that Jesus saved you, you’ve experienced that, and you probably know the basic, essential principles of Christianity, but when you begin to share these beliefs with others, they’re probably going to have some questions that you’re not ready to answer and I just want you to be aware of that.
Now this isn’t a discouragement, I’m not telling you that just because you’re a new convert that you shouldn’t share your faith, in fact you should. But I just want you to know that in some instances, people are going to ask some very difficult questions, they’re going to raise some serious objections, and in some cases they may become hostile towards you. But just know that regardless of the outcome, you’ve done your duty in sharing the gospel with them, and as long as we do that, and we do it in a way that’s consistent with how Jesus would do it, then we’ve done our part and the rest is up to God.
Tip #7 – Learn to Defend Your Faith
Tip number seven is to learn how to defend your faith. We live in a world where the Christian worldview is constantly under attack and so we have to be prepared to defend our faith from those attacks. The way we do that by knowing what we believe and why we believe it. This is what Christian apologetics is all about – giving sound and reasonable arguments for the Christian belief system or worldview.
1 Peter 3:15 says to “honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”
Now, as a new believer you don’t fully know everything that you believe and why you believe it. You’re just discovering these truths for yourselves. Which is why I’d encourage you now, rather than later, to start cultivating an appreciation for apologetics and to start learning how to defend your faith because there may come a time when you need to know how to do this.
The only way to do this, however, is by taking the time to read and study God’s word for yourself. If you know Scripture intimately and deeply, and you have it memorized and engraved in your heart, then you know everything you need to know. Now you just have to learn how to articulate those truths to others. And this isn’t something that you’re going to learn overnight, this is a skill that we cultivate and develop over time.
Tip #8 – Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions
Tip number eight is don’t be afraid to ask questions, even if they’re difficult ones.
As someone who’s been reading the Bible for well over a decade I can tell you right now, you’re going to run into some verses that seem to contradict other ones, and you’re going to read some things that just don’t make sense to you. But trust me, whatever questions you have, you’re not the first person to ask them. So don’t be alarmed when you find what seems to be a contradiction in Scripture, just ask somebody; ask your pastor, ask your Sunday school teacher, look up that verse in a commentary, or see if any resources are available online that address your particular question.
Chances are, it’s already been dealt with and there’s a reasonable explanation to whatever question you have. But you’re never going to find it, and you’re never going to know the truth of God’s word unless you’re willing to ask difficult questions.
Tip #9 – Find a Mentor
Tip number nine is to find someone you trust who can mentor you. This can be your pastor, someone else within the church, a family member, it really doesn’t matter so long as they’re someone you trust and someone who’s been a believer for a decent amount of time.
For me, this was my grandmother who was kind of the spiritual leader of our household. I can remember going to her with all kinds of questions about the Bible, or going to her for advice on different things, and she was always there to answer me and help me out as best she could, and I can’t tell you how valuable this is. Just having someone that’s further along in their walk with God than you are, and who’s knowledgeable of the Bible, and who’s wise, is just a tremendous blessing.
So if you have someone in your life that’s like this, seek them out as a mentor because it’s a very wise thing to do to seek the company of other wise people. Proverbs 13:20 says, “He who walks with the wise will become wise.” If you surround yourself with wise, Godly people, and you yourself are dedicated to becoming a man or woman of God, then chances are you’ll become like them. So choose a mentor, but choose a good one.
Tip #10 – Guard Your Testimony
This last tip is to guard your testimony and this is something I learned from my mentor, my grandmother. She would always caution me to guard my testimony. And what she meant by this is that our testimony, our newfound faith and relationship with Christ, should be cherished and protected above everything else because it’s more valuable than any worldly possession or experience that we could have.
That being said, there are going to be things that you’re tempted to do and situations or circumstances that you find yourself in, and if you give in to these temptations when these moments arise, they can ruin your testimony and have a profoundly negative impact on your relationship with God and your life.
So above everything else, we have to cherish our relationship with God and be fully persuaded that nothing in this life is worth having if it costs us that relationship. So guard your testimony. Don’t allow yourself to do anything that, after this moment passes and you look back at it, causes you regret.
And always be mindful of the things that you do, and ask yourself, whenever you’re in a place of temptation, does the thing that I’m tempted to do have the potential to make a shipwreck of my faith. Does it have the potential to ruin my testimony and to destroy this new life that Christ gave me and died for me to have?
In Conclusion
If you’re a new believer, then I hope you’ll take this advice to heart and that you’ll apply it to your life. Had I known to do these things when I first got saved, I believe that I could have avoided some of the issues that I’ve faced along my journey as a Christian. But everything happens for a reason and I am who I am today because of what I’ve been through and experienced. My hope is that this advice will prove beneficial to you and that, in some small way, it’ll help you grow closer to Christ.