Salvation Summaries

If you were speaking with a person and wanted to know if they are a Christian, what question would you ask them?

In the past, I would have started with, “So, are you a believer (or Christian)?“, but from Barna Surveys we know that many people who view themselves as a Christian are not once you dig into the details of what they believe, so that question no longer works well.

Another question might be, “Do you believe in Jesus?” This would seem to work, but it does not. From studying Scripture, I’ve learned that there are two types of belief in the Bible: a casual, intellectual (mind only) belief that does not save, and a convicted, heart-felt belief (see Romans 10) that does save. The same is true for faith: there is a faith that does not save (no works result from it) and one that does (see the book of James for details). If a person responds with, “Yes,” but has only a casual, intellectual belief, or a faith that has not produced any works, they are not truly saved.

A more direct yet potentially uncomfortable or intimidating question is, “Have you been born again?” for according to Jesus in the book of John, a person must be born again to be saved. But here again, this question may not work well either because Protestant denominations vary on how a person becomes born again (some believe it takes place at baptism, others think it does when a person believes in Jesus; I’m in the latter camp).

Although all of these questions can potentially work, they will likely require some follow-up questions on your part to determine if that person is a true believer. So, what do we do? Is there a better question we can ask? I think so, and it would be this:

How important is Jesus to you?

This is not a “yes/no” question, and requires more thought to answer it. Also, I believe the response will be more revealing in determining whether that person is a believer.

This question is based upon the following belief: To be saved, a person must have some type of relationship with or connection to Jesus, for He is the only one who can forgive a person’s sins. A relationship is established when that person believes in Him with not only their mind but heart also, and asks Jesus to save them. It’s at this point that Jesus becomes important to them.

So, if the person responds with “He is very important to me,” or “He is important to me,” and does so in a sincere way, then you would expect them to support this with a few details. If they don’t, you could ask them “Could you elaborate on that?” or “What do you mean by that?”

The supporting comment you want to hear is not necessarily that they go to church and/or pray (you would like to hear these of course, but non-believers can do this), but that they believe or have faith in Jesus AND have asked Jesus to save them from their sins. An even better response would be something like, “He’s changed my life,” for this really should happen based upon all of the spiritual changes that take place when a person becomes a believer.

However, if the person has a tough time answering this question, or responds with something like “I believe in Him” but does not mention anything about being saved by Jesus, then you know where they are at spiritually, and this gives you an opportunity to share with them your experience in becoming a Christian.

Closing Thought

If you have “witnessed” to other people to help them become a Christian, may God bless you for doing that and for doing your part in Jesus’ “great commission.” In my travels for work to cities on the east coast, I have witnessed to a number of taxi cab drivers, many of whom are Muslim. I typically ask them the same types of questions, and then when I learn that they are not a believer (though some are), I share my experience with them in becoming one. Also, if they are a Muslim, I typically try to share a few differences in what they believe vs. what Christians believe. If you have not witnessed much or at all, you might start with some “small talk” to establish a relationship and find out where that person is at spiritually, and then consider asking, “How important is Jesus to you?” to determine if they are likely a Christian or not.

For those of us who are believers, Jesus is obviously important to us, but we might want to ask ourselves, “Should He be even more important in my life?” I have always found the following verses to be convicting in terms of how important Jesus should be.

Matthew 16:24-26 ²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. ²⁶ What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

Matthew 10:37-39 ³⁷ “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸ and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Matthew 19:21-30 ²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” ²² When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. ²³ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” ²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” ²⁷ Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” ²⁸ Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ²⁹ And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. ³⁰ But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

Matthew 7:21-23 ²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’