You have heard the precious gospel of the Lord, and have responded in faith, repenting of your sins, confessing Jesus as your Lord, and have been baptized in water for the remission of your sins.
You have risen from that watery grave as a new creature in Christ. Your sins have been washed away, and your faith has been rewarded with the gift of salvation. You are now a child of God.
Now what? Well, the first thing is a natural response to your changed state. You rejoice! The Ethiopian Eunuch was in the same situation, and we are told in Acts 8 that after the evangelist Philip baptized him, they “came up out of the water”, and that the eunuch “went on his way rejoicing” (vs. 39).
The Bible does not reveal what the eunuch did next. But, there are many examples in scripture of the activities of Christians after their conversion. There are many instructions given regarding the obligations a Christian has in service to his Master. A man’s conversion signifies the beginning of a new life, with new relationships, privileges, and yes, responsibilities.
After the preaching of the first gospel sermon in Acts 2, Luke records the subsequent actions of the 3,000 souls that obeyed. We are told, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (vs. 42).
I suppose that some feel they can do whatever they want after they are baptized. After all, once saved always saved, right? Well, actually, no that’s not right. When a person obeys the gospel, their sins are washed away and they are reconciled to God. They are saved. But, that relationship to God must be maintained. It is not until a man dies that his eternal destiny is set. Paul understood this truth, and wrote to the Corinthians, “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27).
Don’t misunderstand. You can’t have your salvation taken from you. But, you can give it up, you can forfeit it. And the New Testament is literally filled with warnings to that end. Take, for example, the words of the Hebrew writer, “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation…” (Hebrews 2:1-3a).
In a nutshell, God requires of us steadfast service. Obedience to His will. Time precludes a detailed discussion of these responsibilities in this presentation, but allow me to summarize quickly.
God expects His children to study His will for them. All the instructions you need, to know how to be faithful, are found in the pages of the Bible. Paul said that scripture completes a man, thoroughly equipping him “for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
God expects His children to grow in the spiritual graces. Things like patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and love.
God expects His children to assemble together for worship, and to strengthen one another.
God expects His children to share the gospel that saved them with others who are in need of salvation.
We could go on and on, but our time is gone. The question was, “I just became a Christian, What Now?” The answer is, “Rejoice!… and get to work!”
