Why I Am a Christian? | Season 01, Episode 02 | Simple Truth Podcast

Sometimes I get asked, "Ted, why did you become a Christian? You weren't raised in church. You didn't come from a Christian family. So why are you a Christian?" Well, growing up, I never thought about becoming a Christian, honestly. But something crazy happened when I was younger, and it changed everything. My life went completely off track. I tried to fix it, and I couldn't fix it. I couldn't fix it with relationships. I couldn't fix it by partying with friends. I couldn't fix it with meditation. I couldn't fix it with working out at the gym or going shopping. But then I did something unimaginable. And no kidding, it fixed it. And I don't mean a little bit fixed it. I mean totally fixed it. Like 30 years later still fixed. And I say this because for some of you it may feel like your life right now is completely off track. And if that is you, please consider what I'm about to say. Let's talk about it in this episode of The Simple Truth. Welcome to the Simple Truth podcast, where we open the Bible to uncover simple, biblical, and essential truths that can transform your life. And now, here's your host, Ted Ross. Hi, my name is Ted Ross and this is the Simple Truth Podcast. There are so many podcasts out there, but I think you'll find this one to be unique. If you sincerely want to learn the Bible, live a successful Christian life, and experience God, then this is the podcast for you. This season, we examine what it means to be a Christian, and how to live a successful Christian life. Next season, we'll dive into the most important topic in the entire Bible. I know that's a big leadup. The gospel of Jesus Christ. After that, we'll tackle a whole series of interesting topics like the six foundational teachings of Christianity, the four types of prayer, Jesus's parables. We'll go line by line through the book of Romans, and much more. My job is to keep it simple, to keep it accurate, and to keep it interesting. But before we get into it, I think it makes sense to start with how I got here. Why did I become a Christian? I was fortunate to have a pretty good childhood. My parents weren't perfect, but I know they tried. And I think I grew up like a lot of people. I was told to be a good person, and I probably thought I was doing a pretty good job at it. But when I was younger, I really started to drift. I started to make some really bad choices. I kept doing things I was ashamed of and getting into trouble. Worst of all, it seemed like I couldn't help it. I knew I should stop, but I couldn't seem to. Have you ever felt this way? Do you find yourself making the same mistake over and over? Well, I certainly did. Then one day, a friend looked me in the eye and said, "Ted, I'm worried about you. The way you're living could send you to hell." I was like, "Wow." Honestly, I was shocked. I didn't even believe in hell. Deep inside, I knew I wasn't living right, but I wasn't a bad person, right? I think a lot of us have felt that way. I ignored what they said, and honestly, I thought that that was the end of that friendship. But here's the thing, it wasn't long before my life started to unravel. Everything I did just stopped working. The harder I tried to keep things together, the more they just seem to fall apart. Has this ever happened to you? Well, certainly happened to me. And it was only later that I understood really what had happened. Work and school felt impossible. Nothing really seemed to matter. I found myself going to bed, believe it or not, at 8:00 p.m. at night, not because I was tired, but I just didn't want to deal with the day anymore. Every morning, I seemed to wake up with this heavy weight on me. I felt stuck. I felt hopeless. And honestly, I felt completely lost. After about four or five months of this, I think I hit rock bottom. I didn't know where to turn, so I did the unthinkable. I picked up the phone and I called that same friend. Yes, back in the day, we actually called people and I said, "Tell me why you think I'm going to hell." After going back and forth for about 15 minutes, they said, "You should really consider reading the Bible." Wow. Again, I was never really interested reading the Bible. I thought the Bible was something for other people, for religious people, not for me. But honestly, I was so humbled at this point. I was desperate. So, I gave it a try. I started reading the book of Proverbs in the Bible, and it was amazing. No, I'm serious. It was incredible. Every page felt like a spotlight shining deep inside of me. The words seemed to shine on parts of me I tried to ignore, right? the anger, the fear, the loneliness, the appetites, my foolishness, pride, arrogance. It honestly felt like there was a fire deep inside burning away bad things. And it felt great. And the enormous weight lifted off of me. And I know this may sound silly, but I still remember where I was sitting when I started reading the book of Proverbs over 30 years ago. I hadn't felt peace like that in my whole life. What I didn't realize then, but I know now, was that I just had an encounter with Jesus Christ, and I wanted more. But it didn't end there. After I stopped reading and I was walking around during the day, I would start to feel that same heaviness again. I realized something. I needed to change. That first experience, it just wasn't enough. In other words, this wasn't just a new chapter in my life. This really did seem like the start of something longer, like a new lifelong journey, a journey to chase after that same peace and that same connection that I experienced that first day. So I started to read my Bible every day. I read Matthew and Mark, Luke, John. U those things talked about what Jesus said and did. I read about the first Christians in the book of Acts and the letters written by Paul the Apostle to various churches. I didn't understand everything at first. In fact, I'm sure I missed a lot in the beginning. But I did see profound truths that if I was willing to accept and to trust in, they would transform my life. And even more important to me, I always felt better when I read the Bible. And that same peace, it would come back to me again and again. And that's when I did unthinkable act number two. I asked my friend what church they went to. The next thing I knew, I [snorts] found myself, a young white man who had never been to church, attending a large black church in South Los Angeles every Sunday. Have you ever done something that you knew was right, but felt crazy while you did it? Well, that's what I felt like every week. On the surface, we didn't have much in common, but I found myself a group of people who understood how I felt, and they knew exactly what I was going through. I became amazed at God. I had plenty of issues, and I was making plenty of mistakes. But he would meet me where I was at. He'd forgive me when I stumbled, and he would encourage me to continue. Everything wasn't perfect, but my life was really improving. Honestly, even my mom and dad noticed and I did feel a lot better about myself. I felt hope and I felt encouragement. And that was over 30 years ago. And I've learned so much more since. So the things that I've learned I share in this podcast. If you're interested, of course, no cost to you, no pressure, no hidden catch. I feel when someone does something great for you, it's my responsibility to share it with others. I'm sure many of you actually feel the same way. So, that's why we do the Simple Truth Podcast. I want each of you to experience all the great things I've experienced. I want you to experience none of the bad things I've experienced. And to be honest, I would love if you experienced even more things than I experienced. So, listen, try it. Tell me if it isn't true. One thing I learned early on is there's nothing unique or special about me. What God has been doing in my life, he's doing in that church in South Los Angeles. He's doing it across America. Heck, he's doing it across the world. Have you tried it? Are you a part of it? Do you want to be a part of it? Honestly, if you feel drawn by my words, it's not me. It's God. God wants to have a real relationship with you, too. And I know it sounds crazy. It doesn't matter what you've done. It doesn't matter where you are now. It doesn't matter who you've been. I'm serious. It really doesn't matter. God said it doesn't matter. What matters is that Jesus Christ wants to have a relationship with you right now. But you might be wondering, how exactly do I do that? Some people like to argue about who God is and what he wants. Well, God actually makes it pretty simple to reach him. He makes it simple because he wants that anyone can access him if they choose to. The Bible describes what God wants from us in simple truths, right? That's why we call it the simple truth podcast. If you're willing to accept the truth about God and commit to following it, he will always meet us where we are at. So, here is the very first simple truth that we will talk about. Simple truth number one, God wants us to repent and believe the gospel. Let's take a look at the words of Jesus Christ in the book of Mark 1:es 14 and 15. In fact, this is actually the very first message from Jesus Christ to the world. You could say this message, what he's about to say was the start of Jesus's ministry. And he clearly tells us what God wants from us. How appropriate, right? So it says Mark 1:14. Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. Okay. What does that mean to preach? Preach is simply to proclaim publicly to declare a message. So Jesus was declaring something to the world, right? So what message did Jesus declare? Well, it's right here in this sentence. The gospel. The gospel literally means the good news or the good message. One quick note, you'll notice that for each definition, I will include the Strong's number. For example, G2098 is the Strong's number for the word gospel. Since the New Testament was originally written in Greek, a Strong's number like G2098 is a simple way that you can go online and look at a word's meaning yourself using the free Strongs concordance, or you could buy a good modern lexicon like the BDAG. These topics are so important, I think, that you can't just take our word for it. So, feel free to use these strong numbers to do your own research, too. Okay, back to the scripture. So, Jesus came preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. Verse 15, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand." In other words, the kingdom of God is here and accessible to you. Now, here's what Jesus instructs all of us. quote, "Repent and believe in the gospel." Okay, repent and believe in the gospel. It's just six words. But what does it mean? Well, first, what does it mean to repent? To repent is to think differently. It's to change one's mind. So Jesus commands everyone to repent, to change our mind from what we were doing before we encountered God and to have a different mind. Repentance is changing our mind to live another way. Well, what way is that? Jesus tells us. He says, "Repent and believe the gospel." So, the second thing Jesus commands us to do is to believe the gospel. Believe. What does that mean? It's to have faith in, to put your trust in, to rely on, right? So Jesus wants us to repent and believe the gospel, right? The good news, the good message. Okay? Jesus wants to have faith in to rely on the good news of the good message. Got it? But it begs the question, what exactly is this good news? What is the good message? What exactly is the gospel? Well, the gospel is actually defined by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:es 1-4. Let's take a look at it. Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel. Declare, to make known, to reveal. So Paul is about to reveal something to us. Okay, the gospel, the good news, the good message. That's that word again we saw in that last set of verses that Jesus was teaching. But Paul is about to reveal the good news and what it is. And it says, "By which also you are saved if you hold fast that word which I preached to you unless you have believed in vain." Interesting. Saved. to be made sound, to be set at safety, to be rescued. Interesting. It says here that the gospel is what saves us, makes us sound if we hold fast to it. Then Paul defines the gospel for us. He breaks it down. He makes it plain in verses 3 and 4. Paul says,"For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." This is the good news of the gospel. The gospel is that Jesus died for our sins. He was buried in a tomb and on the third day, he rose again. In other words, he's still alive. So the first message that Jesus preached in the Bible found in Mark 1 was that Jesus wants us to repent to change our mind to have another mind and that the new mind is to believe that's to have faith in to trust in the good news of the gospel which is the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So what does God want from us right? This is what he wants from us. He wants us to stop living the way we were living and to trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In other words, the good news is that Jesus Christ died on a cross. And that was almost 2,000 years ago. And he was resurrected. And he didn't die as an accident. And he didn't die as some type of mistake, but he died on that cross to pay a price for you and me. He paid the price for all of our falling short, all the bad behavior, all the intense desires to do wrong, all the people that we may have hurt, all of our selfishness. In doing this, Jesus has the power to heal all of our traumas, to make our minds, our bodies, and our emotions healthy, which I know all of us are looking for, to make us a new person, and to work a total transformation inside of us. Through his death, burial, and resurrection, we now have the ability to have a close relationship with God. And I know this sounds crazy. At first, I thought these were just silly stories, but God had mercy on me. God convinced me. And these aren't just silly stories. This isn't just some fairy tale or some religious nonsense. This is real. I told you earlier about my life, about how I went off track, about how I kept doing things I knew were bad and how I got humbled and brought really, really low. All of that was God. About how I started to read the Bible and started to believe the good news of the gospel and live it out in my life. And it certainly wasn't easy, especially at first. I started to repent of my bad behaviors. I started to put my trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. and I started to have power over those behaviors. This is what changed my life forever and it could totally change yours. In fact, it's already changed the lives of millions of people around the world. God wants a close relationship with you and it will come through what Jesus said, changing your mind and putting your trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In fact, this gospel, this good news, it is the power of God to help you and transform you. Let's take a look in Paul's letter to the church at Rome, chapter 1, 16, book of Romans, it says here, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. There goes that word gospel again. Good news, good messages. same message Jesus preached, the same one Paul defined in 1 Corinthians 15. It says here that Paul is not ashamed of the gospel, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was not ashamed to believe it and to trust in it. And it says here in verse 16, for the gospel is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. Interesting. The gospel is the power of God. That sounds like a really strong phrase. What does it mean? Well, power is the ability of God, the force of God. The Greek word is dunamis, right? You could look it up. You've got your Strong's number there. The gospel is God's ability to perform something in your life. It's his ability, but to perform what? Well, in verse 16, it says it's his power to perform salvation. That's a strong word. And I know we throw that word around in America and around churches all the time. But what does it mean? Well, first of all, it looks a lot like that word saved from 1 Corinthians 15. It is because salvation is the noun form of saved. Salvation is to make you sound. It's to set you at safety. Is to deliver you from everything that would hinder you and prevent you from doing whatever it is you need to do that's good. What a powerful truth. What a powerful truth. the death burn and resurrection of Jesus Christ, it is God's ability to make you sound and to transform your life. The rest of the verse says for the Jew first and also for the Greek. And I think this is powerful. The first Christians were Jewish and there was a debate among them as to whether Christianity was just for Jewish people. But over and over again, God made it clear that it was available to all people. In fact, here's just another example. Paul said that the gospel was for the people of Jewish descent. Yes, like the early disciples in Jerusalem. And it was also for the non-Jew, for the Greek, like the disciples in Rome that he was writing this letter to. In other words, the gospel is for everybody. And that includes you and me, my friend. It doesn't matter what your background is, doesn't matter what your ethnicity is, doesn't matter what your education is or what church you go to, right? God will move heaven and earth to help you if you put your trust in, if you rely on, and if you believe the gospel. That is great news. You know, many people respect the words of Jesus Christ and his actions. But Jesus was much more than words, much more than the things he said, much more than the things he taught. Most importantly, his death, burial, and resurrection was good news. If we would trust in it, it is God's power to save and transform us. And that is the love of God. And that is powerful. If you're listening right now and you feel something pulling at your heart, then it's time. That's God inviting you into a relationship with him. You don't have to have all the answers. You don't have to be in a good place to receive him. You don't have to make yourself ready for God. In fact, if you're not in a good place, now is exactly the time to receive him. That's how it happened with me. All you need to do is come to him just as you are. If that's you today, I'm going to ask you to do something. Please join me in a simple prayer. A prayer where we ask God together. These words are not magic, but if they reflect what's in your heart, then God will hear you and he'll begin changing your life from the inside out. He did that with me. Please pray with me and repeat after me. Dear heavenly father, thank you for reaching out to me today. I confess that I need your help. I repent of my past ways. Instead, I place my trust in the power and forgiveness that come through the death, the burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus, take control of my life. be my savior and be my lord. I choose to follow you and to know you more. Thank you for loving me and for forgiving me and for giving me a fresh start. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. I thank God for every one of you. As I told you earlier, this is the start of something great in your life. If this is your first experience with God, then you should continue in it. And here's what I suggest for your next steps. Number one, start reading the Bible every day to learn more about God and more about yourself. Personally, I like to read the New King James Version, but there are other good translations of the Bible out there. I recommend you start reading the New Testament, the book of Psalms and the book of Proverbs. The book of John is also a great place to start if you want to know where exactly you start first. Second, I recommend you pray every day. Prayer is simply talking with God. Find somewhere quiet. Put your phone away and have a conversation with God. Share what's on your heart. Ask for things you need. God actually says for you to ask for the things that you need. That's biblical. That's good. And then thank him for what he is doing around you. Prayer is how we build our relationship with God. It's a lot like spending time with a close friend. Through prayer, you will gain strength and you will find peace. no matter what's happening in your life. That's why it's important to pray every day. It keeps us connected to God and helps us to understand our purpose. Third, I encourage you to find a good evangelical or charismatic church near you. A good church is simply one that teaches the Bible and it welcomes the work of God's spirit. A good church will teach you more about God and yourself. Going to church is not about being seen. It's not about seeking attention from other people. Church should be a place to help you grow in the knowledge of God and your experience with God. And of course, please feel free to keep tuning in for more Simple Truth podcast with me, your host, Ted Ross. Thank you for listening to our Simple Truth Podcast. In the coming seasons and episodes, we're going to cover so many powerful topics, starting with the foundational teachings of Christianity to more complex topics like the book of Romans and the book of Revelation. If you enjoyed today's podcast, don't forget to like and subscribe and share it with somebody else. And be sure to visit simplerthruth.org for more resources. In the next episode, we're going to dive into the topic of what it means to be a Christian, and I guarantee you the answer will surprise you. We know that being a Christian is a lifelong journey, but a lifelong journey doing what exactly. Well, let's go through the Bible together and let's see together. Thank you for spending time with us. Until next time, I pray God bless you and God keep you. Thank you for listening to the Simple Truth Podcast. For additional episodes, visit us at www.simplettruth.org