Have you ever heard someone say, “I’ve been a Christian as long as I can remember?” Or, when asked if they are a Christian, someone responds, “Well, my parents have always been Christians, so I guess I am a Christian too.”

Answers like these make you ponder the question, “Where does faith in Jesus Christ come from? And how do I know that I am a Christian?” As always, we must seek answers to spiritual questions like these in the scriptures.

Where does faith come from? First of all, it does not come by physical birth! One cannot be “born” a Christian. One is not a Christian because his or her mother or father was a Christian. Second, faith does not come from some “miraculous endowment,” where God touches your heart and suddenly you have faith. Third, faith does not come by prayer. No one has ever been saved by saying a “sinner’s prayer,” and there is no example of anyone being saved in such a way in the scriptures.

All of the above ideas are refuted by one simple passage in God’s word! Simply put, the Bible says that faith comes from hearing the word of God, Romans 10:17. God’s word is the origin of faith. When the gospel is preached or read, God’s power is in action! And that gospel that was preached by the apostles and is recorded for us in the Bible is the “power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16). It was the power of God unto salvation then, and it still is today.

Following the resurrection of Christ, no man or woman was ever saved by any means other than hearing and obeying God’s word. So how does one know according to scriptures that one is a Christian? By obeying God’s plan of salvation! We are commanded to believe upon Jesus as the Messiah (John 8:24); repent of our old lives of sin (Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30); publicly confess Jesus as the Christ (Matt. 10:32-33); and be baptized in Christ for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38). It is through God’s plan that we become Christians, and thereby we can know that we are sons of God, and heirs to the promise (Gal. 3:26-29).