How To Support A New Christian

Recently, a celebrity by the name of Kat Von D posted a video about her being baptized and becoming a Christian. This sparked a lot of controversy among non-believers and believers alike. Non-believers who were long-time fans were mocking her, unfollowing her, and harassing her and other Christians. Some believers celebrated with her, while others remained skeptical that she had truly converted because she still dressed or acted a certain way.

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I know nothing about Kat Von D, but I do know that I hope and pray that she truly is a Christian now. I’m not magically a fan just because she is a believer now, but I will absolutely support a new sister in Christ in her spiritual walk. There are plenty of things she posts that some Christians are taking issue with, but that’s because she’s new and needs to learn. So what should she learn?

What to teach a new believer

A new Christian would have to be someone who has been taught, believes, repents, and has obeyed the gospel. Therefore, they wouldn’t need to be taught or convinced that Jesus died and rose again, that we are sinners in need of a savior, etc.

But one of the biggest mistakes we can make as Christians is assuming that once you’re saved, you don’t need to learn or grow anymore–OR that you should suddenly be the most righteous person in the world overnight.

Being born again means you have a new beginning! There’s a whole earthly life ahead of you, and an eternal life beyond that! So what is there to learn now?

What matters at the beginning?

Recently, my church held a discussion regarding the topic of Biblical modesty. We’ve been going through a series answering people’s anonymous questions, and there were many questions (and complaints) regarding modesty guidelines and, according to some submissions, the lack of enforcement of a dress code.

It was refreshing to hear the teachers and participants discussing that modesty itself did not have a Biblical one-size-fits-all definition of physical modesty, that there should be no such thing as enforcement of a church dress code, and that it’s a matter of the heart.

But before I get carried away on the subject of modesty (I’ll save that for another time), let’s get to my point.

It was agreed upon by most members in that discussion that there are some things you don’t lecture a new believer about.

When someone has just been baptized, you don’t immediately go up to them and tell them to dress more appropriately. You don’t lecture them on your opinion of tattoos or piercings. You don’t make them wonder if they made the wrong decision to join this spiritual family.

One member stated that his brother visited church for the first time ever and wore a hat, and a lady came and lectured him about how men shouldn’t wear hats in church. He never came back after that and died recently, and he never became a Christian. How devastating is that?

What matters in the beginning of a new Christian’s walk? Encouragement. Support. Freedom that can only be found in Christ.

Don’t start judging them and nit-picking them. Sanctification is personal and comes with time. Let the Holy Spirit work through each believer to convict them of change.

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”

Luke 6:41-42

How can we support new believers?

There are plenty of things we can do to support new Christians, whether they’re in our own congregation, someone we know online, or even someone we’ve never met before.

Pray for them

This seems obvious, but how many of us really do this? We say we’ll pray all the time, but do we really pray specifically for people?

You can keep a note in your phone, carry a journal, or find other ways to write down people’s names or prayer requests to pray for. Pray for their spiritual walk, that they can grow and learn, and that they are not discouraged by the world.

“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Philippians 2:4

Study with them

If you know them in person, invite them to study the Bible with you or a group. If that’s not an option because of everyone’s schedules, try sitting with them or inviting them to sit with you during church service. Help them know you’re here with them and are learning too.

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

Hebrews 10:24-25

Lead by example

The modesty example works well for this one. Don’t go up to a person and tell them they’re not dressed appropriately for church. Instead, lead by example. Dress respectably for church, and every other day of the week. People see and notice that, and often end up wanting to do better as well.

Leading by example is always better than nit-picking and lecturing!

“Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.”

Titus 2:7-8

Encourage them with scripture

One of the newest things I’ve been working on with my Etsy shop is including scripture cards with each product. The reason I’m adding these is because 1) I want to encourage my customers, and 2) customers now have a card with an encouraging verse to give to a friend!

Send texts or letters with scripture on them. Remind new believers that they can find peace in comfort in the Word, and that they can always learn more each time they read it. This is great even for you because you’ll get better acquainted with scripture as well!

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

Ephesians 4:29

Be gentle, but don’t sugarcoat

We should be gentle with new believers. Not omitting any of Christ’s teachings, but also not policing how a new believer is acting in their infant stage.

“But I [Paul], brothers, could not address you [the church in Corinth] as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, ‘I follow Paul,’ and another, ‘I follow Apollos,’ are you not being merely human?

“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”

1 Corinthians 3:1-7

But of course, we shouldn’t sugarcoat things or alter scripture to make it more palatable. We are absolutely not to change Jesus’ message to fit the world and make more people comfortable. Jesus himself made people uncomfortable, and yet he still offered true peace and rest. He knows that living the way God wants us to is the only way we will prosper spiritually. The only way to eternal life is through Jesus, and Jesus outlines a specific way to live.

Just because we’re saved doesn’t mean we get a free pass to sin as much as we want!

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Romans 6:1-4

When you feel skeptical

Sometimes we can feel like it’s just really hard to tell if someone is actually a Christian. Did they truly believe when they were baptized? Did they think that once they were saved they could go and do whatever sin they want with no need to repent? These are all thoughts I’ve seen others express, and I’ve had these thoughts myself sometimes.

But here’s the thing: we’re not God.

We have absolutely no say and no insight into who is truly saved or not. We are not the Holy Spirit working within each individual.

The best thing we can do as Christians is to be there for one another, pray for each other’s spiritual walk, and work together to be a Godly example to encourage one another to always strive for righteousness.

Keep spreading the gospel, keep praying, keep leading by example. God knows what he’s doing!

“For this reason, because I [Paul] have heard of your [the church in Ephesus] faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks to you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.”

Ephesians 1:15-21

God bless,