I think a lot of us come to faith because we are raised in it. We learn the Ten Commandments, which made sense to young me, and then we move to Jesus’ teachings, which just naturally seem the right way to lead our lives.
But what if someone is going through this themselves without that upbringing? If you’re going from scratch, how do you truly become a practicing Christian?
Becoming a Christian means believing Jesus is the Son of God who died and rose again to forgive your sins, then deciding to follow him. Most traditions treat baptism as the outward step of that commitment, but the starting point is turning toward Christ, often through a simple, honest prayer.
People coming to faith from scratch sometimes have an advantage over those of us raised in it. You mentioned learning the Commandments as a kid and Jesus’ teachings feeling natural. Someone reading the Gospel of John for the first time as an adult often gets hit by things I skimmed past for years.
When you’re starting fresh, read one of the Gospels slowly; John or Luke are good entry points. Pray even when it feels awkward, and find a couple believers you can ask questions.
As for the practicing part, it’s mostly habits built over time. You keep showing up, and you mess up sometimes.
Grace comes first, and a changed life follows from that. The Ten Commandments and Jesus’ teachings matter, but Christianity starts with admitting that sin runs deeper than bad habits and that we can’t fix ourselves.
If you’re starting from scratch, read one of the Gospels. Confess what needs confessing, and pray even when it feels awkward. Find a local church where questions are welcome and tell someone there you want to follow Christ. Baptism comes after that. You don’t need perfect knowledge or perfect feelings to start. An honest yes to Jesus is enough.
If you’re starting from scratch, don’t try to copy the usual path where someone grows up with the Ten Commandments and then moves on to Jesus’ teachings. A lot of what he asks won’t feel right to you at first.
Becoming a Christian means you trust him with your life and follow him, not just agree with him as a teacher. Read whole books of the Bible so the story hangs together, and keep showing up for worship even on the weeks it feels foreign. The everyday work is ordinary stuff: serving people who can’t repay you, giving money away, resting one day a week, admitting when you’ve wronged someone. You have to stick with Jesus when his way and your instincts disagree.
Reading Mark straight through in one sitting did more for me than months of random verses, and it made those awkward early Sundays make sense.
Following Jesus is the fruit of receiving grace.
Trust gets concrete when obedience costs something, like forgiving someone or giving money away when his teaching cuts against your instincts, or admitting you were wrong.
Pray often. That’s how you build a personal relationship with God, talk to Him about whatever’s on your mind.
Finding a church where the Gospel is preached helps too. Exploring different denominations can help you figure out where you fit.
The ABC approach gave me something concrete to hold onto. Admit you need a savior, believe Jesus died and rose again, and confess him as Lord. It was simple enough that I could do it instead of getting lost in theology I didn’t understand yet.
But I still struggle with whether I’m doing it right. I pray and try to read Scripture daily, and sometimes I wonder if my faith is actually real or if I’m going through the motions. Does anyone else feel that way at the beginning?
Many of us feel that way at the beginning, and sometimes long after.
What helped me was realizing my faith rests on what Jesus did, not on how strong or real my feelings are. The man in Mark 9:24 tells Jesus, “I believe; help my unbelief!” and Jesus doesn’t send him away for having mixed-up faith. He helps him.
And 1 John was written so believers could know they have eternal life (1 John 5:13). It points to trusting Christ and wanting to obey him, along with growing in love for others.
Going through the motions isn’t automatically fake. Sometimes it’s faithfulness on the days the feelings don’t show up.
The fact that you even care whether your faith is real is a good sign the Spirit is working in you. Keep praying, keep reading, and tell someone at your church you’ve been wrestling with this.
Finding a church changed everything for me. I didn’t expect to need it alongside my own Bible study, but I did.
I kept visiting places that centered their teaching on Scripture and made prayer a real priority. Some felt off, others felt like home. The community piece matters too, since we weren’t meant to walk this path alone.
The moment faith clicked for me wasn’t mystical. Christianity makes sense and doesn’t require checking your brain at the door.
I get a little fired up when people act like you need to be raised in it or that it’s too late. The whole thing can be explained and examined, and once I saw that my own process started. No Sunday school childhood required.
Sometimes the way in is a book. One that makes you uncomfortable enough to stop overthinking and trust.
For me, after years of running from faith, it was Fear and Trembling (Kierkegaard).
Expect something to happen when you start looking. Hebrews 11:6 is blunt about it (you have to believe God exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him).
That’s the baseline for approaching him.
Prayer opens the door. It’s the starting point. It’s right there in Matthew 7:7: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”
Read the Bible regularly. Doing what it says is the part most people skip. Start with John chapter three, then let baptism and serving others become the visible proof that something real changed inside you.
Prayer first. Starting there works, even before you know what you’re doing.
Bible reading gets all the attention, but talking to God first, before you even open your Bible, opens everything else up.
I’d be careful about which church ends up forming you, since not every ‘Christian’ space is equally healthy, especially online. Look for a community that takes Scripture seriously, with accountable leaders, room to ask questions without getting shut down, and vulnerable people kept safe.