Although a number of people are not adversarial toward Christianity and may even agree with many, if not most, of its teachings, they are hesitant to make an affirmative decision about becoming a Christian.  We will address three primary reasons why many of these people are hesitant to make such a decision.

Reason #1: People Believe They Do Not Deserve to Be Forgiven for All the Bad Things They Have Done

People in this category do not think that God will forgive them for some of the sins they have committed – especially, for sins that they regard as worse than most of their other sins.  However, the Bible indicates otherwise, as evidenced by the first two scriptures that follow.

[Note:  When we quote Scripture in this article, we use the wording in the New King James Version of the Bible.]

The first scripture to consider is Romans 3:23, which asserts, “[F]or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

This scripture makes it clear that, with the exception of Jesus Christ, every person has sinned.  Furthermore, the Bible also indicates that, with the exception of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, God will forgive all the previous sins of every person who trusts in His Son Jesus Christ for eternal salvation.  [Note: The sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is discussed in our article entitled “What Is the Unpardonable Sin?, which can be accessed by clicking on its title.]

Another scripture to consider with regard to whether or not God will forgive a person for some of the sins they have committed is Romans 6:23, which declares, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

This scripture implies that, because every human being has sinned, they deserve the penalty of spiritual death, which involves some form of eternal punishment.  However, because of God’s love, mercy, and grace, He offers the gift of eternal salvation to everyone who sincerely trusts in Jesus Christ as their Savior.  And, this offer includes the forgiveness of all of a person’s previous sins, with only the one previously mentioned exception.  Thus, there are no distinctions as to the types of sins that God forgives.

Reason #2: People Do Not Believe that They Will Be Able to Be a Good Christian

The people who have this belief do not think they are capable of living according to the biblical standards regarding how a Christian should conduct themselves.  The next scripture offers encouragement to people who are concerned about their ability to live a moral life if they become a Christian.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says,

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

This scripture provides assurance that God will provide Christians with the ability to overcome the temptations that they face.  However, it is our belief that this ability necessitates that each Christian must have a sincere desire to overcome their temptations and that this desire will compel them to genuinely strive to lead a holy lifestyle.  [For a discussion regarding being holy, click on “Can Anyone Except God Be Holy?]

Reason #3: People Do Not Believe that They Are Ready to Trust in Jesus Christ As Their Savior

The people in this category think it is not urgent for them to become a Christian.  At least some of these people, and possibly many of them, do not want to make a decision about becoming a Christian until later – perhaps, not until they are expecting to die in the near future.  However, the scripture that follows provides no assurance that such people will not die before they decide to become a Christian.

James 4:13-14 states,

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

This scripture emphasizes that it is precarious for a person to presume that he (or she) will, at some future time, be able to do what prudence indicates would be wise to do much sooner.  Several million people in our country die every year and many of them die without much, if any, advance warning.  Furthermore, thousands of the people who die each year are not elderly.  Therefore, when a person continues to postpone making the decision to trust in Jesus Christ as his (or her) Savior, it is a very risky choice that has eternal consequences.

Conclusion

The scriptures that we have cited contradict the logic of the three reasons we have mentioned with regard to why people are hesitant to become a Christian.  However, there are also other reasons why people do not want to become a Christian.  Most of these other reasons suggest either ignorance about Christian beliefs or skepticism, if not hostility, toward Christian beliefs.  For a discussion of these other reasons, click on “Why Do People Reject Jesus Christ?” and/or “Does It Really Matter What You Believe?”]