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He later explained his comments were meant to express a desire for Christians to undergo an "authentic conversion and regenerate church membership." In his podcast, Platt said the true image of becoming a Christian is that of a blank check. Platt described, "When you think about it, giving God a blank check is really the essence of what it means to be a Christian in the first place, right? What happens at the moment you or I come to faith in Christ? At that moment we turn aside from sin and from ourselves and we say I don't want to go my way anymore; I want to follow your way. That's a blank check, isn't it?" He continued, "It's not like we come to Christ and say I want to follow some of your ways and some of my ways in the days to come. No, we say I'll follow your way; whatever it is – this is the essence of what it means to be a Christian – to say I'm trusting you now to save me from my sins and to lead me as my Lord. You're Lord, not me. I trust you to call the shots in my life."

This really IS the gist of what it means to be a Christian. While our works and efforts for the cause of Christ do not contribute in any way to our salvation - which is a gift of God by His grace that we accept through faith - they do demonstrate genuine faith. What is clear, though, is that this kind of faith - to be willing to totally trust the Lord for every aspect of our lives - is grown, it is a mature faith that has been tested, refined. When we get to the point where we can honestly say we believe,

God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him.

with all our hearts, we will experience the full joy of the Lord and be where He want us to be in His perfect will for our lives.

I converted at 13. I am not a pacifist now, but I assumed pacifism was God’s will when I first converted. The day I was beaten up without striking back was the day I believe I became a Christian - when I was willing to obey what I thought God wanted me to do, even if it literally hurt.

Of course, I later spent 25 years in the military. The point wasn’t that God requires no fighting back, but that I believed he required it of me at that time, and obeyed.

That is part of why I believe baptism should follow conversion quickly. It is an act of obedience to God. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to the modern mind, but it IS worth doing because God commands it. If someone holds back from being baptized, just how much have they surrendered to God?