Religion VS. Relationship

Salvation from what?

How do I know I am going to Heaven?

What does it mean to be born - again?

Why Christianity?

If you are not sure you will go to heaven when you die and you always wondered what it means to be born again, this article is for you.  I pray it will answer your questions and encourage you to reach out to God.  He is waiting for you and wants to have a relationship with you.

Salvation: Deliverence from sin (and the penalty of it) by Divine assistance.

Grace: The undeserved love or favor from God toward mankind. Salvation is only the beginning. He grace supllies your every need.

Salvation by grace is one of the principal doctrines of Biblical Christianity.  This doctrine sets Christianity apart from any other religion known to man.  However, Christianity is not just another religion. In fact, based on the definition of the world religion, it is not a religion at all.  True Biblical Christianity is about a personal relationship with the one true and living God.

The dictionary defines religion as man following a set of standards or a system of belief to please God.  It also defines a religious person as one who is devoted to a particular religion.  My point? No where in the definition does it imply a devotion to God but rather to the religion itself.  A Christian is one who follows Christ.  One who has received the gift of salvation from God the Father.  Anyone can have a religion and do their best to follow all the rules; they can be very "religious" and never personally know the God who created them.

In every known religion, man is doing their best to reach their god's standard of perfection in hopes of going to heaven when they die.  But there is one major problem, man is sinful by nature at birth.  The Bible says the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).  The Bible is the word of God and God's word is absolute truth.  It is the only standard by which we can measure right from wrong, good and evil.  The truth of God's word remains true even if we choose not to believe it.

The good news is, unlike any other religion, God Himself made a way for man to be freed from sin.  Basically, God stooped down to man's level.  He reached out to us! He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross and pay the price for sin for all mankind.  The only requirement of man is to receive this gift from God by faith.  When we trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sin, we enter into a relationship with Him and He presents us holy and pure to God the Father.

Religion tells us that we need to do a certain set of works and good deeds to appease God and enter into heaven.  Relationship tells us that God loves us unconditionally and that He will do the work in our hearts to change the way we live.  In this, we will desire to do good deeds and live right.  Not to earn God's love or approval, but because we know we already have it and that love causes our hearts to be thankful.

In a sense, it's just like our relationships with other people.  Why do you follow the "rules" of marriage?  Is it because you have to, or is it because you love your spouse so much that you would never think of cheating on them? In fact, it has nothing to do with the "rules" at all. It's the same with parent child relationships.  If your child respects you and knows you love them no matter what, they are going to want to please you. Not out of fear of losing your love, but out of the love they have for you.

Now, what is it that we need saving from?  As mentioned earlier, every one of us is born with a sinful nature.  This is a result of the sin of Adam and Eve.  Go back and read the book of Genesis in chapter three and read the story of the fall.  Read further on and see how Adam and Eve tried to "cover up" their sin by sewing fig leaves together.  God's response to this was a broken heart because He knew the consequences of their sin.  However, the most important thing we see is that God was not satisfied with their attempt to "cover up" or make good on their sin.  God Himself provided the sacrifice of an animal and He made coverings for them.

This is the first example to us in Scripture of man not being able to do anything to attain God's favor.  This is why Jesus and being born again are so important.

In the Gospel of John, we read all about Jesus.  We learn that He is the Son of God and He was with God in the beginning and He Himself, is God in the flesh.  The Bible teaches that God sent His Son into the world so that as many as received Him would be saved.  Thus being born again.

Being born again is a phrase that is used alot in the Christian world.  This is because you cannot be a Christian ( Christ follower) without being born again.  Because we are born sinners, we are born spiritually dead.  In Ephesians 2:1-5 and 1 Peter 1:23 we are told that our spirits are born in corruption and the only way they can be made alive is by receiving Christ as Savior.

When we receive Christ, we become born again and because we are born again, we follow Christ- which makes us a Christian.  As followers of Christ, we do His will out of a heart of gratitude. As we read, study and go to church, we form a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

So how do you receive Christ?  By admitting you are a sinner and that you need and want God's forgiveness.  You accept by faith, that God hears you and you repent of your old ways.  Repentance means to turn away from the old you and turn to Jesus Christ and follow Him.

If you have never received Christ as your Savior, I encourage you to do so today.  Know for certain that you will be with God for eternity.  Read your Bible, go to a Bible believing church.  Write to us and we can help you grow.

The time is now:

Dear Lord, I may not know much about You, but I know I need You. Please forgive me of my sin.  Heal my broken heart.  Come into my life and save me.  I want to be Your child and have a relationship with You.  Help me to learn more about You.  Thank You for hearing me and coming into my life.  I accept by faith that I now belong to You.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Another great example of a prayer of repentance is found in Psalm 51.  I encourage you to read it.

If you have prayed this prayer for the first time, or you are renewing your commitment to Christ, please write to us.  We praise God with you and for you and want to help you grow.

Feel free to print this article and pass it on!

If you weren't quite ready to surrender to Christ, I pray this short article will challenge you to seek to know more about Jesus.  For a more in-depth study on this topic see "It's all about grace" under the resource page. May you be blessed as you continue down the path that leads to Jesus!

A few more passages to consider

"He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born , not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" John 1:11-12

"But what does it say? 'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart' (that is the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:8-10

"But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:4-7

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

"O taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trust in Him" Psalm 34:8

You will never regret surrending your life the Jesus, do it today. He's waiting for you with open arms.