TAGS: #christian
There would appear to be many ways to get to God. When you look at the many religions that exist today it’s no wonder people have missed the mark. The focus should not be on having a relationship with God as depending on who you listen to there are various ways to do it. Instead we should listen to our hearts which are longing to know God better. The key to finding God is knowing where to look for him.
It all begins with the acknowledgement that none of us are righteous (Romans 3:10). The standard for having a relationship with God is to deal with the only thing that separates us from Him: sin. IF we did not have a sin issue there would not be an issue with our relationship. But since there is a sin issue how do we recognize our own sin and find a way around it to God?
All of us have sinned and fallen short of His requirements (Romans 3:23). There is no person who can say “I sin less than you, therefore I am more righteous than you” as if righteousness is graded on a curve like a test in school. No, His standard is 100% holiness, no exception. It only takes one sin to miss heaven. One little lie, one wrong thought, one wrong word. If we do not have a perfect, sinless life then we cannot enter into that most holy of places, the presence of God.
What happens to those of us who are subject to sin: death. For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life (Romans 6:23). To be absent from the Lord is spiritual death. No person can be caught up in their own sin and yet hope to earn an audience with God. It is not possible. So when we die in our own sins we have chosen to live an eternity away from God.
Even though there are many world religions only one has an answer for dealing with our sins. We can never live holy enough or do enough righteous acts to cancel out the sin that is in our hearts. The way to redemption is by accepting the offer of Jesus Christ. He became sin for us who knew no sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (II Corinthians 5:21).
So what does it take to become a Christian? Accept that you are a sinner, believe that God gave us Jesus to remove our sin and confess that Jesus is the new Lord of your life. If we believe in our hearts God raised Jesus from the dead and confess he is Lord with our mouths we can be saved (Romans 10:9-10).
Salvation is a free gift to us but was not free to make possible. God gave His son, Jesus gave his life and the Holy Spirit gives us hope that we can live in heaven with God if we accept Him today.