Our faith is more than a religion; it’s a relationship, a relationship with the Savior of the world. In the words of the famous hymn-writer John Newton “I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.” But you may ask, “What exactly does all of that mean? Is it really that important?” It is extremely important! So important that we felt it deserved its own page here on the site. Allow us to share our faith with you in the next few paragraphs by showing you what God has said to us through His Word, the Bible.
God Created Man
One of the questions that reaches into the mind of every human being at some point in their life is “how did I get here?” Many have come up with theories on how the earth came to be and how man came to be. God tells us in His Word though that He created the earth. Genesis 1:1 says “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Not only did God create the earth, He personally created man. “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7) God then took man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to live in the perfect, sinless world God had made.
Man by his Own Choice Sinned Against God
Perhaps one of the greatest thing God did though was He gave man a free will. God did not force man to serve Him. He did not make Him a robot but instead placed man and woman in the Garden of Eden with strict instruction to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17). Adam and Eve-the first man and woman-however, chose to disobey God of their own free will and because of that corrupted this world with sin.
Because of Adam’s Sin All Mankind is Naturally and Willfully Sinful
The sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden did not affect just them. Because of their sin against God the entire human race has now been affected. Every human being born into this world today has a nature that is naturally and adamantly opposed to the holiness of God. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). Not a single person in this world today has lived a life worthy of spending eternity in heaven with God; “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23).
Still not convinced that you have not sinned against God and His standard of perfection? Try measuring yourself up against the Ten Commandments He gave in Exodus 20:
1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy
5. Honor your father and your mother
6. You shall not murder
7. You shall not commit adultery
8. You shall not steal
9. You shall not bear false witness against (lie to) your neighbor
10. You shall not covet
How’d you do with those? Find some you had broken? Maybe you say “well I’ve never murdered anybody before so I’m not that bad!” John tells us in 1 John 3:15 “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer.” Have you ever hated anyone? You’re considered as guilty as a murderer in God’s eyes. What’s more James 2:10 tells us “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” Even if you made it to this point in your life with only one sin against God, you’re counted guilty for breaking all of God’s laws!
There is a Penalty for Disobeying God’s Laws
You may still ask “what’s the big deal? If everyone is naturally sinful what difference does it make?” It’s a huge deal to God! In fact Romans 6:23 tells us “For the wages of sin is death.” This death is not just a physical death though; it is also a spiritual death. Because of our sin, God who is holy and without sin cannot let us into His heaven He has created. Instead, because of our sin we are sentenced to spend eternity in hell separated from God for all of eternity. Man will never reach heaven on his own.
God Provided a Way for man to Become Righteous
However, not only is God holy and just and must mete out judgment on those who have sinned against Him, He is also a God of mercy and love. Because of man’s sin, he can never reach heaven on his own so God provided a way for man to “become righteous.” “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born[a] of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5)
God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ who was 100% God and 100% man to live a life here on earth that was perfect. Jesus kept all of God’s laws perfectly while He was here on earth. He was the only man ever to do so! But He was not celebrated, He was not recognized as doing something great, instead He was taken captive put on “trial” and crucified by men. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) However, this was part of God’s plan to save man! God sent Christ to die in our place! (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Because Jesus was 100% man He could die for the sins of man and because He was 100% God He could eternally cover the sins of mankind with His death! No one else could have ever lived the life Jesus Christ did and no one else could have ever died the death of Jesus Christ to have an eternal impact. However, this isn’t the best part of the story, Christ not only died on the cross, three days later He rose from the grave! Paul sums up this work of Christ in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4: “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”
Jesus Christ’s purpose for being on this earth is summed up in what He said to Nicodemus in perhaps the most famous verse in Scripture, John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” The second half of Romans 6:23 says “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This is the good news! Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead and now offers us a chance to claim His righteousness and perfection as our own so we can spend eternity in heaven!
“How do I claim Christ’s perfection as my own?” you may ask. Simple, all you have to do is ask and believe! Romans 10:13 tells us “For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” It is so simple! All it takes is faith in Christ and His finished work on the cross. All you have to do is pray to Him and accept Him as your Savior. Romans 10:9 says: “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.”
All Those Who Accept Christ Enter into a Relationship with Him
Accepting Christ is more than a free ticket out of hell though. When you accept Christ as your Savior you are entering into a relationship that will change your life! When you accept Christ He gives you the Holy Spirit to dwell in your heart. One thing the Holy Spirit does is help you overcome sin in your life. As a Christian you serve a new master, no longer do you seek to serve yourself and your sin. Instead you seek to serve and please the Lord Jesus Christ. Life then becomes about becoming more and more like Him each and every day! That is why I say that my faith is not a religion, it is a relationship, a relationship with the Creator of the world who had such great mercy and grace on me that He gave me a way to escape the punishment for my sin and know for sure that I will spend eternity in heaven with Him!
How about you? Have you ever accepted Christ as your Savior? Have you ever believed in Him and what He has done for you? If you died right now would you know for sure you would go to heaven? If you have not done so will you call out to Him and accept His free gift of salvation and let Him change your life?
Want to talk more about this? Contact us here. We'd love to answer any of your questions or discuss this with you further. We offer a 4 week Bible study to show you Who God is and what He's done for you!
