Religious, but not right with God?

 

Religious, but not right with God? That may sound strange to

you, but there are many religious people "hiding" from God. They may

be sincere, but sincerity is not enough; they need the truth of God's

Word.

Some people think that they are Christians automatically because

they had Christian parents. Others presume that attending church or

being baptized or sharing in Communion makes them Christians. These

are all important Christian responsibilities, but if they have never

committed their lives to Christ, their efforts are hopeless.

The Bible - from beginning to end - teaches that to be right with

God we need a sacrifice for our sins: "Without shedding of blood is no

remission <of sins>." (1) God has provided salvation through His Son

who "once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might

bring us to God." (2)

Trying to be religious without Jesus Christ as one's Savior can

be like taking a drug that distorts a person's reasoning. It is a

delusion to think that performing a religious duty can make us right

with God. Even leading a respectable life can never erase our sins.

We all need a Savior.

The Bible teaches that salvation is God's gift which we do not

deserve, nor can ever earn. The Lord taught that salvation is through

faith in Him alone: "He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life."

(3) His apostle Peter declared, "Through His name whosoever believeth

in Him shall receive remission of sins." (4) The apostle Paul wrote of

his Savior: "In whom we have redemption through His blood, the

forgiveness of sins." (5) The apostle John testified, "As many as

received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to

them that believe on His name." (6)

God's Good News turns us from our own vain attempts to earn His

pardon to Christ's complete salvation. John Wesley, the great

evangelist of eighteenth-century England, strove for years to make

himself acceptable to God by his own efforts. But he never found

peace until he could say, "I trusted Christ and Christ alone for

salvation. And an assurance was given me that He had taken away all my

sins."

Are you religious, but not right with God? Then come to Him

today - just as we all must approach God, as sinners in need of a

Savior. You can pray to God right where you are, believing that Jesus

Christ died for your sins and claiming Him as your Lord.

Jesus Christ promises, "He that heareth My word, and believeth on

Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into

condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." (7)

Bible References: (1) Hebrews 9:22b; (2) 1 Peter 3:18; (3) John 6:47;

(4) Acts 10:43; (5) Ephesians 1:7; (6) John 1:12; (7) John 5:24.

Computers for Christ - Chicago


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