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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.
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