God ain’t religious. Nope! Never has been.
So winsome a Person is Jesus instead. And He loves you! Go check it out, study Him some. Fascinating -- He is! Every world religion if you compare them is based upon works-righteousness. True. And none of our good works are good enough actually.. to get us into right-standing with God the Father. No good works can get us into God’s holy heaven when we die. God is totally pure and holy.
I was raised in the Roman system..a religion. The well-meaning leaders told me to “be good”, and “do good” (I wanted to.. and yet wasn’t even near perfect), but this religion never gave any of us the power to do so. To be or do good.
Have you ever lied, (exaggerated, told a half truth half lie), or stole anything, or lusted, or used God’s name in vain? Ever gotten angry at another person instead of at their wrong-doin’? I have, but in the Spring of ‘77 while attending Dana Hills High School I turned and trusted Christ -- I was regenerated inside. It was about full on mercy and grace. God forgave and quickened me inside. Yes, my dead human spirit was made alive.
In the past we’ve all blown it in sin here and we simply can’t erase that (even by gobs of good works), but God can wash us each clean. Historically, you and I have sinned, but come as you are.. not to me.. to Him.
The Bible says "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." God is perfect, flawless, and holy, and our sins separate us from the one God forever. The Bible says "The wages of sin is death."
That’s the bad news, and ya gotta hear the bad news to appreciate the good news.
What’s your story like? What was my family and story like? What’s the story of your closest friends? Have you become like em in some ways?
We went to the Roman church, but were into sin like a lot of our fairly moral and not so moral friends were. All religions of the world overestimate the goodness of men and women, but Christianity that’s based on Christ’s finished experience of dying on the cross in my places.. in your place.. accurately estimates the righteousness of God that can be freely given to any humble, repentant, believing person. Even to children who turn and trust the Lord.
God the Father doesn’t accept our good or bad works to get us in His Family, but He does accept sinless Jesus, and when you accept Jesus by faith, then guess what.. God the Father accepts you into His family. Our forever family. Christ is the only way in.
What’s your spiritual journey been like?
You know the gospel writers see things as black and white in the sense that you are either in Christ or not yet in Christ, righteous or unrighteous, saved (a Bible term) or lost spiritually. And that’s how it really is with people. We all need a Savior and there’s only One. Martin Luther accurately saw the spiritually born again Christian as both a saint and sinner (forgiven) -- a saved sinner like I now am. Are you a sinner or now because of saving faith, Calvary, and the cleansing bloodshed of Christ.. a saved sinner?
“And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life..”
1 John 5:11-13
“’Lord,’ said Thomas, ‘we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.” John 14:5-7
"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among people by which we must be saved for God has provided the world no alternative for salvation" Acts 4:12
Gotta story -- what’s yours like?
Your own story can be like a key that can unlock someone else’s prison doors, believer. True! It’s God alone that does the work of salvation. Yes, It’s really true -- He alone can turn any mess into a message, any test into a testimony, any misery into a ministry for you! But first, you.. each of us.. must turn and trust in Jesus!
John 10:9 - I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
Hebrews 10:20 - by the new and living way opened for us through the curtain of His body,
Isaiah 35:8, 9 - And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein..
John 1:4 - In Him (Jesus) was life, and that life was the light of men.
John 1:14 - The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:17 - For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
John 10:9 - I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture.
John 11:25 - Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.
- Perhaps you have some questions about cults and world religions?- Personally, I'm going to stay away from dead churches.. from Cults and Religions. I never mind witnessing to those in them, but I don't let them pull me down as they twist the Scriptures for their own spiritually perverse purposes. Here's the Basics on all that.- What is the difference between a sect and a cult? Some churches are cultic with some of their practices, but not quite cults because they keep these a secret from most of the people. I've seen some spiritually sick churches. Head for a healthy Bible teaching church with a born again spiritually balanced pastor.- What is the best way to win a soul.. yes, to rightly evangelize someone who is in a cult or false religion? We want all to choose Jesus and go to heaven with us.
What to know about religion and the religious.
31. Like I was (an altar boy), were you also religious or raised Catholic? Is Catholicism a false religion? Is Catholicism a cult at all? People often ask me that when I lived in Bavaria for five years. It's basically a world religion.
Fish4souls.org .. where you go like in the City .. or in the woods. Photos by...
