RELIGIOUS, BUT NOT RIGHT WITH GOD?
Religious, but not right with God? That may sound strange to you, but there are many religious people who don’t really know 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 trusted in Christ alone for forgiveness of sins and salvation, their efforts are hopeless.
It’s not a matter of trying
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]” (Hebrews 9:22). God has provided salvation through His Son who “once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). After making that ultimate sacrifice, three days later Christ came back to life…our debt having been fully paid!
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, just as God says in the Bible.
It’s all about God’s gift
The Bible teaches that salvation is God’s gift which we don’t deserve and can never earn. Jesus taught that salvation is through faith in him alone: “He that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47). The apostle Peter declared, “Through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43). The apostle Paul wrote of his Savior: “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:7). The apostle John testifies, “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12).
God’s “good news” turns us from our own vain attempts to earn his pardon to Christ’s complete gift of salvation. John Wesley, the great preacher of eighteenth-century England, struggled 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.”
Come just as you are!
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 Savior. You can express your heartfelt trust in words like these, “Dear God, I admit that I have been trying to get to heaven my own way. Now I’m convinced that Jesus is the only way to heaven. I believe that he died in my place to take the judgment I deserve for my sins. I accept your offer of forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. Thank you for helping me find the sure way to heaven!”
If you have placed your trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, you can claim His promise, “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” (John 5:24).