Oct 25, 2018
This is the new
covenant I will establish: I will put my laws in their minds and write them on
their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Heb 8:10
Salvation through
Jesus is based on relationship over religion and conscience over rules.
Every person has religion.
Many would dismiss that statement, some even get
defensive. But the fact is, we all have
a standard of behavior based on our beliefs.
Religion is not just tied to the common faith systems, it is tied to
behavior. Some people’s religion
involves a diety, others involves a favorite activity or sports team, many base
their religion on themselves. Your
behavior reveals your religion.
But God isn’t interested in being a “system”. He is a relational God. Behavior is not God’s standard for us, God
sees behavior as a reflection of our relationship with Him. Religion doesn’t get us into heaven, it is at
best a sign that we may get in. Jesus
said it clearly: “I will tell them, I
never knew you.”
Instead, God did something radically different than any
other religious system would do.
Instead of rules, God put His expectations on our conscience (our
soul). And instead of religion, He based
our salvation on how much we pursued a relationship. The outcome is something completely different
than a religion, even though people still call it one. God set up an ‘anti-system’ called Grace, that gives us mercy,
forgiveness and freedom so that our consciences demand far more than just
following a rule-set or living by a code of behavior. Grace
calls us to a relationship of total love for God and total obedience to His
ways. Grace puts the focus on God instead of on the rules.
It’s so important to God, that He made it a covenant (a
promise between three parties), where we promise God we will live for Jesus,
and Jesus promises God He will live for us.
The outcomes is something different than any other ‘religion’ in the
world, because it’s a spiritual marriage relationship.
So what is your true religion?
Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate it. Because if we think our eternity is based on our good behaviors, or our
good intentions, or how we compare to other ‘bad’ people, we’ll be sadly
mistaken. And if we’re living with the
hope that a loving God would never send us to hell, we’ll condemn ourselves by
the lack of relationship we never pursued.
Everyone likes to reject religion, until it means rejecting
the religion we prefer. God rejects them
all. He made salvation based on covenant
relationship.
So maybe it’s time to start working
on that relationship today!
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