Real Christianity – Why You Should Consider It (Part II)

God’s Solution for Our Disobedience and Sin Living in Us:

Become a Child of God and Be Set Free From the Sinful Nature

 

No one escapes the reality of physical death on this earth. As most estate planners point out, the mortality rate in this life is 100%. But the Bible does say a person can find the “tree of life,” get past the “guards” to it, and escape spiritual death. Therefore, the key question is “how?”

As indicated previously, in Romans 7:17&20, sin is a noun, something that is living in us. Is Paul trying to avoid responsibility? No, put in context, he is using his own experience to define reality for us and help each person understand that through accepting Christ’s death at the Cross as payment for his/her sins (see definition above) and through daily faith in Jesus Christ, sin (the “thing” living in us) is rendered powerless. “Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!” The “sin living in” you is what the Bible calls a “sinful nature” and is why it says that “all have sinned.” With sin living in you, it is impossible for you not to sin (the verb). However, God is a god of justice, mercy, and grace; He had and has a plan in place for humans to be set free from their sinful nature. God gave his own Son Jesus Christ, King of His Kingdom, to come to earth and to die in your place to pay the penalty of death for your sins and to provide a solution for rendering your “sinful nature” powerless through daily faith in Christ.

You may be thinking “this all sounds very strange” and wonder, as many have over the centuries, why did Christ have to come to earth and die? As our creator, couldn’t God “just fix it?” Or why couldn’t Jesus just come to earth and “Wow” us into believing in Him? I will explain why God’s solution had to be done this way in the next issue of The Spirit Led Business™, Christ’s Finished Work of Grace at the Cross – What Did it Do For You? But for now, let’s look at what the Bible says about God’s solution.

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law (The Ten Commandments) was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1-4).

 “I have been crucified with Christ (when he died for my sins at the cross) and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body (my physical body with a sinful nature), I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" (Galatians 2:20-21).

Of the world’s adult population, 33% list Christianity as their religion and 76% of the adults in the U.S. list Christianity as their religious affiliation. Why? Because Christianity is the only religion that promises to set you free from the sinful nature and give you eternal life in heaven through an act of God’s grace by believing in his Son Jesus Christ, King of God’s Kingdom. In all other religions YOU must control your behavior and work your way to heaven, a mission impossible!

Many of those listing Christianity as their religion believe that they are a “Christian” because they were raised in a Christian home or attend a Christian church. Those are good things, but they do not make you a Christian. So let’s look together at what the Bible, God’s operating manual for humans, says about becoming a Christian. Going to church without God living in you is just being religious. You become a child of God and He becomes real and personal (relational) in your life when you invite Him into your life by believing in his Son, Jesus Christ. Before counting on God’s help in this life, it would be wise to check and make sure you are a child of God, a “born again” Christian.

Real Christianity as explained in the Bible is not a religion; it is a personal relationship with God. God is a personal being and wants to be personally involved in your life. “Jesus replied ‘If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him’” (John 14:23). Christ taught us in John, chapter 3, how to start this relationship. “In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’” That is “born of…the Spirit (of God). Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit (in humans). For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

The Bible has much to say about how to establish and maintain such a relationship with God, including the benefits of the relationship. When a person puts their belief in Jesus Christ that person is “born” into God’s family and at that time their personal relationship with God begins: “Yet to all who received him (Christ), to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12). That is, your spirit is given life as was intended from the beginning of creation and God lives in you (your spirit) for eternity (forever, regardless of what kind of physical body your spirit lives in)!

Real Christianity is all based on being “born again” that is, being born into God’s family. Consider the following dialog of this subject by The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God:

“Jesus answered, ‘I am telling you the truth: no one can see the Kingdom of God without being born again.’ ‘How can a grown man be born again?’ Nicodemus asked. ‘He certainly cannot enter his mother's womb and be born a second time!’ ‘I am telling you the truth,’ replied Jesus, ‘that no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. A person is born physically of human parents, but is born spiritually of the Spirit. Do not be surprised because I tell you that you must all be born again. The wind blows wherever it wishes; you hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit’” (John 3:3-8 GNT).

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God" (John 3:16-21).

What the Son of God is saying here is that the only way to Heaven is to be born again and once a person is born into God’s family then, and only then, can a person see that he/she receives eternal life in heaven only through a work of God’s grace through belief in Jesus Christ. The way to receive this gift is by believing in Jesus Christ! He is also saying that rejection of God’s gift is a sin resulting in a condemnation of death (separation from God in Heaven and His life giving power for eternity). In other words, until you accept it by faith, you will not understand it!

In Part III we will examine the Enormous Benefits of Real Christianity.

The Spirit Led Business™ is published by American Business Advisors, Inc. to provide business and personal improvement information and ideas. All material is presented to provide general and broad information only. The information found in this publication does not constitute business, tax, financial, or legal advice and should not be acted upon without seeking the counsel of a professional advisor.

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