Religion or Relationship

[VRSpock]

I just saw something on the news that was nothing more than an advertisement for a specific and I believe deceptive religious group.

In the four gospels, Jesus never went into a spill about hell or condemnation when He interacted with the sinner...He only responded in unconditional love and an understanding of the bondage the sinner was under. It was only the people buried up to their necks in man's tradition, religion, that He took a not so positive tone to...the pharisees and the lawyers.

The best question you could ask yourself is not whether or not you have a relationship with Christ....its whether Christ has a relationship with you. Do you spend time with Him? Do you listen for the quiet still voice of the Holy Spirit? You can recite prayers and read scripture your entire life and still not have a mutually intimate relationship with Christ. It's not our works that saves us, but His grace.

There is absolutely nothing we can do to become saved...it's totally out of our hands. This is the lesson God has to continually teach us throughout our lives. This is why when someone has a revelation of their life...a new understanding...a repentance....they should weep and mourn greatly over their now fully understood condition and predicament. We can never measure up to God's standards no matter what we do because His standards are so high they are out of our reach.

If you attempt to live a righteous life to prepare your way into heaven and out of hell, then your heart betrays you. The Lord knows the true desires of your heart, whether they exalt self or exalt God. There is no amount of motions you can go through to trick God with regards to the true nature of your being. He will know if you are Spirit led or self led.

Christ did not die on the cross because He was doing it for us. He even pleaded with the Father to "take this cup from me" but only "if it be Thy will" He died on the cross because it was the will of the Father..because He loved the Father. And the will of the Father was for Christ to take our place for the ultimate consequence of our sins so that we may have a way to the Father through Christ. The only requirment being that we truly believe that Christ is our only hope...that He is the Son of God, the Messiah and the Savior...His Spirit the living sacrifice..the scapegoat and His flesh and blood the offering. He is the doorway. He is the Tree of Life. He is that from which man departed and man must return. He was there in the beginning, at creation and has always been the way even in the beginning. He is truely the Alpha and the Omega.

So, your desire to live a righteous life should not be one driven by the thought that you can somehow win any additional favor with God. You see, you already have His favor...simply by truely knowing Christ. And if you truely know Christ, then your desire will be to do the will of God...not just to please God...but because you want to. Because you have a burning desire to do God's will..whether you receive anything in return or not. This is what it means to be Christ-like.

[BellaRose]

I just saw something on the news that was nothing more than an advertisement for a specific and I believe deceptive religious group.

In the four gospels, Jesus never went into a spill about hell or condemnation when He interacted with the sinner...He only responded in unconditional love and an understanding of the bondage the sinner was under. It was only the people buried up to their necks in man's tradition, religion, that He took a not so positive tone to...the pharisees and the lawyers.

The best question you could ask yourself is not whether or not you have a relationship with Christ....its whether Christ has a relationship with you. Do you spend time with Him? Do you listen for the quiet still voice of the Holy Spirit? You can recite prayers and read scripture your entire life and still not have a mutually intimate relationship with Christ. It's not our works that saves us, but His grace.

There is absolutely nothing we can do to become saved...it's totally out of our hands. This is the lesson God has to continually teach us throughout our lives. This is why when someone has a revelation of their life...a new understanding...a repentance....they should weep and mourn greatly over their now fully understood condition and predicament. We can never measure up to God's standards no matter what we do because His standards are so high they are out of our reach.

If you attempt to live a righteous life to prepare your way into heaven and out of hell, then your heart betrays you. The Lord knows the true desires of your heart, whether they exalt self or exalt God. There is no amount of motions you can go through to trick God with regards to the true nature of your being. He will know if you are Spirit led or self led.

Christ did not die on the cross because He was doing it for us. He even pleaded with the Father to "take this cup from me" but only "if it be Thy will" He died on the cross because it was the will of the Father..because He loved the Father. And the will of the Father was for Christ to take our place for the ultimate consequence of our sins so that we may have a way to the Father through Christ. The only requirment being that we truly believe that Christ is our only hope...that He is the Son of God, the Messiah and the Savior...His Spirit the living sacrifice..the scapegoat and His flesh and blood the offering. He is the doorway. He is the Tree of Life. He is that from which man departed and man must return. He was there in the beginning, at creation and has always been the way even in the beginning. He is truely the Alpha and the Omega.

So, your desire to live a righteous life should not be one driven by the thought that you can somehow win any additional favor with God. You see, you already have His favor...simply by truely knowing Christ. And if you truely know Christ, then your desire will be to do the will of God...not just to please God...but because you want to. Because you have a burning desire to do God's will..whether you receive anything in return or not. This is what it means to be Christ-like.

Religion & Relationship

written by K. A. Graaf

Religion is about what you have to do;

Relationship is about who you are able to be.

Religion is full of rules and regulations, do's and don'ts.

Relationship is about sometimes doing what you didn

[sinnersavedbygrace]

I agree with everything you say vrspock except this:

"Christ did not die on the cross because He was doing it for us. He even pleaded with the Father to "take this cup from me" but only "if it be Thy will""

Yes Christ died because it was the Father's will. But there are also many many other reasons Christ died. One of which was to reconcile us unto Himself, because He knew we were and are helpless to save ourselves. He died to take away our sins and condemnation, etc. So He died also for us. There is a book out by John Piper called "The Passion of Jesus Christ" It includes 50 reasons why Jesus came to die.

[Fiosh]

I agree with everything you say vrspock except this:

"Christ did not die on the cross because He was doing it for us. He even pleaded with the Father to "take this cup from me" but only "if it be Thy will""

Yes Christ died because it was the Father's will. But there are also many many other reasons Christ died. One of which was to reconcile us unto Himself, because He knew we were and are helpless to save ourselves. He died to take away our sins and condemnation, etc. So He died also for us. There is a book out by John Piper called "The Passion of Jesus Christ" It includes 50 reasons why Jesus came to die.

Amen!

"But God proves His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us". Romans 5:8

[VRSpock]

I agree with everything you say vrspock except this:

"Christ did not die on the cross because He was doing it for us. He even pleaded with the Father to "take this cup from me" but only "if it be Thy will""

Yes Christ died because it was the Father's will. But there are also many many other reasons Christ died. One of which was to reconcile us unto Himself, because He knew we were and are helpless to save ourselves. He died to take away our sins and condemnation, etc. So He died also for us. There is a book out by John Piper called "The Passion of Jesus Christ" It includes 50 reasons why Jesus came to die.

I agree...but the core reason that leads to all these other reasons was because it was the Father's will. Without the desire to do the Father's will above all else, any other reason would have failed.

[TempestTossed]

In order to determine whether or not your belong to a religion, ask yourself these questions:

1) Do you adhere to the will of a spiritual entity?

2) Are you part of a community of people who meet regularly and mutually reinforce a centralized spiritual belief system?

3) Do you make decisions and shape your life around this belief system?

If your answers are "yes," then you are part of a religion by the common definition. Consult your favorite English dictionary. You go to church, you pray, you tithe, you worship, you listen to a religious authority, you read a religious text, you believe religious doctrines, you evangelize, and you live by a religious moral code. Christianity may be true or have some things that other religions don't have, but that does not make Christianity dodge the definition of "religion."

Religions are NOT defined by:

A doctrine of salvation by works

Harshly-enforced moral strictures

Arrogance

Hierarchies

Impersonal uncaring Gods

These are merely the things we don't like about religions. If your religion doesn't have those, then great, but it is still a religion. There may be some negative connotations to the word "religion" that Christianity does not have, but that does not justify living in denial about it. If you want to be true to yourself, go to a mirror, look yourself in the eyes, and say, "I am part of a religion."

[yomotalking]

I just saw something on the news that was nothing more than an advertisement for a specific and I believe deceptive religious group.

In the four gospels, Jesus never went into a spill about hell or condemnation when He interacted with the sinner...He only responded in unconditional love and an understanding of the bondage the sinner was under. It was only the people buried up to their necks in man's tradition, religion, that He took a not so positive tone to...the pharisees and the lawyers.

The best question you could ask yourself is not whether or not you have a relationship with Christ....its whether Christ has a relationship with you. Do you spend time with Him? Do you listen for the quiet still voice of the Holy Spirit? You can recite prayers and read scripture your entire life and still not have a mutually intimate relationship with Christ. It's not our works that saves us, but His grace.

There is absolutely nothing we can do to become saved...it's totally out of our hands. This is the lesson God has to continually teach us throughout our lives. This is why when someone has a revelation of their life...a new understanding...a repentance....they should weep and mourn greatly over their now fully understood condition and predicament. We can never measure up to God's standards no matter what we do because His standards are so high they are out of our reach.

If you attempt to live a righteous life to prepare your way into heaven and out of hell, then your heart betrays you. The Lord knows the true desires of your heart, whether they exalt self or exalt God. There is no amount of motions you can go through to trick God with regards to the true nature of your being. He will know if you are Spirit led or self led.

Christ did not die on the cross because He was doing it for us. He even pleaded with the Father to "take this cup from me" but only "if it be Thy will" He died on the cross because it was the will of the Father..because He loved the Father. And the will of the Father was for Christ to take our place for the ultimate consequence of our sins so that we may have a way to the Father through Christ. The only requirment being that we truly believe that Christ is our only hope...that He is the Son of God, the Messiah and the Savior...His Spirit the living sacrifice..the scapegoat and His flesh and blood the offering. He is the doorway. He is the Tree of Life. He is that from which man departed and man must return. He was there in the beginning, at creation and has always been the way even in the beginning. He is truely the Alpha and the Omega.

So, your desire to live a righteous life should not be one driven by the thought that you can somehow win any additional favor with God. You see, you already have His favor...simply by truely knowing Christ. And if you truely know Christ, then your desire will be to do the will of God...not just to please God...but because you want to. Because you have a burning desire to do God's will..whether you receive anything in return or not. This is what it means to be Christ-like.

Religion & Relationship

written by K. A. Graaf

Religion is about what you have to do;

Relationship is about who you are able to be.

Religion is full of rules and regulations, do's and don'ts.

Relationship is about sometimes doing what you didn’t want to do and then doing what you know you should do.

Religion causes people to be human doings;

Relationship allows people to be human beings.

Religion judges and condemns;

Relationship shows grace, mercy and compassion

Religion never notices the log in its own eye but is always pointing out the speck in the eye of others.

Religion boasts and is full of pride;

Relationship lives in grace and humility.

Religion is about what it has to do;

Relationship is about what it finds joy in doing.

Religion is like a tree that is never pruned and is left to grow on its own. Eventually it withers and dies bearing no fruit in its lifetime.

Relationship is like a tree planted by a stream with its roots down deep in Love. It is pruned, shaped and molded and bears much fruit in its lifetime.

Jesus turned up the tables on religion but asked relationship to come and eat with Him.

A Religion will lead to death but a Relationship with God, through His Son Jesus Christ will lead to everlasting life!

Wish I could print.

[the_raven_1313]

I just saw something on the news that was nothing more than an advertisement for a specific and I believe deceptive religious group.

In the four gospels, Jesus never went into a spill about hell or condemnation when He interacted with the sinner...He only responded in unconditional love and an understanding of the bondage the sinner was under. It was only the people buried up to their necks in man's tradition, religion, that He took a not so positive tone to...the pharisees and the lawyers.

The best question you could ask yourself is not whether or not you have a relationship with Christ....its whether Christ has a relationship with you. Do you spend time with Him? Do you listen for the quiet still voice of the Holy Spirit? You can recite prayers and read scripture your entire life and still not have a mutually intimate relationship with Christ. It's not our works that saves us, but His grace.

There is absolutely nothing we can do to become saved...it's totally out of our hands. This is the lesson God has to continually teach us throughout our lives. This is why when someone has a revelation of their life...a new understanding...a repentance....they should weep and mourn greatly over their now fully understood condition and predicament. We can never measure up to God's standards no matter what we do because His standards are so high they are out of our reach.

If you attempt to live a righteous life to prepare your way into heaven and out of hell, then your heart betrays you. The Lord knows the true desires of your heart, whether they exalt self or exalt God. There is no amount of motions you can go through to trick God with regards to the true nature of your being. He will know if you are Spirit led or self led.

Christ did not die on the cross because He was doing it for us. He even pleaded with the Father to "take this cup from me" but only "if it be Thy will" He died on the cross because it was the will of the Father..because He loved the Father. And the will of the Father was for Christ to take our place for the ultimate consequence of our sins so that we may have a way to the Father through Christ. The only requirment being that we truly believe that Christ is our only hope...that He is the Son of God, the Messiah and the Savior...His Spirit the living sacrifice..the scapegoat and His flesh and blood the offering. He is the doorway. He is the Tree of Life. He is that from which man departed and man must return. He was there in the beginning, at creation and has always been the way even in the beginning. He is truely the Alpha and the Omega.

So, your desire to live a righteous life should not be one driven by the thought that you can somehow win any additional favor with God. You see, you already have His favor...simply by truely knowing Christ. And if you truely know Christ, then your desire will be to do the will of God...not just to please God...but because you want to. Because you have a burning desire to do God's will..whether you receive anything in return or not. This is what it means to be Christ-like.

Religion & Relationship

written by K. A. Graaf

Religion is about what you have to do;

Relationship is about who you are able to be.

Religion is full of rules and regulations, do's and don'ts.

Relationship is about sometimes doing what you didn