God does not NEED anyone or anything but DESIRES, no longs for, relationship with us, His created ones. We can become His children but only in His way. He made man and woman to be together according to His plan called marriage, so that they could be fruitful and multiply. Since the original man and woman disobeyed Him in the Garden of Eden, it is no longer possible for sinful man (all humans) to be in direct relationship with Holy God. Sin separates man from God. Therefore, man now needs a Mediator....and there is only ONE Person who qualifies. His name is Jesus Christ and He is the only Son of God. No one else qualifies because everyone else but Christ has sin. He was born of a virgin (mothered), not from the seed of a human man. God Himself by His Spirit impregnated her supernaturally. Yet Jesus walked this earth as 100% man though He was 100% God.
That is hard to understand. But it’s important to note that He chose to walk the earth as 100% man, yet He did not sin. The Bible says He was tempted in every way that we are tempted...but without sin. (Hebrews 4:15) If He had sinned, He would have disqualified Himself from being that perfect sacrifice and therefore the only possible Mediator between man and God. So to recap, we need a Mediator because currently we cannot be in direct relationship with God because He is holy and we have sin that has passed down to us from our fore parents Adam and Eve. God never made man and man nor woman and woman to be together. So that point is not open to alternative interpretations. The basic fact is two men or two women would be puzzle pieces that do not fit.
And because God is the Creator and we are the creation, He gets to determine HOW we come to Him and our CONDUCT before Him. He has decided that is it only through the perfect sacrifice of the Perfect One....Jesus Christ. There is NO OTHER WAY to God. Someone recently told me there are about 1700 religions in the U.S. alone. That's a staggering figure. But I am really not speaking about religion here. This is about relationship with Almighty God. Everyone has to ask himself the question: Do I want to take a gamble on eternity. And we all get to decide while here on earth whether we live in heaven or hell for eternity. These are the only two possible eternal addresses: Heaven or Hell.
So God made the man and woman to be together and to be fruitful and multiply. He made only one way to be in relationship with Him while here on earth and that is through the Person of Jesus Christ. God's the Boss and that's His plan. Can the creation say to its creator, I don’t like your ways, so I’ll choose my own? No, the creation is subject to the rules of the creator. Similarly, God’s ways and means are His because He knows best. And although we can choose whether to follow our own ways or His, only following His ways will bring eternal success. Using our own ways that are contrary to His will bring dire consequences. Everyone MUST make a decision. And not making a decision for Christ is actually making a decision to reject God.
What's the big deal you ask? Well, you are taking an unnecessary risk with your eternal life. And the decision has to be made while still on earth before death. Did someone tell you there is no God? Do you really believe that? Really? Do you really want to take that chance? Maybe your mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, cousin or some other relative is a believer in the only Way to God through Christ and you think that's close enough. Unfortunately, belief in Christ by proxy (through another person) is also rejecting Christ and therefore rejecting God. It's not possible to be saved from a life without God by another mediator. Christ is the only Mediator, not grandma. But I thank God for mothers and grandmothers who pray for their relatives to become children of God for themselves. I have my mother to thank for that. It is very important to have family members who pray for you, but it will not be enough to save you.
You may have faith in Christ but you don't want to go to church because you don't believe in ORGANIZE religion or be with a bunch of hypocrites. Well God does not give you a choice of how to serve Him. Let's face it, you are imperfect and churches made up of people are just like you....IMPERFECT. It's crucial to be part of a body of believers so that you can grow, learn and be protected from unnecessary error. Besides, no person is an island , we need to be around those who would encourage, build us up, pray for us and listen to our woes and the best part is in enjoying God's presence together. I am convinced that there some things God will only do when the Body of believers are together in one accord. Even God chose not to be alone in the universe, and He said of the man, Adam, that he should not be alone. That’s why He created Eve. Christ Himself had twelve best friends whom He taught the ways of God.
We are the same. We need to live, work and worship in community. That’s not a choice but a must. A person without Christian friends with whom he can communicate honestly and openly and be in accountability is in grave danger of falling away even if they are still physically going to church. In many ways, falling away from Christ in your heart is more dangerous than not going to church because you can be lulled into thinking all is well. But in other ways, when you are in church there is at least a chance you will be jolted back into right alignment with God. So if you are not in a church, find a good full-Bible believing church where you are loved and get the true Word of God and plug in there. It should be as local as possible so that you can serve in some capacity.
And I know many people like to avoid the subject of the devil but that is foolish. Ignoring your enemy has never been a way to win a battle or even a war. We are to keep our eyes on the Lord and our mind on things that are good and peaceable (Philippians 4:8) but be mindful of our adversary the devil who prowls around like a roaring lion to see whom he can devour” (1 Peter 5:8) He devours believers by trying to destroy relationship with God and fellow believers. He comes to steal, to kill and to destroy (John 10:10). So we must be vigilant. And a major tactic the devil uses is to cause offense among believers, especially in churches. This not only destroys relationship with man but also with God. It also hampers our growth in Christ. I have to watch out for this all the time. So beware. You have an adversary. Who do you think is behind atheism and agnosticism, humanism, intellectualism and every other God-fewer isms? It’s the devil. But the bad news is the devil has the power over man ONLY because man has given it to him and in not believing in Christ. The Good News (GOSPEL ) is, that it’s all reversible by accepting and following Christ.
The thing about truth is that it really doesn't matter whether you believe it. Although it’s good to believe it, it makes us free from the burden of sin. To know truth, we must know the One who personifies Truth and that is Jesus Christ. Truth is neither subject to, nor contingent upon your belief. It just IS. Jesus said it best; He said "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to be Father but by Me." John 14:6. No one can have access to God except through Jesus Christ. So just as God does not NEED anyone or anything, He does not NEED us to believe but without that belief in the Way named Jesus Christ there is no access to God. So praying to God without access through Christ is similar to a person without relationship with the president showing up at the White House and seeking a meeting with him. On the other hand, Michelle, Malia or Sasha would have practically unlimited access to him. And I am sure that’s especially true when they NEED Him. He knows them but he does not know you.
In this same way, God knows us through our relationship with Jesus Christ but without Jesus Christ He does not know us as one of His own. No Christ, no access to God. Know Christ, have access to God. Does God show grace toward all of His creation? Yes. As long as you are breathing, you are experiencing that grace. Without relationship with Him through Christ there is no guarantee of the answered call, or welcome upon an unexpected visit to His throne. Hebrews 4:16 tells me that I can “Come boldly before His throne of grace to obtain mercy and grace in my time of need.” That’s a guarantee that is only available through my relationship with Christ. God recognizes Sonia when I call, not because I’m is so wonderful but because I have a relationship with Him through my relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ.
Isn’t it interesting that we have a choice to be His even though He made us. Of course, He knows everything about us. That’s why it’s ridiculous to stay away from God because of what you’ve done, no matter how bad you think it is. He already knows everything and loves you anyway. Just as He knew all of the things I’d done and loves me in a way that I still find quite daunting. He is the King above all other Kings and He is my Father. That just boggles my mind.
God is good and God is love. Who wouldn't want to be closely connected to Someone who is always good and is Love personified? Maybe those of us in the Church have not been recognized for His love for each other and for our fellow human beings. It should be more obvious and I repent for all the times when I have been less than loving to my fellow believer sand my fellow human beings.
But if you tell me that you know God but not in an emotional or experiential way, or that you went to seminary, have a million theological degrees and yet have no spiritual revelation of His love, I would doubt that you know Him at all or at most that you have intellectual knowledge of Him. But how is that valid Christianity that has keeping power, or the power to change, deliver or heal someone? Jesus tells the parable of the seeds that were planted in different places and only that which was sown in good ground, not the stony or thorny ground, where there can be no good development of deep roots. These areas which are inadequate for good planting and development makes it too easy for the enemy of our soul to come along and to steal the seed of the Word of God. Lacking that true relationship is like having an initial meeting with Christ and but not letting Him empower you to do the work you are called to do as His child. It’s like having a coat and instead of wearing it your keep it thrown over your arm.
To be effective ministers of the Gospel we must “WEAR” Him. Short of that, we are being satisfied with just a down payment when the whole purchase price is being made available to you and you did not even have to provide the purchase price: salvation from sin, death and hell. Christ’s death on the Cross has purchased your salvation (access to God and the cleansing power of the blood of Christ) as well as the baptism of His Spirit (access to His power to do what He tells us to). It bought both, but most Christians are satisfied with knowledge because it makes them feel important and therefore, the down payment of the Holy Spirit Who comes to live on the inside of us to change us into the image of Christ, but forgetting that it’s also absolutely necessary to walk in the power of that salvation by also seeking and accepting His offer of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. To try to help the world where there is such hopelessness and despair with only the deposit without taking hold of all that God is offering is dangerous and foolish. It’s being satisfied with a lack of power which is needed for a true witness of the power of God to change lives as we try to EXPLAIN to the world about who Jesus is. Why should anyone believe explanation without the demonstration?
Many people won’t believe that Christ is real unless you can SHOW them that Christ IS real. As the Body of Christ, His representatives on earth, we’re it. We need to be healing and setting the captives free as He empowers us. Why should they give up their witch doctor who can demonstrate a degree of demonic power when we can’t even demonstrate the power of God whose power so far surpasses that of the enemy’s that there no comparison. We have to stop believing the devil’s lies and start believing Jesus. He said we would do more miracles than He did because He was going to the Father. That we should heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper, set the demonized free. The fact that He said that we’d do more is because the list above is not exhaustive but inclusive.
Summing this simple message all up...God made us all and loves us all exactly the same. He loves you so much He allows you to make the choice not to love Him back and to choose not to be with Him for eternity. His desire is that everyone would choose Him, but unlike despotic individuals and governments, He would never FORCE His will upon you. Love never forces, tries to control or manipulate. But love does correct an errant child. God is also holy and cannot abide with sin. He must judge sin. People hate to hear that but it's the truth. The wonderful thing about God is that He is also merciful and chooses mercy over judgment whenever and wherever possible. God is also righteous and to be righteous before Him we must be in right standing with Christ. Our sins need to be confessed to Him and repented of sincerely. Righteousness before God relies completely on our relationship with Christ. It is the shed blood of Christ that makes us spotless without sin. He has been the atonement for our sin. Our righteousness, holiness and sanctification before God is based solely on what Christ did but for that to be maintained we cannot live a life of habitual and purposeful sin. Thank God that He sees us through “BLOOD” colored glasses when we follow in Christ.
Okay, so you believe but you are worried that you are still not perfect. Well, take your walk with Christ a day at a time and do what He tells you to do. It is when you do the will of God you are being perfect. When you obey what He has already laid out in His word and what He is speaking to you in your heart you are being perfect as He intends us to be. People get all bent out of shape about the 10 Commandments but we so often fail to realize that Jesus summed them all up in 2 Commandments: Love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. If you love God, you will do as He says. By the way that is the way to PROVE your love for God, not by mere words. Love moves us to action and so does faith. Faith and love must exist together and you cannot have one without the other. So if you love God you will obey Him and if you love everyone else as much as you do yourself, then none of the other Commandments are necessary. That means, if you love everyone else as you love yourself, you would not kill, steal, lie, cheat or those things that you would not do against yourself.
To conclude this note, I will say this that Love captured my heart because even after I became a Christian I had no revelation of His love until I asked Him to teach me how to love Him which is necessary for knowing how to love others. I had a blockage that only He could remove. I am still learning and will be for all of my life. I am writing here because I am motivated to tell others about Christ and His work in me. Why? Because He is coming back soon to put things to right here on earth (even if it’s 50 years from now, it’s soon compared to eternity) or you may meet Him before His return to earth. Either way, you and me (everyone on earth past, present and future) will all have to explain our lives and what we’ve done with the truth and with the knowledge of Jesus Christ as the only Mediator. Every individual will be subject to this. No one is exempt and no one can hide under another person, religion or government. At the point when we have to give that account either upon Christ’s return or in death, it will be too late to change anything. And it will be too late to accept salvation through relationship with Christ . Today is the day to get right with God. He has been waiting with open arms for you….all of your life.
(Please write me if you need Scripture citations)
