How to Know God Personally
What does it take to begin a relationship with God? Devote yourself to unselfish religious deeds? Become a better person so that God will accept you?
You may be surprised that none of those things will work. But God has made it very clear in the Bible how we can know Him.
The following principles will explain how you can personally begin a relationship with God, right now, through Jesus Christ...
What does it take to begin a relationship with God? Devote yourself to unselfish religious deeds? Become a better person so that God will accept you?
You may be surprised that none of those things will work. But God has made it very clear in the Bible how we can know Him.
The following principles will explain how you can personally begin a relationship with God, right now, through Jesus Christ...
Principle 1: God created mankind to love and know Him personally. He has a plan to use our lives to bring him glory.
God's love
"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." (John 3:16)
God's Glory
"...bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." (Isaiah 43:6b-7)
God's Abundant Life
[Christ speaking] "I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly" [that it might be full and meaningful]. (John 10:10b)
But we have a problem. We have rejected the One who created us...
Principle 2: All of us sin and our sin has separated us from God.
We Are Sinful
"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)
We were created to have fellowship with God; but, because of our stubborn self-will, we chose to go our own independent way, and fellowship with God was broken. This self-will, characterized by an attitude of active rebellion or passive indifference, is evidence of what the Bible calls sin.
"Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things." (Romans 1:22-23)
We Are Separated
"The wages of sin is death" [spiritual separation from God]. (Romans 6:23a)
This diagram on the right illustrates that God is holy and people are sinful. A great gulf separates us. The arrows illustrate that we are continually trying to reach God and the abundant life through our own efforts, such as a good life, philosophy, or religion -- but we inevitably fail.
The third law explains the only way to bridge this gulf...
Principle 3: Jesus Christ is God's only provision for our sin. He is calling all people to turn from sin and trust in him alone to save.
He Died in Our Place
"God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
(Romans 5:8)
He Rose From the Dead
"Christ died for our sins...He was buried...He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures...He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred..." (1 Corinthians 15:3-6)
He Is the Only Way to God
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.'" (John 14:6)
We Must Repent (Turn from Sin)...
"The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man [Jesus] whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead." (Acts 17:30-31)
...and Believe
[Christ speaking] "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." (John 5:24)
This diagram illustrates that God has bridged the gulf which separates us from Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sins.
He Died in Our Place
"God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
(Romans 5:8)
He Rose From the Dead
"Christ died for our sins...He was buried...He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures...He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred..." (1 Corinthians 15:3-6)
He Is the Only Way to God
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.'" (John 14:6)
We Must Repent (Turn from Sin)...
"The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man [Jesus] whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead." (Acts 17:30-31)
...and Believe
[Christ speaking] "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." (John 5:24)
This diagram illustrates that God has bridged the gulf which separates us from Him by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sins.
It is not enough just to know these three principles...
Principle 4: We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can be reconciled to God, and know and experience his love and plan for our lives.
We Must Receive Christ
"As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name." (John 1:12)
We Receive Christ Through Faith
"By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
When We Receive Christ, We Experience a New Birth
"Jesus answered him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" (John 3:3)
Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for your sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. You receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of the will.
These two circles represent two kinds of lives:
|
|
Which circle best describes your life?
The one on the left depicts a life where Self is on the throne. A life that is not submitted to Jesus is subject to the desires of the "flesh" -- a slave to sin.
The circle on the right shows the life of someone who's life is marked by submission to Jesus. This person sees their sin and the power of God's grace on the cross. Professing faith, this person was filled with the Holy Spirit and is freed from being subject to the desires of the flesh.
The one on the left depicts a life where Self is on the throne. A life that is not submitted to Jesus is subject to the desires of the "flesh" -- a slave to sin.
The circle on the right shows the life of someone who's life is marked by submission to Jesus. This person sees their sin and the power of God's grace on the cross. Professing faith, this person was filled with the Holy Spirit and is freed from being subject to the desires of the flesh.
