God has made one truth in His Word overwhelmingly clear to all believers. It is the reality that knowing the truth is the key that unlocks His blessings, and His Son, Jesus Christ is the truth! Jesus Christ said in John 14:6 that he is the way, the truth, and the life, and no person can come to God except through hm. He came to the earth to give us a more than abundant life, and through his ministry, service, and love for others, he demonstrated how we should live our lives. Jesus Christ walked perfectly before God. Everything he did pleased the Father. This is the truth. Throughout the years, there have been many people that have shied away from having a relationship with God because they think, “I can’t live like Jesus Christ. I have too many faults, and I like to have fun in ways that God wouldn’t approve of.” They think that God doesn’t want them to enjoy life, but this is not the truth at all.
Jesus Christ taught in John 3:16(NLT), “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” God loves us beyond anything we can imagine, and because of Jesus Christ, nothing will separate us from His love. In this verse, God teaches us something very important about how His love operates. Love doesn’t force, it frees. Love doesn’t restrict choices; it guides and instructs us. This is what God has done for us through His grace. He doesn’t force us to behave the way we should, and He doesn’t force us to love Him as much as He loves us. He gives us liberty, and in this liberty, we have the freedom to make our own choices.
He has designed life in such a way that it is built on the choices we make. We literally build our lives from the building material of our own choosing. So, if we don’t like the building, we have to change the tools and materials we’re using. The Apostle Paul said in 1Corinthians 3:10 that God had given him the grace to be a wise master builder. God has given us this same grace. We can use the spiritual tools, materials, and equipment God’s has provided and build a strong house on a solid foundation. Or, we make a different choice and use the tools and equipment that society tells us to use. But here’s what we ought to know about the building material, tools, and equipment that society shells out; that stuff can’t build a house of love, strength, and righteousness. Therefore, when the storms of life rage against it, the house that society built will collapse.
God tells us in Romans 12:1-2 to let Him help us build our lives, so that they are built on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ. God created us to be in partnership with Him; we were never meant to try to make ourselves all that He wants us to be. We can’t get this done. Adam and Eve made the wrong choice, and we can’t be too mad at them for messing everything up. They started this sin business, but we continued it. Everyone after them has sinned as well. So, none of us has the best track record, and God knew we would need help. He set redemption’s plan in motion long before we arrived on the scene.
Jesus Christ did for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves. The weight of sin and darkness drags us down. Many people today feel the sadness, loneliness, lack, and disappointment of this, but they don’t relate these feelings to darkness and sin. They refuse to see that they are spiritual beings, designed to be continually infused with God’s love through the Lord Jesus Christ. This is accomplished through our faith. So, when we give more time and energy to other things than we do towards our relationship with the Lord, our lives will reflect the neglect. It will show that we don’t wholeheartedly believe in the power God will manifest when our focus is on Him alone. We can change this. We can go over to the winning side and allow Jesus Christ to be the Head of our lives.
Jesus Christ took our place when he was nailed to the cross. He paid the price that you and I could not pay. He paid for all our sin, sickness, and disease, so that we can live a free life. 2Corinthians 5:21(NLT) tells us, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” We are made right with God because of what Jesus Christ accomplished, and every day, we can worship God in the way He deserves. We can worship Him in Spirit and truth. Through his sacrifice, through his shed blood, our sins have been forgiven. We have been declared righteous, and we can enjoy the glory of God.
We are God’s children, and He tells us in Romans 12:1-2 to present our entire lives to Him, to give them over to Him fully and completely, because this is the very least we can do considering all He’s done for us. He commands us not to be conformed to this world. In order words, we’re not to let the world and society build our lives, because this is disastrous. Instead, He tells us to be transformed by changing the way we think, so that the Holy Spirit can do the work inside of us that he wants to do.
Jesus Christ paid it all. There is no more that you and I need to pay. We must see that any behavior, thoughts, attitudes, and deeds that don’t follow the example of Christ are no longer a part of who we are. God tells us in Ephesians 4:22-24(NLT), “22 Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.” The decision to throw off the things that hold us back is solely ours to make. Jesus Christ has already done all the heavy lifting. All we have to do is make the choice to be led by God’s Spirit and assume our new identity in Christ. 2Corinthians 5:17 tells us that we are new creatures in Christ, old things—that doubt and negativity—is passed away; all things have become new. When we make the choice to walk in the newness, we are trusting in our redemption through the finished work of Christ and putting ourselves under the covering of his blessing and love. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“The Right Way of Believing” written by JMack, theChristianMan.com© 2021. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.