Religious teaching and preaching always – always; involves prompting the hearer to pray more, give more, and to try to be perfect.
Biblical teaching changes the focus saying, “The just shall live by faith.”
Does faith nullify that a Christian should pray, that he should give generously, or that he should not give of himself all that he has or is? NO!
The difference is – the difference between all religion and the Christian’s message – is that the Christian is introduced to God the Savior: The Savior saves him who cannot save himself.
Religion teaches that we are alone in the struggle of life. The Bible teaches that God has never left us to ourselves – and alone.
“For, by grace are ye saved through faith, and not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works (sheer self-effort) lest any man should boast.”
Can we imagine heaven be a place of boasters saying, “This is how I made it!” No!
In heaven – and here on earth – the most normal Christian thing is his boast about His Savior. Actually, a normal Christian thing also, the Christian may say of himself, “I was the chief of sinners.” The worst!
The Bible teaches that a Christian is a twice-born person: born of his mother through natural birth, and born of the Spirit through supernatural birth.
. We can “become” a child of God in much the same way as was Jesus. He is “The only begotten of the Father,” one of a kind. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth shall not perish, but has everlasting life.”
Our believing God is a faith response to the inner voice of the invisible Holy Spirit. Faith is always a response – the right response. Faith is pure honesty and is not blind. Faith and love, both having to do with invisible reality, are inseparable. Normal Christianity is distinguished from all religions: every Christian must have become one through a love-faith encounter with the Lord. The Bible teaches that Jesus; “Came to His own, but his own received him not.”
Things we think that we can understand we tend to call natural; however, we actually only understand fragment of the whole truth concerning anything. And much of what we have thought we understood has been overturned by further information later on. Actually the existence of anything that exists is miracle — a product of divine creation.
A Christian is a divine re-creation; that involves forgiveness of his wrong doing; and payment for the debt he occurred by sinning.
Religion always has to do with correcting our deficiencies by our own efforts. True Christianity reveals that God is merciful, that out of His loving-kindness He “saves our lives from destruction,” if we will be honest with Him so He can – He gives us that option.
Furthermore, the Lord desires – as any worthy parent should, desire to “Crown our lives with loving-kindness.” (Psalm 103)
Religion does not present the divine as a Savior. The Bible does.
Religion does not expect the miraculous, but the normal Christian lives by such hope. The Christian’s God is “Mighty to save.”
Religion often mocks the concept of being saved.
But some common sense key factors which distinguish Christianity from religions are cherished.
We agree that for one to lay down his life for another is “The ultimate sacrifice.” God did that.
We agree that forgiveness is greater than judgment and accusation: the Gospel of God offers divine mercy.
We agree that generosity is greater than accumulation and greed: never has generosity been so on display as has it been on the cross of Calvary.
The statement by Jesus, “The thief came but to steal, maim, and destroy” — we see on earth throughout all its days this happening.
“But I have come to give you life, and give it to you abundantly.” (John 10:10)
Abundantly “ever-lasting and eternally blessed. He chooses to have us live in fellowship with Him forever.
A “normal” Christian is someone who took the invitation of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said, “If any man is burdened or heavy laden” –whoever has eyes to see the condition of this world today must be burdened, or the weight that our sin has brought upon us and those we’ve wronged.
Those suffering as we speak, the terminally ill, the sorrow in the Middle East, their ambitions there clearly expressed – let such as person … “come unto Me.”
A normal Christian is someone who did come unto Him. The normal Christian’s story, his testimony, has been a gospel message ever since and has been there for any willing to seek God in all ages
There is only one, Christianity that is normal to all centuries: “This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.”
Normal Christianity is a brotherhood of like-minded faith; Jesus being the Elder Brother, by the Spirit, doing miracles in all ages.
He that ministers to you in the Spirit and worketh miracles among you (does so) by the hearing of faith.”
(Galations 3:5)
Buddy