What is the difference between religion and Christianity? Religion uses good works to be accepted by God. For example, people will perform certain religious rituals to please God. However, true Christianity is based on faith in Jesus. It is a relationship between God and us. We do not follow certain rituals to be accepted by God. We become God's children by believing in Jesus Christ alone (John 1:12). We do good works not to be accepted by God, but we do good works because we love God. The more we love God in our lives, the more we will obey Him. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commands" (John 14:15). Deuteronomy 7:9 says, "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments."
So how do we love God in our lives? We love God by knowing and understanding how much He loves us by knowing His Word and experiencing Him in our lives. The first step in knowing God is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ from our hearts. Our relationship with Him must be restored first by our faith in Jesus. Then the Spirit of God will start to work in our hearts and teach us the truth of God through the Bible. And when we submit our lives to God, we will then experience Him in our lives. So our true faith in God must lead us to submit to God's will. We cannot say we believe in God and not surrender our life to Him, and this is the problem of the religious people. Religious people think they can do whatever they want as long as they perform their religious rituals.
Jesus sacrificed His life for us because He loves us. To be accepted by God, all we have to do is to believe in Jesus from our hearts with an attitude of complete surrender to Him. The more we understand the love of God for us through His Word and experience Him by obeying Him, the more we grow in our love for Him, and the more we grow in our love for Him, the more we will obey Him. 1 John 4:19 says, "We love because He first loved us."
Ask yourself these questions: What must I do first to restore my relationship with God? How do I grow in my love for God? What happens when I love God?
Write down all the worries you face today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Father in Heaven, Please help me believe in you with all of my heart and surrender my life to you so that I may know you and grow in my love for you. Thank you that my relationship with you is not based on my good works or religious rituals but through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that you will help me know you more today and grow in my love for you. In your name Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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