A Relationship with Christ

Yesterday I had the privilege of hearing one of the most influential sermons by my pastor, that I think I have ever heard. This sermon was titled "Toxic Religion". Now for some this could be a very offensive message, but I do not think that was Pastor Craig's intention at all. In fact, the reason I loved it so much was because of the way Pastor Craig approached it. He gave the very literal meaning of religion-returning to bondage and the very literal meaning of Christianity-a relationship with Christ. He then painted the picture of what Christ did.

Christ did not die on the cross for bondage. Christ died on the cross for freedom. The law was not created for restriction. The law was created for us to see our need for a savior. There is absolutely no way to earn your way to heaven. It doesn't matter how much money you give, if you go to church every sunday, or if you never take a sip of alcohol. God doesn't use those things to determine your eligibility for heaven. He only cares about your heart and your faith. God just wants you to know him and love him. The laws and boundaries set by religion are man-made interpretations of what earns God's love. Nothing can earn God's love. God's love was given a long, long time ago when he gave his only son, Jesus. That means that no matter what you have done in your life and nothing you do now will ever change the way he feels about you.

Now just to be honest, I will tell you the reason this sermon influenced me so much. Just like anyone else, I want eternal life. At the end of my time here on this earth, I want to go home to my Father in heaven. Therefore, I will admit that I am just as guilty as the next person of believing that I can "earn" my way to heaven. I tend to fall into that trap of believing if I do all the right things I will make it. I even admitted to Zeb last night that sometimes I feel like God is keeping a running tally of my mistakes and once I hit that number, my chance of seeing heaven is gone. So this sermon was a reminder to me. I am human. I make mistakes, just like the next person. I will never be perfect, but as long as I am striving for God and putting my faith in him he will see my heart. I may not be a good person in my actions, but I am forgiven by my savior. I need a savior.

This blog entry does not even begin to give justice to the message that Craig gave yesterday. I would encourage you to watch it yourself. Just go to lifechurch.tv and see when the next live experience will be. It will show until Friday. After that you can always find it in the Archives. It will only take about 40 minutes of your day...and you never know, God might just speak to you the way he did to me.

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us"-Romans 5:8